Perez Bryan Procope LLP
Our lawyers are committed to protecting your rights and the rights of your loved ones. We provide practical and client-centred advice to help avoid disputes and resolve problems at an early stage. When litigation is necessary, our lawyers deliver experienced advocacy before administrative tribunals and all levels of court.
Our firm promotes accessible justice. We offer retainer terms that are fair and reasonable, with no surprises or hidden fees.
Mercedes Perez
Mercedes has represented clients before a range of administrative tribunals and at all levels of court in Ontario, Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada. She practices in the fields of mental health and capacity law, Charter litigation, civil actions, coroners’ inquests, elder law, privacy matters, and complaints to the regulated health professions colleges. Mercedes represented the appellant in P.S. v. Ontario, a successful constitutional challenge to the Mental Health Act which resulted in the first significant amendments to this legislation in over a decade. She has received numerous amicus curiae appointments from the Ontario Court of Appeal in mental health and capacity appeals.
Mercedes co-instructs the Law and Psychiatry course at Osgoode Hall Law School with Kelley Bryan. As a member of the Mental Health Legal Committee, she has prepared submissions on proposed provincial and federal legislative reform bills. She has been a frequent speaker on capacity, constitutional and administrative law matters at law conferences and continuing legal education programs, including the Osgoode Certificates in Elder Law and Mental Health Law.
Mercedes received her law degree from McGill University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2003. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago. She has held appointments as a Director of the Boards of several charitable organizations in Ontario and the United States. Before co-founding Perez Bryan Procope LLP, Mercedes worked for non-governmental organizations in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, at EcoJustice and a boutique advocacy firm in Toronto, and also practiced as a sole practitioner.
Kelley Bryan
Kelley’s practice encompasses many facets of health and disability law. As well, she is a vigorous advocate for human rights and social justice, representing victims of discrimination, sexual assault survivors, children and elders. Kelley is an experienced litigator who has appeared at all levels of Ontario courts and before numerous administrative tribunals.
Kelley is an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she co-instructs (with Mercedes Perez) a course on Law and Psychiatry. She has presented on various mental capacity law and administrative law topics at Law Society of Ontario conferences, and has provided education seminars to organizations.
Kelley holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia, as well as a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary. She served as a judicial law clerk in the British Columbia Supreme Court before articling at a national law firm. Since moving to Ontario in 2005, Kelley has worked at two litigation firms where she nurtured her dedication to social justice lawyering.
Alexander Procope
Alex’s practice is concentrated in capacity, guardianship, power of attorney and estate matters. He has frequently been appointed as counsel for allegedly incapable persons in capacity-related disputes and has a passion for the rights of the vulnerable.
Alex has served as CPD and Public Affairs Liaison for the Elder Law Section and member-at-large of the OBA Trusts and Estates Section Executives of the Ontario Bar Association. He is a member of the Mental Health Legal Committee and in that role has prepared submissions respecting Policy and Law Reform on capacity, guardianship and substitute-decision making. Alex was awarded the Hoffstein Book Prize by the Ontario Bar Association for his contributions and achievements to the area of wills, trusts and estates in 2022. He has been also recognized on Best Lawyers Ones to Watch in the area of trusts and estates.
Alex frequently presents at Professional Development Programs and is Co-Director of the OsgoodePD Certificate of Elder Law Program. Alex co-teaches Mental Health Law at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. Alex has previously taught Ethical and Legal Frameworks in Aging at the G. Raymond Chang School of Toronto Metropolitan University and guest lectured on Legal Professional Ethics at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law and Elder Law and Patient Rights at the University of Toronto Faculty of Social Work.
Alex graduated with honours from the University of Toronto with a degree in philosophy and history and obtained his law degree from the University of Windsor in 2006. He articled at a full-service Toronto firm and joined a boutique advocacy firm following his call to the bar of Ontario in 2007 where he practiced until co-founding Perez Bryan Procope LLP.
Areas of practice
Perez Bryan Procope LLP helps their clients succeed in the following areas:
Civil Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
- Civil Proceedings
- Victim Representation in Criminal Proceedings
Consent and Capacity Board
- Cases where mental capacity is in dispute
- Advice on how substitute decision-makers should make their decisions
- Consent regarding end-of life decisions
- Consent to admission to long-term care facilities (nursing homes)
- Detention in psychiatric facilities under the Mental Health Act
- Capacity to manage finances and property
Guardianship
- Seeking that a court appoint a guardian for an incapable person
- Representing family members or incapable persons who are responding to guardianship applications
- Consultation with personal injury lawyers on the particular options and needs of clients with acquired brain injuries or intellectual/ cognitive disabilities
- Seeking statutory guardianships (management of an incapable person’s property by the Public Guardian and Trustee)
- Terminating statutory guardianships
- Assisting guardians with preparing and amending management plans and guardianship plans
- Seeking directions from the court when questions arise about a guardianship
- Advising guardians on their duties and obligations, including record-keeping obligations
- Seeking accountability from court-appointed guardians
- Terminating court-appointed guardianships when a guardian is acting dishonestly, improperly, or showing incompetence.
- Section 3 Counsel Appointments
Human Rights and Discrimination
- Discrimination or harassment in the workplace, for instance due to race, gender, gender identity or gender expression, pregnancy, family status or age
- Disability in the workplace, including accommodation at work
- Mental health or intellectual disabilities at work
- Sexual harassment in the workplace
- Discriminatory hiring and promotional practices
- Education placement for exceptional students with disabilities
- School discipline of students with disabilities, including suspension and expulsion
- Accommodation for students with disabilities
- Police discrimination based on race, gender or disability
- Equal access to services for persons with physical or intellectual disabilities
- Removal of barriers for persons with mental health challenges.
Ontario Review Board
- Representation of accused persons fount Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) in the Greater Toronto Area and at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health
- Counsel appointments for accused persons currently unfit for trial in the Greater Toronto Area and at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health
Power of Attorney Ontario Disputes
- Advising attorneys on their duties, obligations and powers under a POA
- Challenging the validity of POA documents
- Defending the validity of POA documents
- Challenging the actions of attorneys who are acting dishonestly, improperly or otherwise not in the best interests of the incapable person
- Challenging abuse of POA documents
- Seeking accountings from attorneys for property, who can be compelled to produce their accounting records and explain the transactions
- Assisting attorneys or other family members in responding to passing of accounts applications.
Social Justice Litigation
- Charter Litigation
- Coroners’ Inquests
Wills and Estates Disputes
- Challenging a Will
- Defending a Will
- Interpretating the terms of a Will or trust
- Varying the terms of a Will or trust
- Seeking to remove estate trustees (executors) for dishonesty, wrongdoing or incompetence
- Making dependants’ relief claims when spouses or dependants are excluded from a Will or not adequately provided for
- Seeking accountings from estate trustees, who can be compelled to produce their accounting records and explain the transactions or the amounts of compensation taken
- Passing of accounts applications
Contact Perez Bryan Procope LLP
Phone: 416-320-1914
Email: [email protected]
Website: pbplawyers.com