James R. Olchowy, Ph.D., LL.B., LL.M

James Olchowy is the litigation lawyer at Banks & Starkman.

Olchowy is experienced in family law, employment law and various types of commercial disputes, including those involving breach of contract, commercial leasing, corporate oppression, mortgage remedies, and construction law. He has also handled cases involving offences under the Provincial Offences Act, including traffic offences under the Highway Traffic Act, and has represented individuals who have been charged with offences under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Olchowy enjoys attending in court and has handled matters before the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the Ontario Court of Appeal. Before becoming a member of the Ontario Bar in 2001, he also articled for a year as a Law Clerk to the judges of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

Olchowy brings both careful listening and intellectual rigor to his representation of clients. He believes that a lawyer’s job is first to hear the client’s story fully and carefully, and then to bring legal principles and knowledge to bear upon the client’s situation.

Prior to obtaining his LL.B. at Queen’s University in 1999 and his LL.M. at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2006, Olchowy obtained a B.A. in Honors English at the University of Alberta, an M.A. in English at the University of Victoria, and a Ph.D. in English at Dalhousie University. Olchowy’s post-secondary education has taken him from one end of the country to the other, and he has resided in no fewer than five Canadian provinces.

In addition to practicing law, James Olchowy has worked as an adjunct law professor at two of Ontario’s most highly regarded law schools. In the fall of 2005, he taught a lecture class in civil procedure in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. In the fall of 2007, he taught a lecture class in torts in the Faculty of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.

He has also published papers in several legal journals, on various subjects, including constitutional law, evidence law, alternative dispute resolution, and civility and professionalism within the legal profession.

In his spare time, Olchowy enjoys playing badminton, cycling, hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing. He also regularly attends the theatre. He is a season’s ticket subscriber at the Soulpepper Theatre, and regularly attends both the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival.

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