Dmitry Shniger

Background

About Dmitry Shniger

Quick facts: Legal practice in Russia from 2010 to 2023 | 7 years in-house and 6 years at a full service law firm | Generalist, including business, contract, corporate law, and a lot of commercial litigation | PhD in 2013 | Law professor from 2014 to 2022 | Won 4 cases in the Supreme Court of Russia | Ranked by Best Lawyers Russia in 2021 and 2022 | Came to Canada in 2023 | Osgoode LLM graduate | Articled in insurance defence | Legal nerd & want to promote legal design in Canada Long read: I immigrated from Russia to Canada in 2023 to reunite with my family and to find the rule of law I had lost in my home country. I completed an LL.M. in Canadian Common Law at Osgoode Hall Law School to meet the NCA requirements, passed bar exams, and completed articling at an insurance defence law firm in Toronto in 2024-2025. I was called to the Ontario Bar in June 2025. I’ve had several lives as a lawyer. In my first life, I worked as an in-house legal counsel. I learned how to do everything - on my own, quickly, and efficiently. I also learned how to communicate effectively in the workplace. In my second life, I was an attorney at one of the top law firms in Moscow. I gained experience in high-profile litigation and learned how to deliver first-class legal service. I also developed strong skills in working with clients. In my third life - overlapping with the first two - I became a university lecturer in law. I’ve always loved working with young people. When I started teaching at 25, my second-year students were just several years younger, but I still saw them as kids. I learned how to explain complex ideas in simple terms, how to listen, and how to connect with people. Now, I’m living my fourth legal life. I’m passionate about legal design and surprised by how little it’s known in Canada. I want to help promote it here. My current research focuses on applying legal design in the public sector to make law and policy more human-centred and accessible. Outside of law, I’ve been collecting minerals since I was six. I’m also interested in carpentry and learning French. I enjoy cooking and have a particular appreciation for so-called “ugly” architecture - especially modernism.