Expertise
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Practice Areas:
Bar Admissions:
Education:
- University of Toronto Faculty of Law (2004) JD (Dean's Honours List and Awarded Dean's Key)
- University of Sheffield, School of Law (2001) Master of Arts in Biotechnological Law and Ethics with Distinction; Special Commendation for Outstanding Performance
- Queen's University (2000) Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry (First Class Degree; Arts and Science Honour Roll)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Associations
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
- Recognition
Sana Halwani
is a partner at Lenczner Slaght.
"A tenacious litigator. Highly respected by the judiciary, she lets her legal, technical and advocacy skills speak for themselves." — IAM Patent 1000
Sana's practice is primarily focused on intellectual property litigation. In patent matters, she has experience with numerous industries, including pharmaceutical and biologics, information technology (including software), telecommunications, gaming, oil and gas, and heavy industrial. In copyright, trademark, and trade secret matters, Sana has represented diverse clients including software companies, innovator and generic drug companies, furniture manufacturers, fashion designers, and media companies.
Sana has represented clients at all levels of the Ontario and Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and regularly provides strategic patent and regulatory advice.
She has also acted pro hac vice in patent actions in the United States, and has extensive experience as part of international teams litigating large cross-border disputes.
Sana is frequently invited to speak on topics in intellectual property, advocacy and diversity in the profession. She teaches trial advocacy at the University of Toronto, is a co-chair of its Academic Tribunal, and is President Elect of its Alumni Association. Sana is a Member of Council of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), as well Chair of IPIC's Litigation committee, and co-Chair of IPIC's Women in IP Networking Group. Sana is also fluent in French.
Prior to entering private practice, Sana clerked for Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada. Sana is a registered US and Canadian patent agent, as well as a Canadian trademark agent.
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Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp et al v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in NOC action relating to JANUVIA (sitagliptin), a medication used to control high blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
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Allergan Inc v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in NOC action relating to FIBRISTAL (ulipristal), a medication used to treat moderate-to-severe signs and symptoms of uterine fibroids in adult women.
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Bayer Inc et al v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in NOC action relating to XARELTO (rivaroxaban), a medication indicated for prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis.
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Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc et al v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in NOC action relating to LATUDA (lurasidone), an anti-psychotic medication used to treat bipolar depression and schizophrenia.
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Rovi Guides and TiVo Solutions v Bell Canada
Counsel to TiVo Solutions and its subsidiary Rovi Guides in a patent infringement action, involving patents relating to interactive television program guides, DVR technology, and related technologies.
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Rovi Guides and TiVo Solutions v Telus Corporation
Counsel to TiVo Solutions and its subsidiary Rovi Guides in a patent infringement action, involving patents relating to interactive television program guides, DVR technology, and related technologies.
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Rovi Guides and TiVo Solutions v Videotron
Counsel to TiVo Solutions and its subsidiary Rovi Guides in a patent infringement action, involving patents relating to interactive television program guides, DVR technology, and related technologies.
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Retained by appeal counsel to conduct a mock appeal for an infringement case involving a patented wellbore completion method.
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Counsel to an integrated oil and gas client in developing a risk matrix for management of patent risk in development of new technologies.
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Mass Engineering Design v Ingram Micro
Counsel to Ingram in a patent infringement action involving patents to monitor stands.
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Intellectual Property Institute of Canada - Member of the IPIC Council; Fellow; Chair of the Litigation Committee; Co-Chair of the Women in IP Networking Group (WING); Forums and Seminars Committee; Life Sciences Committee
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University of Toronto Alumni Association - Board of Directors – President Elect and Secretary (2016 - present)
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Governing Council, University of Toronto - College of Electors (2015 - 2019)
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University of Toronto - Academic Tribunal (student discipline matters), Co-Chair (2013-present)
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University of Toronto Faculty of Law - Adjunct Professor, Trial Advocacy (2010 - present)
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Advisory Committee on Prothonotary Appointments - Bar Representative (September 2017 - present)
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Federal Court IP Users Committee - Member (2018 - present)
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Harold G. Fox Moot in Intellectual Property - Judge (factums and oral argument)(2011 - present)
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Writers' Trust of Canada - Board of Directors
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University of Toronto - Law Alumni Association (2010 - 2018)
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Rouge Valley Health System - Research Ethics Board (2014 - 2017)
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The Advocates' Society
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Canadian Bar Association - Ontario
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American Bar Association - Intellectual Property Law Section
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The Other Shoe Has Dropped: Summary Judgment in the Federal Court
Patent infringement actions are inherently complex and technical. They often involve complex scientific inquiries and expert evidence. The Federal Court has historically held that summary judgment—which does not include live evidence—is generally not the preferred means of resolving patent infringement actions. Instead, such determinations are best left to a trial judge who has had the opportunity to hear all of the evidence live (e.g., Suntec Environmental Inc v Trojan Technologies Inc).
