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    • Practice Areas: Insurance Defence

    Tijana Potkonjak

    Tijana Potkonjak joined Devry Smith Frank LLP (‘DSF’) in 2022 as an associate lawyer in our personal injury, insurance defence and estate litigation departments. She earned her B.A. (Hons) from York University and her M.A. from Concordia University and finally received her J.D. from the University of Ottawa. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2018.

    Prior to joining DSF, Tijana worked for multiple boutique firms across Ottawa and Toronto gaining valuable experience in various litigation matters like personal injury, motor vehicle accident (tort and accident benefits), medical malpractice, commercial disputes, long-term disability and more. She has appeared as counsel in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Justice, Small Claims Court, and various Provincial Tribunals, including the: Licence Appeal Tribunal, Human Rights Tribunal, and Landlord and Tenant Board.

    Tijana is committed to helping her clients feel heard and understood, reassuring them that their unique trauma is going to be addressed with empathy and compassion while making sure that their claims are dealt with in an efficient and expedient manner.

    Tijana is experienced in providing representation in the following areas of practice:

    • insurance denials for travel medical expenses, long-term disability, critical illness, fire loss, property damage, commercial policies
    • estate litigation (Will challenges, dependent support claims, unjust enrichment, Family Law Act elections, objection to appointment of an estate trustee or motion to remove a trustee)
    • probate applications (with or without a Will)
    • capacity (capacity assessments, guardianship applications to appoint or remove a guardian, court-ordered assessments)
    • commercial litigation (contract disputes, home defects, construction defects)
    • negligence of real estate agents and brokers

    She speaks fluent French and Serbian/Croatian. She enjoys spending time with her partner and furry friends, exercising, and the outdoors.

    Tijana is a member of the Law Society Of Ontario.

    By Fauzan Siddiqui

    Charlie Fuhr

    Charlie Fuhr joined Devry Smith Frank LLP (‘DSF’) as an associate lawyer in our commercial litigation, insurance defence, estate litigation and personal injury departments. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) and earned a double JD from the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy. He was called to the Bar in 2020.

    Prior to DSF, Charlie worked for a boutique firm in Toronto practicing in the areas of personal injury, civil and commercial litigation. He has represented clients in matters before various courts and tribunals, including the License Appeal Tribunal, Small Claims Court, Superior Court of Ontario, and Court of Appeal for Ontario.

    His practice with DSF encompasses a wide range of complex litigation matters. His representation of both commercial and individual clients has helped shape his tactical approach to litigation thereby maximizing a favourable outcome for his clients. Charlie values effective communication and while drafting strives for mathematical clarity by explaining calculations line by line along with the applicable assumptions. This client-centric approach has made him a respected and trusted advisor to many of his clients.

    Outside of work, Charlie has a particular interest in boxing and was the 3x Provincial Champion and competed at the National level.

    He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.

    By Fauzan Siddiqui

    David Heppenstall

    David is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (Juris Doctor, 2021) and the University of Guelph (Bachelor of Computing, 2008). David joined the commercial litigation and insurance defence groups at Devry Smith Frank LLP (DSF) following his call to the bar in 2022. David previously worked at DSF as both a summer student and as a student-at-law.

    As a litigation specialist, David has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court, Ontario Court, as well as various federal, provincial, and municipal agencies, boards, and commissions.

    Law is David’s second career, his previous being in computer science. For most of his technical career, David developed solutions for complex customer issues at Dell EMC. On multiple occasions, he received excellence awards for his focus on customer satisfaction, dedication, passion, and initiative. David’s broad experience with enterprise computing informs his legal practice.

    David is a national mooting champion. At the 2021 Adam F. Fanaki Competition Law Moot, David and his team won overall Best Faculty. Additionally, he also won Best Factum and Best Oralist awards—demonstrating command over both written and verbal advocacy.

    David was deeply involved with his law school and became highly decorated during his studies. Osgoode awarded David with multiple graduation prizes and other awards for excellence beyond academic achievement; including the Honourable Paul Bentley ’77 Prize for Professionalism, the Osgoode Hall Law Journal Prize, and a Student Honour Award. David also served as the Director of Production at the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, worked for three pro bono community legal clinics, and he volunteered with the Osgoode Mooting Society and the Osgoode Disability Collective. In his first year, his section awarded him the “MVP” Award.

    David is a high school law teacher, instructing extension program students who are interested in deepening their understanding of the law.

    David is a keen public speaker. He is a member and past president of both the Tuesday Literary Club and the Ruskin Literary and Debating Society. At the Tuesday Literary Club, he is a recipient of the Harry Fairhead Award of Merit. At Ruskin, he is a recipient of the George Sunderland Prize and the Ian Galt Award.

    David is an athlete, team leader, and adventurer. He participates in triathlons, captained two-floor hockey teams, portaged the backcountry in northern Ontario, bicycled solo 600 kilometres across southern Ontario, hiked Mount Kilimanjaro, and is a hang glider pilot.

    David is a notary public for the Province of Ontario.

    By Fauzan Siddiqui

    David Lavkulik

    David Lavkulik is an established Toronto mediator at Devry Smith Frank LLP. David was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1995. He received a B.A. (Econ.) from the University of Toronto in 1990 and a law degree from the University of Victoria (B.C.) Law School in 1993. David is a partner at Devry Smith Frank LLP and works as a lawyer and mediator. He has been with DSF since 1999.

