ARCH Disability Law Centre
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.2 lawyers · Established 1979 · City of Toronto
One of 2,273 law firms listed in Toronto.
Accepts Legal Aid
Accepts Legal AidAbout ARCH Disability Law Centre
ARCH Disability Law Centre is a Toronto specialty legal clinic whose entire practice is disability rights law. Its work is aimed at protecting and expanding the equality rights, freedoms and inclusion of Ontarians with disabilities who have low incomes, and Legal Aid Ontario is its main funder. Through the Summary Advice and Referral Service, people with disabilities anywhere in Ontario can get free, confidential legal help over the phone on a set list of disability-related legal issues.
Advice is just one part of the work. ARCH takes on precedent-setting cases for individuals with disabilities and for disability rights organizations, appearing before bodies such as the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Transportation Agency. Legal Aid Ontario has designated it a test case clinic, and it also runs a large law reform practice aimed at improving the legal rights of people with disabilities.
Executive Director Robert Lattanzio started at ARCH as an articling student in 2003, practised there as a staff lawyer and took over as executive director in 2015. Senior Counsel Michael Gottheil chaired the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and led Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario and Social Justice Tribunals Ontario as executive chair between 2005 and 2018, and in May 2022 was appointed Canada's Accessibility Commissioner. Staff lawyer Graciela Flores Méndez works with clients in Spanish as well as English.
ARCH is a registered charity, and its office is on the 15th floor of 55 University Avenue in downtown Toronto, open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any person with a disability who lives in Ontario can use the summary advice service, and for help beyond it, Legal Aid Ontario's financial eligibility rules apply.
History
ARCH grew out of the disability rights movement of the 1970s, with many local, provincial and national disability groups helping to set it up. It was incorporated in 1979 under the name Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped, and in 1980 it opened as a specialty legal aid clinic with three staff, one of them a lawyer. David Baker was its founding executive director.
One of its earliest law reform campaigns came in 1981, when ARCH led the Human Rights Coalition in pressing for "handicap" to be added as a protected ground in Ontario's Human Rights Code, and the campaign succeeded. In 1983, Rosalie Abella's report for the Ministry of the Attorney General, Access to Legal Services by the Disabled, wrote that the clinic should be strengthened and encouraged. From 1981 to 2000 ARCH published ARCH*Type, which reached as many as 3000 subscribers in a single year.
By 2003 the clinic was working as ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities, from Suite 110 at 425 Bloor Street East in Toronto.
Practice areas
Human rights and discrimination
ARCH gives summary advice on rights under both Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. That includes help for people who were refused a service, or treated unfairly by a provider, because of a disability.
Workplace accommodation
Employees with disabilities who need accommodation at work can get advice on their rights, and so can people who think they were let go for a disability-related reason. ARCH doesn't advise unionized employees.
Education
In elementary and secondary school matters, ARCH advises on accommodations and supports, inclusive placements, and exclusions, suspensions and expulsions. College and university students with disabilities can also get advice on their right to accommodation.
Accessibility laws and transportation
ARCH advises on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Accessible Canada Act. It also handles transportation questions at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.
Attendant services and home care
For people who rely on home care or attendant services, ARCH advises when services are cut off, fall short or are of poor quality.
Decision-making rights and guardianship
ARCH advises people who want to end or change a guardianship, and people who want to take back control of their finances from the Public Guardian and Trustee.
Test case litigation and interventions
ARCH acts for groups and individuals in test cases and has represented people with disabilities in cases such as Clark v Clark (1983) and Eaton v Brant County Board of Education (1997). It has also intervened, or acted for interveners, in many Supreme Court of Canada cases, and in J.F.R. v. K.L.L., 2024 ONCA 520, it represented the intervener People First of Canada at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, which agreed that people with disabilities must be given the dignity of choice.
Law reform
ARCH makes written and oral submissions to every level of government and to legislative committees, tribunals, agencies and human rights commissions, often working with other disability rights groups and legal clinics.
Good to know
Accessible parking
LGBTQ+ friendly
Parking availableFees & payment
Legal aidHow ARCH Disability Law Centre works
ARCH starts from the principle that people with disabilities are the ones who should set their own priorities. It's a community-based organization, and a majority of its Board of Directors are people with disabilities. Its test case work concentrates on the priority areas that board sets.
The clinic's current strategic plan commits it to continued outreach to Indigenous, racialized, Francophone, rural and isolated disability communities.
Milestones & recognition
- 2018: ARCH appeared before the House of Commons HUMA committee on strengthening the proposed Accessible Canada Act.
- 2022: Executive Director Robert Lattanzio received the Law Foundation of Ontario's Guthrie Award for contributions to advancing access to justice.