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The Federal Court of Appeal Clarifies the “Obvious to Try” Test
The Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) has clarified the extent of flexibility afforded when undertaking the “Obvious to Try” test in Amgen v Pfizer, 2020 FCA 188. Although it ultimately cautioned against a segmented approach, the FCA did not dismiss the possibility that experimental steps could be assessed individually in order to make conclusions about an experiment as a whole, particularly with respect to the Self-Evident and Extent of Effort factors of the test. Despite agreeing that the Federal Court (“FC”) could have been more expansive and all-embracing in its overall conclusion, the FCA did not deem the FC’s lack of analysis to have amounted to a palpable and overriding error.
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Update to the Federal Court Case and Trial Management Guidelines
Last week, the Federal Court published a consolidated practice notice, updating and consolidating four other case and trial management guidelines for complex proceedings and proceedings under the PM(NOC) Regulations from 2015, 2016, and 2017 (available here, here, here, and here).
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Trial Advocacy is (Mostly) the Same Online: Lessons Learned from a Virtual Patent Trial
The COVID-19 pandemic has required courts to adapt to new ways of providing access to justice. We have first-hand experience with this new reality.
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The Times They Are a-Changin’: Summary Judgment in the Federal Court
Patent infringement actions are inherently complex and technical. They often involve complex scientific inquiries and expert evidence. The Federal Court has historically held that summary judgment—which does not include live evidence—is generally not the preferred means of resolving patent infringement actions. Instead, such determinations are best left to a trial judge who has had the opportunity to hear all of the evidence live (e.g. Suntec Environmental Inc v Trojan Technologies Inc).
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Court of Appeal Affirms Jurisdiction to Hear Appeals in Writing
The old saying that "to a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" is disquietingly relevant to traditional approaches to the dispensation of justice. For a long time, commentators have observed that the legal profession and the Courts lag behind much of the rest of society in leveraging digital resources to improve the quality, speed, and efficiency of litigation.
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The Federal Court of Appeal Takes No Prisoners
On October 15, 2020, both parties were granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. We will continue to follow the developments of the appeal.
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Full Steam Ahead: Opposition Won’t Derail a Patent Infringement Summary Trial
In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the most painstaking procedure is not always the best procedure to resolve disputes – a culture shift was required to create timely and affordable access to the civil justice system (see Hryniak). This touchstone for access to justice is reflected in several courts’ rules of procedure, including the Federal Court of Canada.
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Do courts have jurisdiction to order virtual hearings? Absolutely!
The initial reaction of most Canadian courts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic was to shut down completely. This undoubtedly made sense from a public health perspective. However, as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice noted in its recent practice direction, courts have “constitutional responsibility to ensure access to justice remains available”. Consequently, courts have been taking gradual steps towards reopening and allowing certain cases to be heard.
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FCA Narrows Jurisdiction of Drug Price Regulator
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (“Board”) regulates the prices of patented medicines in Canada when a patent is found to “pertain” to a medicine. Since 1996, based on the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc v Canada (Staff of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board) (“ICN”), the “pertains to” test could be satisfied on the basis of the “merest slender thread” of a relationship between the patent and the medicine.
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Lexpert Recognizes Lenczner Slaght Lawyers for Litigation Excellence
An increasing number of our expert litigators continue to be recognized as the foremost litigators in their fields by peers and senior members of the legal profession.
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Legal 500 Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Top-Tier Litigation Expertise
Canada’s leading litigation firm is “recognized across the country as a force in complex disputes” according to Legal 500.
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Sana Halwani and Shara Roy are mentioned in a recent Droit-inc article about the origin of ReferToHer™ and why it is important to be intentional when you refer work in the legal industry.
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Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2020 Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Expert Litigators
In the latest edition of Who's Who Legal: Canada, Lenczner Slaght achieves eight recognitions in the Litigation chapter, with a total of ten expert litigators ranked.
