About

  • About

Workplace Law & Policy

Ishat Reza

Member of the Law Society of Ontario
LL.B., B.C.L., McGill University
A.M., Harvard University
B.A. (Hons.), University of Toronto

Ishat Reza is an employment and human rights lawyer who works with employers and employees to resolve workplace issues. She specializes in workplace harassment and discrimination, and conducts workplace investigations for organizations that are provincially or federally regulated in Canada. Ishat’s practice includes conducting mediations, independent investigations, assessments of workplace policies and procedures, and organizational reviews.  Ishat also provides representation in wrongful dismissal cases and advice on a variety of employment law and human rights issues.

Ishat began her legal career as a litigator at a large Bay Street firm where she gained solid practical experience in litigation and arbitrations. Among her diverse portfolio of work, Ishat litigated breaches to employment contracts, advised on human rights legislation, researched sexual harassment cases, worked on files that involved Charter rights, and reviewed executive compensation packages.
Ishat has worked in the public and private sectors in Canada as well as at an international organization and a management consulting firm in Europe. In addition to her legal work, Ishat has advised governments on policy, governance and change management, negotiated international agreements, and conducted independent assessments of institutions and organizational processes. Ishat leverages her diverse work experiences to provide contextualized and well-rounded services as a lawyer, mediator, workplace investigator and external reviewer.

Contact Ishat to explore how she may be able to help you navigate your workplace legal or policy issue.

A pragmatic & thorough

Approach

Ishat is pragmatic, fair, thorough and service-oriented. She handles sensitive workplace issues with care and a trauma-informed approach. Ishat maintains her independence in workplace investigations and organizational reviews, and ensures a fair process for all participants. Ishat’s approach to mediations conforms with mediation best practices, which includes designing a process that is tailored to the parties’ needs and objectives.

Committed to

Access to Justice

Ishat is engaged in access to justice initiatives. She is the host of the employment law podcast 🇨🇦 Law@Work, in which she provides primers on workplace legal topics to members of the public. In 2020, she established the COVID LawHive and assembled a team of lawyers and law students to provide pro bono summary legal advice to Canadians across the country who were facing legal issues due to the pandemic.

Supporting

Community Involvement

Ishat has been a mentor to law students for many years, and has served as a Practice Judge helping to prepare law students for the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot on equity and diversity issues.

Ishat previously organized and funded a summer art and wellness program for at-risk children in Toronto, and helped a number of private refugee sponsorship groups raise funds and goods to welcome refugee families to Canada. Ishat has also served on Harvard University’s Alumni Student Committee, interviewing prospective students in Toronto, Montreal, Paris and London.