Katy O'Rourke

Katy O’Rourke practices labour law, employment law, and human rights law in Hamilton and across southwestern Ontario including: Brantford, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Ancaster, Dundas, Milton, Mississauga, Oakville, and Burlington.

A proud Hamiltonian, Katy grew up in a working-class family, the daughter of a steelworker. Hamilton is where she became committed to working for social justice. After practicing labour, employment, and human rights law in Toronto since her call to the bar in 2014, she was thrilled to join the team at McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez Labour & Employment Lawyers and return to her hometown in January 2021.

Katy has represented unions and workers at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Grievance Settlement Board, as well as in civil lawsuits, judicial reviews and professional regulation matters. She has represented large public and private sector industrial unions, as well as construction unions in a wide variety of applications and individual and policy grievances.

Katy can advise non-unionized employees on severance packages, new employment contracts, accommodation issues and other possible human rights violations.

While she is a strong litigator, Katy believes that achieving a mutually agreeable resolution to legal issues faced by workers is often the best path forward. Katy takes a team-based approach when working with her clients to achieve the best possible results while ensuring the litigation process is as smooth as possible.

In law school, she was Program Coordinator of the school’s chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada; acted as student member of the Law Commission of Ontario’s Violence against Women Curriculum Modules Initiative; and participated in both the University of Toronto’s legal clinic, Downtown Legal Services, and
the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. 

Katy holds an honours degree in English Literature and Political Science from the University Waterloo and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto.