Andrea Gonsalves

Any prospective continuing education students who are worried about managing full-time work with part-time studies can use Andrea Gonsalves as inspiration. Recently, on top of her regular client and pro bono work as a partner at Stockwoods LLP, she taught the Administrative Law course at OsgoodePD while studying for her own Master’s in constitutional law. She also gave birth to her second child in the midst of all that. (The icing on the cake: she reportedly responded to work-related emails a few hours after the delivery.)

How does she do it? Passion helps.

“I love everything I do. Obviously, I love my family. I love the teaching. I love the practice. That makes it easier to juggle things. You’re not dreading spending time with one thing when you love all of it,” she says.

Time-management and a support network are also key. “I think it’s important not to have your plate too full. I do try to balance my commitments over the course of the year, rather than have them piling up all at once,” she says.

She’s also full of praise for her “incredibly supportive” husband, and her colleagues at work. (She co-taught the administrative law course with fellow Stockwoods partner, Brendan van Niejenhuis.)

Apart from finding inspiration in her ability to integrate all the aspects of her work and personal lives, Gonsalves’ students benefit from her broad experience. “I’ve been really fortunate to have been involved in a lot of interesting cases,” she says, most notably, two appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Another passion in Gonsalves’ life is administrative law.

“Before I even get into teaching the material, I try impress upon them how important this course and subject matter is. Once students are exposed to the breadth of administrative bodies and the important work that they do, then they realize that this is quite important subject matter to learn,” she says.

Gonsalves knows this first-hand, having appeared at administrative hearings for a variety of different bodies, including the Ontario Securities Commission, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and the Ontario Energy Board.

“It’s been incredibly valuable to get the practical experience on my feet doing it, and then I’m able to translate that into learning opportunities for the students. I’m not just telling them something that comes from a textbook. I can give anecdotal examples from my own experiences.”

She credits the short timeframe of administrative hearings with giving her a surprising depth of experience in a relatively short career. (In 2014, she was chosen as one of Precedent Magazine’s Precedent Setter awards, recognizing the top practitioners in their first 10 years of practice.)

“Once you learn the skills of a good litigator the actual forum doesn’t really matter. You can appear before any body and do a good job.”