CELEBRATING OVER 10 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Since 2010, Dragon Toner Law Office in Yellowknife has offered a truly local presence for individuals and businesses in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
WHY US?
The goal of our firm is to be a recognized regional law firm, serving individuals, businesses, governments, boards and tribunals. At Dragon Toner Law Office, our lawyers have the experience that is directly relevant to Northern clients. In addition to our legal experience, we offer established reputations and relationships with lawyers, accountants, realtors, and other professionals. Our lawyers have the expertise to handle cases of clients who deal with the government, mediation and more. We accept the opportunities and challenges of living and working in the North. We are here to support the legal needs of Northerners.
LEANNE DRAGON*
Bachelor of Arts (French language and literature), University of Alberta (1994)
Bachelor of Laws, University of Alberta (1997)
Licensed to practise in the NWT and Nunavut
Originally from Saskatchewan, I moved to Edmonton for my university years. Having spent three summers working in Yellowknife and newly married to a third generation Northerner, I made one of the best decisions of my life and moved to the Northwest Territories. Like so many others, what was originally just a one-year plan has since turned into almost twenty.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to article and then have a 12-year practice with Peterson, Stang & Malakoe, and a firm which had a long and proud history in the North. Dragon Toner opened its doors in 2010 and is well on its way to creating its own Northern legacy. I am proud of the team we have assembled and the quality service that we provide to clients throughout the NWT and Nunavut. Throughout my legal career, my main focus has been in the areas of real estate and estate planning.
I have served on the Executive of the Law Society of the NWT and spent four years on the Board of the Yellowknife Playschool Association. My volunteer work has also extended to the Girl Guides of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society. I am currently Chairperson of the Parents’ Advisory Committee at the local middle school.
I am grateful that my job has enabled me to work with and provide help to hundreds (if not thousands) of the great people of the North, both those who have always called this place home and those who, like me, have chosen to create their roots here. A Prairie girl no longer, I am a very proud Northerner, looking forward to many more years of serving clients and contributing to our community.
* Operating as Leanne Dragon Law Professional Corporation
Contact Leanne Dragon
Email: leanne@dragontoner.ca
SHELDON TONER*
Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), McGill University (1992)
Bachelor of Laws, University of Victoria (1996)
Licensed to practise in the NWT and Nunavut
The North can offer exciting opportunities for any lawyer seeking adventure. I came to Yellowknife as a student-at-law, hoping to see interesting places and work on interesting cases. My expectations have been met and exceeded.
I started with Phillips and Wright, a small firm then situated on the 11th floor of the Precambrian Building in Yellowknife. There I received an initiation in criminal law, as well as civil litigation and administrative law. My former principal, Adrian Wright, continues to be a mentor. We are both current members of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Adjudication Panel.
In 2000, shortly after the division of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, I went to work for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This gave me experience in administrative law, including judicial reviews and grievance arbitrations. I witnessed land claim and self-government negotiations, and participated in the Joint Review Panel hearings for the Mackenzie Gas Project.
When I started Dragon Toner, along with Leanne Dragon in 2010, I believed the time was right for a new local firm. I have been encouraged by the steady growth our firm has experienced ever since. We have attracted excellent lawyers, so that we now have a fantastic team to deliver quality services in many areas.
I continue to enjoy the varied practice that has taken me across the North. In recent years, my practice has focused on workplace and human rights disputes, as well as Coroner’s inquests. I have been an advocate and an investigator, a mediator and an adjudicator. I am increasingly interested in applying interest-based and restorative approaches to dispute resolution.
* Operating as Sheldon Toner Law Professional Corporation
Contact Sheldon Toner
Email: sheldon@dragontoner.ca
AMANDA THIBODEAU
Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Philosophy), University of New Brunswick (2004)
Bachelor of Laws, University of New Brunswick (2008)
Licensed to practise in NWT and New Brunswick
Growing up in New Brunswick, I never imagined my career would bring me to the North. I did, however, know from a very young age that I wanted to be a lawyer.
After completing my studies in 2008, I articled with a mid-sized firm in Fredericton, N.B., where I stayed on as an associate until 2015, and gained experience in all areas of general practice. During that time, a good friend of mine had moved to Yellowknife and sang its praises each time she returned home to visit. So, when I was looking for adventure and change, I accepted a position with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada as a prosecutor and moved to Yellowknife in October 2015. I remained employed with the PPSC until the spring of 2017, prosecuting criminal offences throughout the territory.
While doing circuit court work as a prosecutor, I had the opportunity to travel throughout the Northwest Territories, visiting many communities that I might otherwise not have had the good fortune to visit, which permitted me to see the impressive natural beauty that the NWT has to offer.
Although I enjoyed my time as a prosecutor, I am happy to return to private practice and look forward to serving clients as part of the Dragon Toner team.
Contact Amanda Thibodeau
Email: amanda@dragontoner.ca
JESSI CASEBEER
Bachelor of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa (2011)
Honours International Development and Globalization Juris Doctorate, University of Victoria (2015)
Licensed to practise in the NWT and Nunavut
Growing up in Yellowknife, it had always been my goal to return to the Northwest Territories as a lawyer and build my legal practice at home. My path after law school took me to Iqaluit, Nunavut where I articled with the Department of Legal and Constitutional Law with the Government of Nunavut and the Nunavut Regional Office of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. I stayed on as a Crown Prosecutor in Iqaluit until returning to Yellowknife in the fall of 2018. My work experience has led me to Dragon Toner, where I will continue to enjoy a varied practice in administrative, employment, civil ligation and criminal law.
I have experience working in the unique legal environment of both the NWT and Nunavut, and am looking forward to providing quality services to Northerners in both Territories.
I am a passionate Yellowknife, and am grateful to have the rewarding opportunity to contribute to the community and the Territory both as a lawyer and community member.
Contact Jessi Casebeer
Email: jessi@dragontoner.ca
Please contact us today for more information.