Jo-Anne Yau

Areas of Practice
Business Law, Corporate Law

Description
Jo-Anne is an Associate at Walsh LLP who practices in the areas of Civil and Commercial Litigation, Employment Law, and Estate Litigation and Dispute Resolution.

Jo-Anne is known as the “Innovator’s Litigator”. Negotiation is her passion. She applies her experience at dispute resolution in traditional industries to develop creative direction for her clients in emerging markets.

Who are her clients? They are real estate owners and property developers. They are corporations, the executives who drive them, and the employees who support them. They are landlords, tenants, and sometimes, also the franchisor with an interest in their lease. Additionally, they are condo boards and property managers. Her clients are also the public at large, and the regulated professionals who serve them, such as doctors, engineers, architects, and realtors. Her clients are innovative entrepreneurs, their investors, their vendors, and their target market. And her clients are also those whose visibility makes their legal issues complex: Athletes, sports leagues, artists, performers, and social media influencers.

As a dual-licensed lawyer, Jo-Anne’s versatility in Canadian and American law gives her clients confidence that she can advise them through growth and risk—regardless of what side of the border these arise.

Jo-Anne best serves her clients by being the best in her field. She is a licensed Sports Agent. She is certified in Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals, credentialed through Microsoft’s curriculum for data scientists, AI engineers, and IoT developers. Her post-doctorate thesis on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Litigation is a peer-reviewed publication. Because of her multi-jurisdictional credentials and experience, she has served as an expert witness in European court, providing direction and legal opinion as to the practice of law in North America. Jo-Anne was also the youngest person ever appointed to preside on the Bench in Florida.

Outside the office, Jo-Anne convinces herself that she is keeping pace with her athletic daughter’s endeavours. Only one of them takes lessons in golf, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, swimming, and mountain biking …and it shows.