    David has over 25 years of civil litigation experience, with a focus on Insurance-Personal Injury claims including Tort, Accident Benefits and Disability claims and Coverage disputes, Medical Malpractice claims, Professional Negligence, Employment Litigation, Estates Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Sexual Abuse claims. Approximately 75% of his practice has been allocated to acting as counsel for various corporate defendants/insurers, with the remaining 25% allocated to acting for injured parties/plaintiffs.

    He has appeared in all levels of court in Ontario including trials (jury and non-jury), the Court of Appeal, Costs hearings, as well as at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

    David has extensive mediation experience, both as counsel and as a mediator. He has acted as a mediator in nearly 1500 claims. His work as a mediator has been described as “persistent”, “patient”, and a “demonstration of the real art of mediation”. His experience in acting for both plaintiffs and defendants provides him with valuable insight into the perspectives of both sides, both as a mediator and as counsel.
    David is distinguished as counsel by his ability to take on and turn around the most challenging cases where previous counsel was unable to achieve any results. His work as Plaintiff counsel on one such case was summarized by the Court following a 13-day jury trial as follows:

    “This was a long, complicated and very demanding trial. It was, at the same time, a very well thought out, planned and presented a case that Ms. M’s counsel placed before the jury… The health care issues were many and complex. Ms. M’s counsel was challenged to marshal the evidence necessary to help the jury to appreciate and assess the issues. I allow counsel fees for Mr. Lavkulik as senior trial counsel as that was the role he fulfilled in that forum. Trials demand much from counsel. They are not an arena for the timid. Trials challenge the skills, training and experience of any counsel. They present difficulties and pitfalls not easily avoided. This case is no exception; in fact, it proves the point. To the extent that billing rates are a relevant factor, I prefer to view them in this case at the highest levels of those usually thought applicable for timekeepers of each level or range of experience considered.”[1]


    The judge’s comments are particularly significant given the history of the claim (the action had been dismissed prior to David’s involvement [2])and the magnitude of the jury verdict [3] and trial judge’s costs award.

    David is also a part-time musician. He plays keyboards, guitar and saxophone in several groups, is a member of the Songwriter’s Association of Canada and can occasionally be heard performing at venues in the GTA.
    1. Mader v  Hunter (2013) Costs Order following trial
    2. Mader v  Hunter (2004) Ontario Court of Appeal
    3. The Jury Verdict and evidence at trial is summarized in the reasons at 1 above, and in the threshold decision at Mader v  Hunter (2012) Threshold Motion following trial 


    For information and assistance regarding personal injury law, please contact Toronto personal injury lawyer David G. Lavkulik (416-446-5835).

    His availability for mediations may be viewed by accessing his online calendar below:

    By Fauzan Siddiqui No comments yet

    Jennifer M. Hetherington

    Jennifer Hetherington is a Toronto lawyer at Devry Smith Frank LLP (DSF) practicing in the areas of real estate, personal injury, insurance defence litigation and general civil litigation.

    Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Windsor where she received her Honours B.A. in Criminology. She obtained her LL.B. in 2001 from the University of Ottawa.

    Following her articling year at Devry Smith Frank LLP, Jennifer was called to the bar in October 2002. Jennifer became a partner in 2011.

    For further information about legal matters in regards to real estate, personal injury, insurance defence litigation and civil litigation, please contact Toronto lawyer Jennifer M. Hetherington at (416)-446-5838.

    By Fauzan Siddiqui No comments yet

    Lawrence Hansen

    Acting for individuals, corporations and institutions, Lawrence Hansen has a highly varied commercial litigation practice which includes dealing with commercial disputes, business and employee fraud, the enforcement of judgments, debt recovery, contract disputes as well as litigation arising from commercial leases.

    Lawrence also has over ten years of experience with insurance-related matters, mostly but not exclusively for insurers, focusing on complex litigation matters, particularly those involving insurance fraud, coverage, title insurance, and allegations of bad faith. He has advised clients on difficult questions surrounding suspicious and potentially fraudulent claims, their investigation, the remedies available to clients, and high-risk arson claims.

    In addition, Lawrence has been retained to represent defendants in personal injury and product liability claims.

    From Canada’s Atlantic coast, Lawrence spent a year studying Spanish and living in South America and Mexico. He is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick (History), McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and has earned a Certificate in Conflict Management from the University of Windsor (Stitt Feld Handy). Lawrence has studied Spanish at the University of Toronto, in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela.

    Lawrence is a member of the board of directors of the Simcoe County Law Association.

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    George O. Frank

    George Frank was called to the Bar in 1982, after receiving a degree in Mathematics from The University of Waterloo and his LL.B. from Queen’s University Law School in Kingston, Ontario, where he won awards in Contracts Law and Mediations and Arbitrations. He has practiced primarily in the area of civil litigation throughout his career.

    Although George’s mediation practice focuses on the areas of personal injury, insurance defence, and related areas, he also has extensive experience and expertise in employment law and wrongful dismissal, injunctions and equitable relief, real estate litigation, estates litigation, and a wide variety of other commercial litigation. George also has extensive training and experience in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

    George has been an instructor of Civil Litigation at the Bar Admission Course in Toronto and a mediator and judge at the International Competition for Mediation Advocacy. He has spoken at various continuing education and other programs on a variety of legal topics.

    By Fauzan Siddiqui No comments yet