Marie Fiedler

Marie’s passion for health and disability justice led her to the practice of elder law.

Marie’s career started in health promotion and public health, providing frontline services and conducting health equity research. During her years working at a hospice, Marie saw firsthand how the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities were influenced more by their social circumstances, than by physical or medical factors. She also noticed how the legal system played a large role in creating and shaping these social conditions. Recognizing this system was overwhelming and inaccessible to many, Marie decided to pursue a career in law.

Marie completed a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Health Sciences at Western University. Her undergraduate degree focused on health promotion and thanatology. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law where she was awarded the Samuel and Clara Shime Prize for achievement in Law and Medicine.

During law school, Marie’s work and education continued to revolve around health and disability justice work. She conducted disability human rights work, represented injured workers in insurance appeals, and represented individuals in Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) related appeals. While working with the Health Justice Program, Marie was exposed to estates planning and elder law. She was instantly taken with this work and knew she wanted to continue in this field. To do so, she completed articles at Goddard Gamage and joined the firm as an associate. Marie’s practice at the firm involves both drafting and litigation work. She is especially interested in representing clients with disabilities in ODSP matters, appointing substitute-decision makers, and capacity litigation.

In her practice of law, Marie views her role as supporting her clients in taking control of their futures and charting their own course through life’s challenges. She understands that interactions with the legal system can be overwhelming and upsetting, and she is committed to providing compassionate and accessible services. This also means recognizing the limits of the legal system and assisting clients in finding proactive, non-litigious solutions to issues they are experiencing.