Tuesday May 15^th, 2012

 It was a beautiful sunny day outside, the sun was also shining inside the gymnasium at Tecumseh Public School!  A group of 25 Grade 2 students were treated to a fun, interactive presentation about the importance of wearing bike helmets.  Michelle Gregory-Brooks from ThinkFirst led the presentation which included educating the students on the functions of the brain and the importance of protecting it from injury by wearing a helmet.

 A soft, green, slimy jello brain was passed around so students could get an idea of how delicate our brains are, the brain was met with "ooh's","ahh's" and grimaces!  Another dramatic representation to drive home the message of the importance of wearing your helmet , was the melon drop. Michelle climbed a ladder where she then dropped a melon wearing a helmet off the top, the melon landed safe and sound!  She then climbed the ladder with another melon who wasn't wearing a helmet and dropped it off the top, and SPLAT!!!!  The kids enjoyed the demonstration but also saw the damage that can happen to your skull and brain if you don't wear your helmet.

 All of the students were then fitted with their own brand new bike helmet courtesy of three local law firms; Martin & Hillyer Associates, The Munn Law Firm and Brechin & Huffman. The law firms also donated helmets to the Grade 1 and 3 students.

Laura Hillyer, of Martin & Hillyer Associates in Burlington, organized the event in association with OTLA (Ontario Trail Lawyers Assocation) and BIAPH (Brain Injury Association of Peel-Halton).

 We would like to thank Ward 4 City & Regional Councillor Jack Dennison for his participation in the event, Cst. Erin Toth of the Halton Regional Police for attending the event, Jorun Rucels of BIAPH, and Angela DeMaria, Public Health Nurse with Halton Region for their participation.

Pictured above alongside the Grade 2 class and teachers from Tecumseh, from left to right:

Angela DeMaria - Public Health Nurse with Halton Region, James Page - Lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates, Cst. Erin Toth - Halton Regional Police, Claire Wilkinson - Lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates, Bruce Hillyer - Lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates, Stephen Abraham - Lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates, Laura Hillyer - Lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates, Jorun Rucels - BIAPH.

MEDIA RELEASE

May 15, 2012

Local law firm to distribute bike helmets to

Tecumseh Public School students

More than 4,000 to be donated this year through OTLA's Helmets on Kids program

Burlington, ON - On May 15^th, 2012 a local representative of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) will be at Tecumseh Public School where they will hand out more than 80 bicycle helmets to students in Grades 1, 2 and 3.

Laura Hillyer is a Burlington-based personal injury lawyer with Martin & Hillyer Associates, and Chair of the OTLA's Helmets on Kids task group for Halton. This year, OTLA's Helmets on Kids initiative will help distribute an estimated 4,000 bicycle helmets to school-age children in cities and regions across Ontario.

OTLA's Helmets on Kids Community Partnership was started by OTLA members in 2002. Since its first event, held in London, Ontario, this initiative has distributed more than 15,000 helmets to elementary school students.

Starting in 2008, OTLA members have worked together to expand the Helmets on Kids campaign to other cities and regions across the province. This year, OTLA's Helmet on Kids events will take place during May and June in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Aurora, Halton Region (Burlington), Peel Region, Quinte Region (Trenton), Sudbury, Windsor, Simcoe County (Midland), and Thunder Bay.

The mandate of OTLA's Helmets on Kids program is to put a helmet on the head of every child who needs one, and provide education and awareness to school-aged children about bicycle helmet use.

"Helmet use is key to injury prevention," said Laura Hillyer, a Burlington-based personal injury lawyer and Chair of OTLA's Helmet on Kids Campaign for Halton. "OTLA lawyers dedicate their professional time to assisting those who have been injured. Every day we see the devastation that is caused by serious accidents. We consider it a privilege to work directly with youth in our communities each spring, bringing them the message of head injury prevention."

