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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Heather Shields

B.A. Hons., LL.B.

Workplace Investigator & Trainer

About Heather Shields

Heather brings more than 20 years of experience to Rubin Thomlinson, having worked as an advisor to senior human resource professionals on all aspects of employment and labour law.

Heather has directed and conducted numerous workplace investigations involving issues such as workplace misconduct, financial impropriety, breach of confidentiality, workplace harassment and more. With this wide range of experience, Heather is able to conduct thorough investigations that result in informed, pragmatic resolutions.

Heather is passionate about continuing education and providing clients with the skills to problem solve, and regularly delivers training to clients on topics that include harassment and discrimination, conducting workplace inquiries, and managing in a unionized environment.

Continuing to acquire professional knowledge is also very important to Heather, who has completed training on workplace violence investigations, advanced techniques in conducting internal workplace investigations, forensic experiential trauma interviews, violence threat assessments, and conflict management.

Expertise & Services

Heather’s expertise is in labour and employment law, collective bargaining, return to work and accommodation, human resource best practices, and issue management. At Rubin Thomlinson, Heather conducts workplace investigations into allegations of harassment, bullying, poisoned work environments, and other problematic workplace behaviour, and assists clients by providing workplace investigation and human rights training to staff at all levels.

Background

Having served as senior labour and employment law counsel to clients in numerous large, complex, multi-union environments, acted as a chief spokesperson in complex bargaining processes, and directed teams of specialists working in employee and labour relations and return to work and accommodations, Heather brings a wealth of experience to Rubin Thomlinson.

Heather’s early legal career included working as a legal advisor to a public employees’ association, the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board, and as an associate labour and employment lawyer at Atlantic Canada’s largest law firm, representing and advising employers on all issues related to labour, employment, and human resource issues, including discipline and dismissal, employment standards, grievance arbitration, and more.

Heather worked as employee and labour relations counsel at an Ontario university for more than eight years. Most recently, Heather served as senior director and counsel, a role that involved direction of the workplace investigations unit and included advising on the conduct of complex workplace investigations, as well as managing internal and external investigations.

  • Called to the Bar of Ontario
  • LL.B., University of New Brunswick
  • B.A. Honours, Mount Allison University

Heather Shields's Insights