Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Jim Vigmond is Oatley Vigmond’s founding and managing partner. Brought up in a hardworking Canadian family, Jim’s work ethic was instilled in him by his parents. His father was a tool and die maker turned teacher; his mother, a retail store manager. Jim’s father built their family home himself, and both his parents believed in setting an example for their children defined by humility, hard work and integrity. Jim attributes his ability to connect with his clients to the fact that many of them come from similarly modest backgrounds. “There’s no filter needed when you’re dealing with me,” says Jim. “I am who I am.”

Introduced to the subject of law in high school, Jim decided from an early age that he wanted to be a lawyer because he saw that it was a way to touch people’s lives and help them when they were in need. Jim attended Queen’s University Faculty of Law. While there, he focused his interest on personal injury litigation because he was moved to advocate for those rebuilding their lives. Called to the bar in 1983, Jim partnered with Roger Oatley more than twenty years ago to found Oatley Vigmond.

Today, Jim specializes in spinal cord injury, brain injury and serious orthopaedic cases. His advocacy set a precedent for the highest-ever damages award for a spinal-cord injury in the case of Morrison v. Greig, in which Jim’s client was awarded damages of $12.5 million.

Jim has experience as counsel at all levels of court, has published numerous articles and works (most notably contributing to The Oatley-McLeish Guide to Personal Injury Practice in Motor Vehicle Cases) and regularly presents on such topics as personal injury litigation and trial advocacy at conferences hosted by the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Advocates’ Society. In an achievement that saw his career brought full circle, Jim returned to Queen’s Law school as an adjunct professor to create and teach Canada’s first Personal Injury Advocacy course.

Jim is a past president of both the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Simcoe County Law Association. He has also been elected a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (a position for which fewer than one half of one percent of eligible lawyers are selected) and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. When not advocating for his clients in the courtroom, Jim prefers to be outdoors, on the water, with his children and grandchildren in his home base of Barrie.

To learn more about Jim, please visit oatleyvigmond.com/jim.