Numerous OTLA lawyer members and law firms have made financial donations to help purchase helmets for the Helmets on Kids campaign and all work is done by OTLA members, on a volunteer basis. Each event is also supported locally by a number of community partners, such as Public Health, regional chapters of the Ontario Brain Injury Association, local police and hospitals and other safety associations and organizations committed to brain injury awareness and treatment.

The Helmets on Kids program has been recognized with awards from the Brain Injury Association of Canada (BIAC), the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) and the Ontario Safety League (OSL) for its contribution to promoting injury prevention awareness and safety education.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, cycling injuries are by far the most common injury from summer sports and recreational activity, accounting for half of all hospital admissions. Among the most severe cycling injury admissions of the past decade (those requiring admission to a special trauma centre), 78% of those hospitalized with a head injury were not wearing a helmet when their injury occurred.

There is good news though. While the number of cycling injuries has remained static over the past decade, the good news is that many studies are showing that the widespread use of helmets has resulted in fewer serious head injuries among children, according to Pamela Fuselli, Executive Director of Safe Kids Canada.

The most recent statistics indicate that in 2009-2010 cycling injury hospitalization rates were the lowest in Ontario and Nova Scotia, as compared to other provinces.

For more information: Laura Hillyer, Barrister & Solictor at Martin & Hillyer Associates; laura.hillyer@mhalaw.ca; Chair, Helmet on Kids Campaign for Halton, 905-637-5641.

About the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association - www.otla.com

Founded in 1991, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) is an organization of more than 1,300 plaintiff lawyers, law clerks, articling students and law students. Our purpose is to promote access to justice for all Ontarians, preserve and improve the civil justice system, and advocate for the rights of those who have suffered injury and losses as the result of wrongdoing by others, while at the same time advocating strongly for safety initiatives.

I presented this paper at the fall conference of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. With the implementation of the new Ontario automobile insurance legislation in September 2010 adjusters have increased discretion in determining whether an injured person qualifies for benefits. With added discretion comes added responsibility, however. The paper reviews the responsibilities adjusters have in reviewing automobile accident benefits claims, and how injured persons can be unfairly denied benefits.

To read this paper click here.

OTTAWA, December 16, 2011 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Suzanne M. Stevenson, a lawyer with Martin & Hillyer in Burlington, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Toronto) to replace Madam Justice A. Hoy, who was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal on December 1, 2011.

Madam Justice Stevenson received a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1988. She received a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1991, and was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1993.

Madam Justice Stevenson has practised with Robert Martin (now Martin & Hillyer) since 1993. Her main area of practise was family law and wills.

Madam Justice Stevenson was a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Halton County Law Association, Hamilton Halton Collaborative Law Practice Group and International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and an associate member of the Hamilton Law Association. She has been a guest lecturer on family law at Queen's University Law School, Trial Advocacy Course. She presented public seminars regarding the introduction of the Child Support Guidelines in Ontario in 1997. She was a member of Woodview (Mental Health and Autism Services) Board of Directors and Services Committee and has been involved in several community organizations.

This appointment is effective immediately.

Operation Red Nose is a free, designated-driver service, where a team of 3 volunteers drive you and your vehicle home. The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO), in partnership with the Ontario Safety League, sponsors the initiative provincially guaranteeing all Red Nose vehicles are properly insured for the 2011 program.

 This year The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) joined as a provincial sponsor.  The association's over 1300 members know all too well about the mess left behind by drinking and driving. It is their job to assist clients in picking up the pieces after an accident involving a drunk driver, a situation that no one should have to deal with.

In an effort to keep the streets safe this holiday season, lawyers from Martin & Hillyer Associates have volunteered their time to provide a safe ride home to Burlington residents who choose to enjoy the holiday season responsibly. Bruce Hillyer, a senior personal injury lawyer with the firm , was the founding President of OTLA.

He, along with, Stephen Abraham, David Hayward and James Page, all personal injury lawyers with the firm, will be volunteering to assist with Operation red nose.

