Expertise
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Practice Areas:
- Bar Admissions:
- Education:
- Queen’s University (2025) JD
- Western University (2022) BSc (Genetics)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
Catherine Blair (she/her)
is an associate at Lenczner Slaght.
Cat is developing a broad litigation practice that includes professional liability matters and commercial disputes. She summered and articled at the firm, where she gained experience in class actions, professional liability, and intellectual property disputes.
Cat graduated from Queen's Law. During law school, Cat was recognized for academic excellence, earning the course prize in Civil Procedure and being named to the Dean's List in every year of study. She also acted as a student clerk for the justices of the Kingston Superior Court of Justice and participated extensively in the school's mooting program. Her interest in expanding access to justice led her to volunteer with the Conflict Analytics Lab, where she helped develop Artificial Intelligence based legal technology, as well as with Queen’s Legal Aid, providing legal services to those in need.
Prior to law school, Cat completed her Bachelor's degree in Genetics. Her undergraduate research focused on developing methods to improve patient outcomes following cardiac surgery.
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Successful trial counsel to the defendant physician in a medical negligence trial involving allegations of informed consent and breach of contract. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims in their entirety. The defendant was successful in establishing that the plaintiff had provided informed consent, and no implied or express guarantee was provided by the defendant with respect to the outcome of the medical procedures.
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Counsel to a plastic surgeon in a trial of a certified class action relating to alleged privacy breaches.
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Robots Rejected: Canada Denies AI as Patent Inventor
The wait is over – the Canadian Patent Appeal Board (the Board) has answered the question we’ve been tracking since 2022: can an artificial intelligence (AI) system be named as an inventor on a Canadian patent application? That answer, delivered in Re Thaler, Stephen, is no.
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Lenczner Slaght Welcomes Eight New Associates
Canada’s leading litigation firm continues to strengthen its expertise with the addition of eight exceptional associates.
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Lenczner Slaght Welcomes Summer Student Class of 2024
Canada’s leading litigation firm continues to attract top talent with the addition of 11 exceptional summer students.
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Coconuts, Crayons, and Strawberries: Unveiling the Pitfalls of Scent Mark Registration
Cat Blair authored an article for Western University examining the registrability of scent marks within trademark law, and the significant challenges their intangible and subjective nature presents in meeting legal standards for distinctiveness, clarity, and functionality. In the piece, Cat explores the ambiguities that persist following Canada’s 2019 amendments to the Trademarks Act, highlighting how vague or overly technical descriptions, the subjective perception of scent, and the doctrine of functionality create legal uncertainty and ultimately conflict with the fundamental purpose of trademark protection.
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Aoife Quinn, Jonathan McDaniel, Herschel Chaiet, and Cat Blair appeared as judges at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law's Hamish Stewart Cup, a criminal-constitutional moot for first-year students.
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Derek Hooper, Liza Leshchynska, Christina Papageorgakopoulos, Gregory Pike, Madison MacKinnon, Rachel Rowlands, Cat Blair, and Kyle Magee served as judges at the Queen's Law Moot Society’s Cromwell Moot.
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Jonathan Chen, Mahgol Taghivand, and Catherine Blair participated in Connect for Success, an annual event hosted by Queen’s Law to support second-year students with their preparation for the Toronto summer student recruitment process. In addition to attending, Mahgol spoke on a panel where she shared her experience and discussed various aspects related to student recruitment.