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Website aims to correct a lack of referrals to female lawyers
Shara N. Roy and Sana Halwani speak about ReferToHer in the Radio Canada International article Website aims to correct a lack of referrals to female lawyers.
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Lawyers team up to drive more business to female experts
Sana Halwani and Shara Roy were interviewed by The Globe and Mail for their feature on ReferToHer™, its inaugural virtual event, and what’s coming up next!
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Lenczner Slaght Recognized as a Top-Tier Litigation Firm by Chambers Canada
Canada’s leading litigation firm and its expert litigators continue to be recognized by world-renowned directory, Chambers & Partners.
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Litigation Expertise
Lenczner Slaght is proud to announce that 33 of our expert litigators are recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada 2021. Our lawyers received a total of 128 rankings, up from 100 in 2020.
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This is a fact: Systemic racism makes life harder for many Ontarians
A report written by Sana Halwani was cited in the article "This is a fact: Systemic racism makes life harder for many Ontarians."
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Proceedings in first-ever Zoom trial at Federal Court met with praise by judge, counsel
The Lawyer's Daily interviewed Sana Halwani and Paul-Erik Veel on their experience in the first-ever Zoom trial before the Federal Court.
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Ontario Digital Evidence & eDiscovery Institute
Sana Halwani will be presenting at the OBA's Civil Litigation program Ontario Digital Evidence & eDiscovery Institute. Sana will share best practices on preparing for and running remote hearings as well as provide practice tips on effective virtual advocacy and using technology.
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Sana Halwani will be sharing her expertise at the University of Toronto's 9th Annual Patent Colloquium. Sana will be speaking on the panel Patent Litigation by Zoom, Pros and Cons.
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15th Annual National Forum Administrative Law and Practice
Sana Halwani presented at OsgoodePD's 15th Annual National Forum Administrative Law and Practice. Sana shared her expertise on the ethical considerations and professional challenges that emerge from adapting conventional in-person court processes to a video-conferenced environment.
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Sana Halwani moderated a Fireside Chat with the Honourable Thomas Cromwell at the IPIC2020 Virtual Conference.
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Technology for Family Lawyers Part 3
Sana Halwani spoke at The Advocates' Society's program Technology for Family Lawyers Part 3. Sana shared her expert insight on "Lessons Learned from a Paperless Trial."
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Inside the Courtroom: Virtual trials and the Sharma decision
Sana Halwani was interviewed in The Lawyers Lounge podcast. Sana shared her expert insights and tips on how to effectively advocate virtually.
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Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review
Scott Rollwagen, Sana Halwani, and Paul-Erik Veel's article "Do courts have jurisdiction to order virtual hearings? Absolutely!" was published in the August 2020 volume of the Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review.
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Exhibit Eh-OK: Sana Halwani and Paul-Erik Veel
Sana Halwani and Paul-Erik Veel were interviewed in the Exhibit Eh-OK podcast on their experience in the first-ever virtual trial held at the Federal Court.
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COVID-19 & IP Practice: Litigating From Your Living Room
Sana Halwani will be speaking on the IPIC webinar titled "COVID-19 & IP Practice: Litigating From Your Living Room". The program will provide an update on the latest developments and strategies for success during this time.
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Sana Halwani, Monique Jilesen, Scott Rollwagen, and Paul-Erik Veel shared their expertise at the Virtual GC Forum on May 12.
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Chambers Global (2019-2020)
Intellectual Property: Litigation (Canada)
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Chambers Canada (2019-2021)
Intellectual Property: Litigation (Nationwide – Canada)
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Lexpert Rising Stars (2018)
Leading Lawyers Under 40
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Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Litigation Lawyers (2018-2020)
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Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (2020)
Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Litigation
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Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (2018-2020)
Biotechnology (Repeatedly Recommended), Intellectual Property (Most Frequently Recommended), Litigation - Intellectual Property (Most Frequently Recommended)
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Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Technology Lawyers (2020)
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Who's Who Legal: Canada (2018-2020)
Life Sciences, Patent Litigation; Patents – Global and National Leader
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IAM Patent 1000 (2016-2020)
Patent Litigation: Recommended Individual (Silver)
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The Legal 500 Canada (2018-2021)
Intellectual Property (Next Generation Lawyer)
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