Joshua "Josh" Phillips

Joshua "Josh" Phillips


Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP

Recognized since 2010

Toronto, Ontario

Practice Areas

Labour and Employment Law

Navigate to map location for Joshua "Josh" Phillips Call Joshua "Josh" Phillips at 416-968-3333
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Josh Phillips is the Managing Partner at Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Relations from McGill University and subsequently earned a law degree from the University of Toronto. Josh is also a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada in the area of Technical Production.

Josh's practice is concentrated in labour law, professional discipline and appellate work, with a particular emphasis in the educational, police and cultural sectors. He has appeared before myriad administrative tribunals and all levels of Court in Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Josh was recently counsel to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) before the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd. [2013] S.C.J. No. 34, which involved a challenge to mandatory alcohol testing in the workplace. He also acted for the CCLA at the SCC in the seminal case of Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser, [2011] 2 S.C.R. 3, in which the Court addressed the Charter right of freedom of association in the context of the exclusion of agricultural workers from the Labour Relations Act. Josh was counsel for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) between 2008-2011 before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and Divisional Court in the leading case on human rights remedies, McKinnon v. Ontario (Ministry of Correctional Services) in which for the first time the Tribunal determined to state a case for contempt against an employer representative, in this case a Deputy Minister.

Josh has been a featured speaker for the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers (CALL), the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law and Education (CAPSLE), Lancaster House, Osgoode Hall Law School, the Police Association of Ontario and others.

Josh has authored and co-authored several papers for presentation, includingHarassment and Bullying in the Workplace: The Association’s Role and Responsibilities; Human Rights Complaints: Lodging Then and Dodging Them; Teacher Expression In The Charter Era; Dealing With Accountability Bombardment and Confessions of a Union Lawyer: The Secret of How I Win Cases and Why I Will Keep Winning Them Even After I Tell You.

Prior to practising law, Josh worked as a professional bus boy, snack bar attendant, warehouse worker, civil servant, theatre technician, stage/production manager, murder mystery producer and advocate for injured workers. For a bus boy, Josh is a damn good lawyer.

Contact & Links
Location
  • 555 Richmond Street West, Suite 1200
    Toronto, ON M5V 3B1
    Canada

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 for work in:
  • Labour and Employment Law

Publications

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