The program runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. from Nov. 25 to Dec. 31 each year, but dates can vary from city to city.

Thousands of rides are provided each night of operation across the country.

The Burlington campaign will offer Red Nose service on Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 and 31 between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

A team of three volunteers will meet you at your location and drive you and your vehicle to your destination.

This will be the third year for Operation Red Nose in Burlington. The city is one of 15 Ontario communities offering the service.

The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) will be holding its annual fall conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on November 10^th and 11^th, 2011. The programme is being chaired by Claire Wilkinson and Laura Hillyer of Martin & Hillyer Associates, together with other prominent Ontario counsel, Charles Gluckstein and Laurie Tucker.

The two day event is a learning tool for both lawyers and law clerks. Representing Martin & Hillyer Associates this year will be David Hayward, personal injury lawyer and Heather Wright, Law Clerk to David Hayward. David will be presenting on "The New Power of the Disability Certificate", and Heather will be presenting in the law clerks' program on the topic of "Affidavits of Documents-Naming Documents, Determining Relevance, Facebook".

Martin & Hillyer Associates is proud to contribute to OTLA's continuing legal education program and to contribute to the sharing of knowledge amongst personal injury lawyers working hard to protect innocent accident victims.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

It was cold, wet and grey, but that didn't stop the staff, family and friends of Martin & Hillyer Associates from running for the cure!

Thank you to Suzanne Stevenson for organizing the Martin & Hillyer Associates team for the 3rd year. Fundraising from team members totalled $4575.00!

Well done everyone!

On Monday June 20^th, 2011, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA)  in partnership with the Brian Injury Association of Peel and Halton (BIAPH) held a Helmets on Kids campaign at the Halton Children's Safety Village in Oakville.

This event brings education and awareness to school aged children in a fun and exciting way.

Students from Montclair and Oakwood public schools in Oakville took a trip to the Halton Children's Safety Village where they received education on bicycle safety from Safety Village Coordinator at the Halton Regional Police Service, Cindy Lawrence, followed by being fitted properly with their own brand-new helmet. Then they were all invited to test their cycling skills in the safety village.

Laura Hillyer of Martin & Hillyer Associates in Burlington, coordinated the event for the 2^nd year in the Halton Region.

"Helmet use is key to injury prevention. This summer, with all the opportunities for outdoor activity throughout Ontario, we want to help ensure that children are wearing their helmets when participating in activities such as cycling, inline skating and skateboarding." said Ms. Hillyer, a personal injury lawyer, an OTLA board member and Vice-President of BIAPH.

Through generous donations from local law firms, enough money was raised to purchase approximately 175 helmets for this event.

Other partners for this event include; Halton Region Public Health, Rotary of Oakville and the Halton Regional Police.

Pictured below from left to right are: Laura Hillyer, Students from Montclair Public School, Cindy Lawrence and Terence Munn.

The Martin & Hillyer Associates 18^th Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon was a HUGE success! The lawyers and staff at Martin & Hillyer & City Kidz extend our most sincere gratitude to the many people who contributed towards the success of this year's event.

We are excited and amazed to announce that the bowl-a-thon raised $21,041.28 for City Kidz!  This amount surpassed our fundraising goal of $20,000 and is the most ever raised at the annual bowl-a-thon. 

City Kidz will be using these funds to help increase the number of children and youth they impact each week from the over 2,200 they currently reach to 5,000 by 2013.  Their ultimate goal is to transform the lives of inner city children, break the cycle of hopelessness and end child poverty.  With events like this, they are one step closer.

For more information on City Kidz visit their website www.citykidz.ca.

One of our own, Laura Hillyer, was recently quoted in an article for the Law Times regarding the awareness of head injuries. Click the link below to read the article:

  Sports Stars Take Hit for Awareness of Head Injuries

Laura is also involved in the Helmets on Kids program run through the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.  Click here to read about the 2010 event and Information regarding this year's event will be posted soon.