Sheila Block chairs Torys LLP’s litigation and dispute resolution practice and serves as a trial and appellate counsel for a broad civil litigation practice. She has acted as counsel on numerous high-profile cases that span a wide range of disciplines, appearing before all levels of court in Canada and in international arbitrations.
Ranked by Lexpert as one of Canada's top 25 corporate litigators and one of Canada's top 25 women lawyers, Sheila Block has taught advocacy in Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, El Salvador, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Brazil, India and Singapore. She is also one of the authors of the Canadian edition of Modern Trial Advocacy by Lubet.
After receiving an LLB with gold medal distinction from the University of Ottawa in 1972, and being called to the Ontario Bar in 1974, Sheila Block established herself as one of Canada’s most prominent lawyers. Her career accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Advocates’ Society Medal, the Law Society Medal, the OBA Award of Excellence in Civil Litigation, and the University of Ottawa Meritas Tabaret Award for Alumni Achievement, to name a few. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Society of Barristers, and is an inaugural member of the Common Law Honour Society at the University of Ottawa.
Sheila Block has served on several boards and currently serves as chair of the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation; trustee and president of the Harold G. Fox Foundation; founder and trustee of the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy, Geneva; member of the advisory board of the Children’s Aid Foundation; member of the president’s council of the University of Ottawa; and member of the advisory board of the University of Toronto’s Program on Ethics and the Law.