Renée Vinett

Renée Vinett is Managing Partner of Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP and holds a credential that is genuinely rare in Ontario: she is both a registered nurse (licensed since 1985) and a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Ontario (designated 2016). Her clinical background was in catastrophic injury case management – coordinating complex community care, overseeing home modifications, and supporting families rebuilding their lives after serious injury. She is a Toronto personal injury lawyer and mass tort practice lawyer with a medical depth that few lawyers can match.

Called to the Ontario Bar: 2002

Renée’s practice covers personal injury litigation, motor vehicle accidents, accident benefits, long-term disability, and institutional abuse claims – alongside a distinctive specialty in mass tort and defective medical device litigation. She leads HSH’s Canadian litigation against Bayer for the Essure permanent birth control device, whose complications were featured on CBC’s The Fifth Estate and FRANCE 24. She also leads the Allergan textured breast implant recall litigation and handles talcum powder and ovarian cancer claims. As Managing Partner, she leads the firm alongside an active litigation caseload and teaches at Osgoode Hall Law School. She has spoken at the Women in Litigation Symposium and the North American Brain Injury Society’s Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Brain Injury.

Renée is a member of the Women’s Law Association of Ontario and the College of Nurses of Ontario – both professional communities that have shaped her career. She holds an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Nursing (Honours, Cum Laude) degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

Practice Areas

• Personal injury – motor vehicle accidents, catastrophic injury
• Mass tort and class action litigation
• Defective medical devices – Essure permanent birth control (Bayer)
• Allergan textured breast implant litigation
• Talcum powder and ovarian cancer claims
• Accident benefits (SABS) disputes
• Long-term disability
• Institutional sexual abuse claims

Notable Results

• Past results are not predictive of future outcomes. Every case requires individual legal advice.
• $2 Million – 15-year-old suffered spinal cord injury jumping in swimming pool

Awards and Recognition

• Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation – Law Society of Ontario (2016)
• Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory – Listed in Personal Injury Law; Lexpert® Ranked 2026
• Listed in the annual peer-reviewed Canadian legal directory – Personal Injury Category
• Top Personal Injury Law Firms in Canada – Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP (Canadian Lawyer Magazine, annually since 2011)

Speaking and Media

• Osgoode Hall Law School – Instructor
• Women in Litigation Symposium – Speaker
• North American Brain Injury Society Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Brain Injury – Speaker
• CBC’s The Fifth Estate – featured (Essure / Bayer litigation)
• FRANCE 24 – featured (Essure litigation)

Professional Memberships

• Ontario Trial Lawyers Association; The Advocates’ Society; Ontario Bar Association; Toronto Lawyers Association; Women’s Law Association of Ontario (WLAO); College of Nurses of Ontario

Education

• Called to the Ontario Bar: 2002
• LLB – York University, Osgoode Hall Law School (2000)
• Nursing (Honours), Cum Laude – Middle Tennessee State University (1985)