- ARCH's Supreme Court of Canada interventions include British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2022 SCC 27.
- Hejka v. The Regional Municipality of Durham, 2022 ONSC 2233: the Divisional Court restored Mr. Hejka's unconditional paratransit eligibility, finding the transit decision unreasonable because it undermined Mr. Hejka's dignity and amplified barriers to accessibility.
- February 2026: in Bokhari v. Top Medical Transportation Services, 2026 ONSC 1073, ARCH intervened at the Divisional Court, and the decision means the HRTO must rewrite its practice direction on jurisdiction.
In the community
- ARCH coordinates and hosts the monthly meetings of the Association of Human Rights Lawyers, an Ontario network.
- Each year ARCH and the Law Society of Ontario host a panel event on access, equity and disability law issues.
- A City of Toronto Community Service Partnership Grant supports ARCH's education, information and referral program.
- In 2022 ARCH and Inclusion Action in Ontario held an event marking 25 years since the Supreme Court of Canada's Eaton v. Brant County Board of Education decision.
- On December 10, 2025, ARCH held a Human Rights Day panel discussion, later released as a recording.
Affiliations & connections
- Legal Aid Ontario: Legal Aid Ontario is ARCH's primary funder and has designated it a test case legal clinic.
The neighbourhood
ARCH works from the 15th floor of 55 University Avenue, an 18-storey office tower in downtown Toronto with shops at the concourse level. The building links to the underground PATH network and to St. Andrew station on the Yonge-University subway line, and that station is accessible.
Because of the bike lanes on University Avenue, Wheel-Trans riders are asked to book drop-off and pick-up on Orillia Street, behind the building, where there's an accessible entrance. ARCH also asks visitors to come without perfume or other scented products, since it tries to keep its office and events scent-free.
Frequently asked questions
- What if I think the Public Guardian and Trustee is mismanaging my money?
- If the Public Guardian and Trustee is handling your finances and you believe it's mismanaging them, ARCH Disability Law Centre may be able to give you legal advice.
- I need accommodation for a job interview. Can ARCH help?
- Yes. If you're job hunting and need accommodations for an interview, ARCH Disability Law Centre can explain what accommodation you're legally entitled to while you go through the interview process.
- Is ARCH's summary advice phone line closed on Mondays?
- ARCH Disability Law Centre's phone advice line doesn't run on Mondays at all, and on other days it pauses from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. The office itself is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
- Can I reach ARCH by email or TTY if my disability makes phone calls hard?
- ARCH Disability Law Centre can be contacted by email for legal information if you can't use the telephone for disability-related reasons. It also has TTY lines, including a toll-free TTY number, 1-866-482-2728.
- Can a family member join my call with ARCH's Summary Advice and Referral service?
- ARCH Disability Law Centre allows parents, guardians and support persons to take part in some circumstances, as long as the person with the disability consents.
- Does ARCH offer a free case consult for lawyers representing clients with disabilities?
- ARCH Disability Law Centre runs a free Case Consult service for lawyers and paralegals across Ontario, booked as a telephone appointment with an ARCH staff lawyer. It also keeps a private bar referral list and refers people to lawyers in many areas of law.
- Will ARCH give a free presentation to our group on supported decision-making?
- ARCH Disability Law Centre accepts requests for presentations, workshops and seminars, and supported decision-making for people labelled with intellectual disabilities is one of the listed topics. ARCH doesn't ask for payment to present to people with disabilities.
Where to find them
55 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2H7 · 416-482-8255
Is this your firm?
Fix or remove this listing, or add a free listing badge
Something wrong with this listing? Tell us and we’ll hide it right away while we review your request, then correct it or take it down.
Add your free listing badge
Add the free LawOnline listing badge to your website. It tells visitors you’re listed in an independent Canadian lawyer directory and links back to this profile. Being listed isn’t a certification or an endorsement, and the badge doesn’t mean we’ve checked your credentials.
Similar firms in City of Toronto
Conroy Scott LLP is a northern Ontario law firm based in Sudbury, with additional offices in Chelmsford and Toronto. Founded in 1958, it's practised real estate, corporate and commercial law, civil litigation, wills a…
Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Construction Law
Business & Corporate Law
Family LawZel Law is a civil litigation firm in Toronto that helps individuals and small businesses resolve real estate, business, and estate disputes across Ontario. The practice covers real property and real estate disputes, …
Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Wills, Estates & Trusts
Landlord & Tenant
Costa Law Firm is a full-service firm in Toronto that's served clients since 1993, with its main focus on criminal defence. Founded by David Costa, it also handles family, immigration, real estate, wills and estates, …
Criminal DefenceFamily Law
Immigration Law
Real Estate LawThis listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on the firm’s own website. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
How this data is compiled and checked · Correct or remove this listing