Robert M. Durante
When Rob Durante was called to the bar in 1997, he had been articling for a year with a law firm that specialized in defending insurance companies in personal injury cases. “I developed a sense of wanting to right injustices,” he recalls. “I didn’t want to work for the insurance companies… For me, it’s all about achieving justice for clients, righting wrongs and arranging fair compensation.” Rob joined Oatley Vigmond that same year and has been advocating for seriously injured clients and their families ever since.
For his undergraduate degree, Rob majored in psychology at McGill University and obtained his law degree from Queen’s University. “I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of law,” he says. “Every legal problem has an answer. How you get there could be many, many different ways. It’s a lot like trying to figure out a complex puzzle.”
The most memorable case he worked on involved a woman who had become intoxicated at a holiday party thrown by her employer, a real estate firm. The woman suffered a serious brain injury in a motor vehicle collision. Rob was part of the legal team that sued the employer, ultimately winning her a large settlement that would change the public perception of employer obligations at staff parties.
With experience representing clients at all levels of court, Rob has taken his passion for justice and made a difference in the lives of many. Rob also sits on the board of the Brain Injury Association of Sudbury & District. He has been invited to share his considerable experience with personal injury law, accident benefits and commercial host liability at conferences across the country hosted by the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of Ontario (formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada), The Advocates’ Society and the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.
When he’s not advocating for his clients, Rob enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and attempting to improve his golf game. “When I meet with a new client,” he says. “I don’t put on my lawyer hat, and I don’t use any legalese. I don’t try to impress anybody. I just communicate person to person, on the same level, and express caring and concern. The message is, ‘We’re going to look after you the same way I would look after my own daughter.’”
Accomplishments
- Listed in Best Lawyers since 2006
Professional Involvement
Rob has represented clients at all levels of court in Ontario, including the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal.
Rob has presented papers and was an invited speaker on issues concerning personal injury law, accident benefits, and commercial host liability. He has presented at conferences hosted by The Advocates’ Society, Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Law Society of Upper Canada, and Canadian Bar Association.
