Odette Soriano

Odette Soriano is a partner at Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She is an advocate characterized by her thoughtful, strategic and practical approach to solving complicated problems. In her litigation practice focused on class actions, defamation, and other complex disputes, Odette represents significant stakeholders both on the plaintiff and defence side.
Odette is ranked with Chambers Canada in Dispute Resolution: Class Action (Plaintiff), and in Best Lawyers. As a recommended lawyer for dispute resolution by the Legal 500 Canada, Odette is described as having “spectacular problem-solving instincts”. She is also consistently recognized as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation.
Education
- University of Victoria, LL.B.
- University of Western Ontario, Finance and Economics, B.A.
Bar Admissions
- Ontario, 1995
Professional Affiliations
- The Advocates' Society
- Toronto Lawyers Association
Awards and Honours
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Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 – Class Action Litigation
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Benchmark Litigation – Top 100 Women in Canadian Litigation – 2024
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Benchmark Litigation - Top 100 Women in Canadian Litigation - 2023
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Benchmark Litigation - Top 100 Women in Canadian Litigation, Litigation Star - 2022
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Best Lawyers in Canada - Class Action Litigation - Since 2022
Representative Work
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Plaintiff-side class actions:
- Representing a class of registered accountholders against investment brokerages and a trust company alleging breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with foreign exchange fees
- Representing a class of pharmacist franchisees against their franchisor alleging breach of contract, breach of duties of good faith, and unjust enrichment in connection with payments from pharmaceutical companies and franchisor fees and practices
- Represented a class of investors in a private placement against the auditor of an offshore company
- Representing a class of consumers against an online payments company alleging breach of contract and breach of consumer protection legislation in connection with foreign exchange transactions
- Represented a class of elevator owners who alleged that their elevators had faulty braking systems
- Represented a class of credit card customers who alleged that they had been charged unlawful fees on cash advances
- Represented classes of customers of payday lenders who alleged the lenders charged criminal rates of interest
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Defence-side class actions:
- Representing a public institution in defence of a proposed class action arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Represented a law firm in defence of a class action by former clients relating to billing practices
- Represented an educational institution in defence of a proposed class action regarding historical allegations
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Other class action engagements:
- Provided opinions to litigation funders regarding potential investments in class actions
- Provided advice to class action defendants on media and defamation issues
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Defamation engagements:
- Represented politicians, lawyers, authors, athletes, senior executives, and other individuals in respect of media and defamation issues, on both the plaintiff and defendant side
- Represented trade unions and their members in defamation proceedings
- Provided media and defamation advice to corporations, religious organizations, charities and NGOs, as well as educational institutions and their employees
- Conducted pre-publication reviews from a defamation perspective
Presentations
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Panel member – Procedural Grab Bag – 19th National Symposium on Class Actions, Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development – April 2023
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Panel member – Anti-SLAPP – Court of Appeal weighs in – Ad IDEM – Canadian Media Lawyers Association 2019 Annual Conference – November 2019
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Panel member – Anti-SLAPP Developments – OBA: Defamation Law: A Practical Guide for Litigators – May 2019
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Panel member – Mastering Opening Statements – The Advocates’ Society: Civil Litigation Skills Certificate Program: Leading Your Case: Opening Statements and Examination-in-Chief – December 2018
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Plaintiff’s counsel and panel member – Demonstration and Commentary on Effective Opening Statements – December 2018