About Workplace Sage Legal

About
Workplace Sage Legal

At Workplace Sage Legal, we believe in conducting business with a deep sense of compassion, care, and kindness.

Our commitment to leading from the heart is reflected in the way we treat our clients. We understand that engaging a lawyer can be overwhelming, and we are dedicated to making the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.

We also lead from the heart in the way we strategize and help you make decisions in your legal matter. We approach every situation with expertise, integrity, and prudence; with a view to your best interests and desired outcome.

We pride ourselves on being a reliable and trustworthy partner in your career endeavours by leading from the heart, and ensuring your experience is filled with the integrity, empowerment, and compassion you deserve.

What does Human-First and Trauma-Informed mean to us?

We know that consulting and retaining a lawyer to manage a workplace conflict can be stressful and uncomfortable; so we do everything we can to make the process easy, lighthearted, and safe.

We run a human-first and trauma-informed practice through:

1. Empathetic Support & Informed Choices

2. Safety

3. Respect for Boundaries

4. Ongoing Education

5. Accommodations

Empathetic Support & Informed Choices

At Workplace Sage Legal, we empower my clients to make choices that align with their values, preferences, and priorities. We pay attention to our clients' needs and feelings while maintaining a cool, calm, and composure to guide them to meeting those needs.

We provide validation, positive feedback, and encouragement to support our clients through the legal process and toward their career goals.

We break down complex concepts into clear terms, and give clients all the information needed to make an informed decision.

Safety

At Workplace Sage Legal, we provide a safe, friendly, and confidential environment for clients to obtain advice without fear.

We maintain a non-judgmental attitude as we sit and actively listen with empathy and care.

We build and maintain trust by giving clients an accurate estimate of the likelihood of success, providing a clear picture of the nature of the legal process, and carefully following through on client instructions.

Ongoing Education

We are committed to continuing to learn about trauma from qualified individuals.

We are committed to fostering a safe environment that clients feel comfortable providing honest and candid feedback about.

We are committed to seeking out feedback and responding without defensiveness, judgment, or blame.

Accommodations

We are extremely open to accommodating our clients in any way they see fit, big or small. We are also happy to work with clients to come up with a plan that will assist in improving their access to legal services.

Our goal is to ensure that the clients who would like to access our services are able to do so with minimal effort.

If you have any accommodation requests, please do not hesitate to bring them to our attention.

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About
Stephanie McDonald

Stephanie obtained her law degree (Juris Doctor) from the University of Western Ontario. She spent her entire law school tenure working in the legal clinic where she obtained valuable litigation experience and excellent mentorship. Stephanie articled and started her career at the largest plaintiff-side employment law firm, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. She obtained excellent experience there and developed her passion for assisting employees. After the pandemic, Stephanie made the move to work at Milburn & Associates to gain specialized experience in executive employment law. She has a solid understanding of variable compensation like commissions, bonuses, deferred compensation, equity compensation, etc.

While Stephanie gained valuable experience working for and learning from other people, she was not satisfied with traditional law firm culture and practice norms, and decided to open Workplace Sage Legal so she could remain her authentic self while practicing law.

Stephanie is neurodiverse and is a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. From the moment you contact her, Stephanie will lead you with care, kindness, and patience. She will listen, answer all of your questions, validate your experience, and leave you with a clear understanding of your options.

As an employee with Stephanie on your team, you will be able to reach your personal and professional goals by using your rights and the legal system to your advantage, stepping into your power at work and breezing through uncomfortable workplace conflict.

As an employer with Stephanie on your team, you will have confidence in improving workplace culture, creating/implementing workplace policies and procedures, and managing workplace conflicts.

It is easy to work with Stephanie because throughout stressful situations, she maintains a calm and collected demeanour. While lawyers can’t always control external situations, Stephanie is skillful and creative in coming up with the most effective solution to roadblocks and curveballs.

Why does this all matter to Stephanie? Stephanie love being an employment lawyer for employees because it allows her to have a positive impact on workplaces.

After meeting with Stephanie even one time, you will have a deep understanding of your situation, feel relief in having a clear path forward and will feel supported and empowered to keep forging ahead with your goals.

Our Values

Empathy
& Kindness

From the moment you get in contact with us, we provide you with a judgment-free zone, a compassionate ear, and empathy about your unique situation.

Disruptions to our careers and workplaces are destabilizing on an emotional level. Being terminated or managing workplace conflict can affect our self-esteem, self confidence, and ability to regulate ourselves.

We keep this in mind and work to provide you with a trauma-informed, calm, and heart-first approach to your needs that empowers you to achieve your desired outcome.

Lightheartedness

Engaging a lawyer can be stressful. Most of our clients come to us in times of great conflict and stress.

While we can't control how other parties or the courts behave, we can help our clients experience the process in the least stressful, most empowering and lighthearted way possible.

To do this, we keep a healthy sense of humour, a light heart, and a supportive ear to make the process as enjoyable as possible for you.

Communication

We take care to establish effective communication and trust with you from the moment you contact us.

We establish this trust by:

Being upfront about the cost of working with us, the time your matter will take, and the likely conclusion to your matter.

Obtaining clear instructions from you by confirming important steps in writing.

Providing regular updates on your matter and responding in a timely manner.

Outcome-Oriented

There is no "one size fits all" at Workplace Sage Legal.

We approach each decision on our client's files with their unique preferences as to timing, risk level, outcome, process, and cost.

We take a top to bottom approach by assessing your preferences and then applying sage strategies aimed at the ideal conclusion to your matter.

Our Practice Areas

Employment Law
for Employees

Negotiating severance packages for constructive dismissal and wrongful dismissal
Reviewing offers of employment
Disputing "just cause" allegations
Building a case for constructive dismissa
Responding to allegations of workplace misconduct
Requesting and managing a medical leave of absence

Employment Law
for Employers

Drafting employment contracts and independent contractor agreements
Drafting workplace policies
Coaching on best practices for a healthy and happy workplace
Completing workplace assessments to identify discord and improve workplace culture
Implementing progressive discipline for misconduct and poor performance

Litigation

Representation of employees in litigation to seek
compensation for:
Wrongful dismissal
Constructive dismissal
Breach of the duty of good faith
Breach of contract
Discrimination and failure to accommodate