John Norquay

John Norquay received an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics and modern languages from McMaster University, where he also worked on a number of human rights and social justice causes. After completing his degree, he worked for Canada Revenue Agency before being admitted to the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto in 2002.

While attending law school, John worked for three years as a student caseworker in the immigration and refugee division at Downtown Legal Services, the Faculty of Law's legal aid clinic. He completed his Juris Doctor degree, and articled at Parkdale Community Legal Services, another legal aid clinic assisting low-income residents of Toronto’s west-end.

After his call to the Ontario bar in July 2006, John practiced as a sole-practitioner exclusively in the area of immigration and refugee law until he was hired as an associate lawyer with VanderVennen Lehrer in July 2007. John is a founding member of Fee Assistance for Refugee Establishment (FARE), a non-profit organization which gives loans to refugees to pay their landing fees. He speaks intermediate French, German, and Spanish, and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Refugee Lawyers Association, the Canadian Council for Refugees, and the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Email John at jnorquay@vanlehrer.com