Jessyca successfully built her own law practice from a few files into a respected defence firm in downtown Toronto. Greenwood is a version of the ‘Good Wife’ balancing it all: motherhood and running Greenwood Lam LLP. Her job is to defend people involved in bar fights, domestic assaults, shootings and lots of addiction-fuelled reckless behaviour.
A Young Entrepreneur
Jessyca Greenwood grew up in small town Ontario. She always had an incredible work ethic and a knack for business, holding 5 jobs by age 13. Jess knew she wanted to be a lawyer and was destined for a different scene than the slow pace of the agriculture- based country side where she grew up; she longed to use her passion and drive to change lives.
Experienced Litigator
Jessyca knew that, to become a top criminal lawyer, she needed to get into court and litigate cases. She signed up to volunteer at the community legal aid clinic her first week of law school and conducted dozens of trials and sentencing hearings before graduation. Jessyca also clerked in the Ontario Court of Justice with an incredible Justice who mentored her about criminal law with passion.
Mental Health Advocate
When Jessyca started working in the Criminal Law field she quickly identified how the mentally ill accused were the most vulnerable in the system, and without an advocate to stand up for them their Charter protected rights and their right to participate in the process were easily trammelled. Jessyca felt that defending the mentally ill accused was an area where she could have a huge impact, and it was also an area that hit close to home. Growing up, Jessyca’s younger brother was severely disabled by an acquired brain injury and functioned at the level of a young child. She acted as a care giver and advocate
for her brother in school and in the community.
Changing Lives through Important Work
Being a defence lawyer means dealing with difficult cases and people who have done unthinkable things. Jessyca has acted for clients in every type of case, before all levels of Court in Ontario and believes in understanding and communicating with her clients so they fully comprehend the process and can participate in their own defence.
Being a defence lawyer for difficult cases takes time, patience and understanding. She doesn’t make snap judgments about clients, or refuse to represent them because they may have done something wrong. She believes that all people accused of a crime deserve the protections of the law, including the presumption of innocence and a fair trial.
Committed to advancement Women in the Practice of Law
Jessyca’s commitment to mentoring women in the profession goes far beyond lip service. Jess regularly mentors students in law school and currently supervises an Osgoode Law Criminal Intensive Student, an Osgoode Pro Bono Canada Law student, a paralegal placement student, a young lawyer through the Genesis Career Mentoring Program and also mentors her firm’s articling student and junior lawyer.
Committed to Pro Bono Work
Jessyca is committed to assisting the those with mental health issues and special needs in the justice system. She sits on a number of committees and advocacy groups dedicated to assisting these groups and supervises a pro bono law clinic committed to assisting street-involved defendants with tickets they have received as a result of pan handling and other minor provincial offences.
Jessyca also consults and provides pro-bono policy and compliance advice to charitable organizations such as Shelter Movers Toronto, an organization committed to assisting women leaving domestic violence situations. In addition, the Greenwood Lam LLP takes on a number of pro bono and pay-what-you-can cases as a commitment to accessible justice and providing low cost legal services.
Committed to Building the Business
Jessyca knew that starting a firm was no joke — she prepared to sell of her worldly belongings to pay her rent and her Law Society fees. But soon, through perseverance and hard work she grew her sole shop into a respectful firm with a recognized name in the criminal law world.
Jessyca recently partnered with Emily Lam to grow her practice into the business she had imagined. Emily brings a variety of skills to the table and is the perfect complement to the Greenwood brand. Emily is fluent in Cantonese and often represents clients from the Chinese community. Together, the two founded a boutique defence firm at Queen and Bay. Greenwood Lam LLP is one of the first and only all-female partnerships, employing all women in their office.
Why Greenwood Lam LLP Is A Different Law Firm
Criminal law is a male dominated profession, both the bar and the bench can at times make it difficult to be a woman in the profession. Despite that, Jessyca and her firm continue to beat the odds. Greenwood Lam is a diverse, client-centred, value-for-service, all female firm in downtown Toronto. Jessyca and Emily are doing law differently; they use technology and efficiencies to build and win cases and give clients the best possible service.
Jessyca and Emily are both mothers to young children too.