MONTEITH RITSMA PHILLIPS PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION - Key Persons
Andrew spent ten summers through high school and undergrad forming concrete on farms all over Perth County. Other jobs that helped pay the bills along the way included grocery clerk, pizza cook, bartender and armoured car guard. He earned degrees in History (Honours) from Waterloo and Law from Western.
Andrew's career as a lawyer began in the year 2000 and he spent the early years of his career in London and Toronto. He did mostly court work - civil, criminal and family. Over the last 15 years Andrew has narrowed his focus to business law, real estate, trusts & estates and business & farm succession. Andrew has built a very active land development practice having acted on subdivisions and condominium developments in Stratford, Mitchell, Lucan, Seaforth, Sebringville, Shakespeare, St. Mary's and Port Elgin. Andrew is a Certified Agricultural Farm Advisor (CAFA) and also has a Trusts and Estate Planning (TEP) designation from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Andrew and his wife Jackie have two daughters. His pastimes are playing bass guitar, snowmobiling, 4-wheeling and fishing. Andrew has occasional delusions of being good at golf, but he is not. He is a past board member of the Stratford Perth Community Foundation, Stratford and Area Builders Association, the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce and the Ritz Lutheran Villa. Andrew was the official counsel for the 2013 International Plowing Match held in Perth County.
Brianna was born and raised in Logan Township, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2014 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts. She moved to Stratford after graduation, where she currently resides.
Brianna obtained her Paralegal Studies Graduate Certificate from Fanshawe College in the Fall of 2019 and became Licensed by the Law Society in 2020.
Brianna has a passion for history and politics, and she enjoys reading on her spare time. She also enjoys travelling and spending time with her friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Board Member of the Local Community Food Centre
Katie DeBlock Boersma is a partner with Monteith Ritsma Phillips Professional Corporation. She grew up on a farm near Mitchell. She attended the University of Western Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School, where she received the Stuart A. Roebuck prize for academic excellence. After graduating, she completed a clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. She was called to the bar in 2011, and has been practicing with MRP since.
Katie's practice focuses on Employment law, Real Estate, Wills and Estates and Corporate Law. She has a passion for advocacy, and has appeared before multiple courts and tribunals in Ontario. In addition, she sits as a Vice Chair on the Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal.
Katie also holds a Qualified Mediator designation with the ADR Institutes of Canada and Ontario. She mediates disputes as well as provides conflict facilitation within workplaces and community organizations. She also specializes in mediating agricultural related disputes.
Katie is a board member of the Local Community Food Centre and the Stratford Perth Museum, as well as a member of the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth Grant Review Team. She is a former producer of V-Day Stratford, and former board member of Perth Care for Kids, the Stratford Public Library Foundation and the Huron Perth Centre. She and her husband Justin live on the family farm just north of Mitchell with their two daughters, Anna and Nora.
Matthew Orchard is a partner with Monteith Ritsma Phillips Professional Corporation. He has a solicitor's practice focused on business law, real estate law, wills and estates and employment law.
Matthew is a Director and currently serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the United Way Perth-Huron and is also a Member of Stratford Rotaract.
Michelle received her Honours Bachelor of Science with High Distinction from the University of Toronto in 2014, where she earned numerous academic scholarships and was named to the Dean's List. Michelle subsequently received her Juris Doctor from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 2018, where she volunteered with Student Legal Services of Edmonton providing assistance and legal information to the community.
Before joining Monteith Ritsma Phillips Professional Corporation, Michelle was an associate at a general practice law firm in Southwestern Ontario in the civil litigation practice group. Prior to being called to the Bar in 2019, Michelle was employed with the Ministry of the Attorney General and then completed her joint articling placement at both a litigation boutique and general practice law firm in Waterloo Region.
Michelle is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, and County of Perth Law Association. She has completed the Osgoode Hall Law School Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop. She also served as a member of the University of Guelph Research Ethics Board of Natural, Physical and Engineering Sciences.
In her spare time, Michelle enjoys reading the latest mystery fiction, acrylic painting, staying active, and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- File Intake Clerk / Real Estate