Julia Wilkes

Julia acts for and provides advice to a range of corporate and individual clients in all manner of civil, commercial, and administrative proceedings, including professionals, statutory officers, shareholders, and directors and officers. She has a robust regulatory and administrative law practice assisting municipal integrity commissioners, athletes, university students, and regulated professionals accused of misconduct. A tried and tested advocate, Julia has acted as lead counsel on trials in the Superior Court of Justice, on judicial reviews in the Divisional Court, and in hearings before various tribunals. Julia also regularly acts as a mediator and arbitrator in sports-related disputes, and is a member of the World Triathlon Tribunal. 

Julia is recognized by her peers and in leading legal publications.

• Since 2020, Benchmark has named her a “Litigation Star” and top “40 & Under” litigator, and in both 2022 and 2023 shortlisted her for the Emerging Talent Litigator of the Year. Benchmark's research has noted that Julia "receives resounding and widespread praise, with one peer calling her 'tough as nails, practical, great and pleasant to work with', and that another peer testified to 'being in awe' of how Julia handled herself as opposing counsel on a bitter business dispute, which she successfully shepherded to settlement" (Benchmark Litigation, 2024).
• Chambers & Partners has ranked Julia as an "up and coming" lawyer in the area of Administrative & Public Law Litigation, with their research noting her "expert knowledge", "broad and deep experience in the field", that she is "innovative [and] listens to [her clients'] point of view", and that she consistently delivers "outstanding service and work product" (Chambers & Partners, 2025).
• In 2024, Lexpert recognized Julia has a Rising Star: Leading Lawyers Under 40, and featured her in the Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation, recognizing her as one of Canada's leading litigators. She is included in the Lexpert Directory as a Leading Practitioner in both corporate commercial litigation and regulatory and public law litigation. 

Julia is actively involved in the profession and her community. She is a director and the former President of Triathlon Ontario and remains an engaged and avid triathlete. She is also committed to enhancing legal education by ensuring that students have opportunities to build meaningful connections with the bar. She mentors students through the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law Alumni-Student Mentorship Program and through her ties to the university’s student legal clinic, Downtown Legal Services. 

Memberships + Legal Leadership

• Member, The Advocates’ Society
• Mentor, Alumni-Student Mentorship Program, University of Toronto
• Past Member, The Advocates’ Society Young Advocates’ Standing Committee 

Community Leadership

• Director and Former President, Triathlon Ontario
• Past Member, University of Toronto HIV/AIDS Research Ethics Boards