About Chelsea
Chelsea is a Partner at Beckett. She works exclusively in the Sexual Abuse Department.
Chelsea’s practice focuses exclusively on representing victims of both historical and recent sexual abuse. Her cases often involve those who have been abused by teachers, clergy, recreational volunteers (such as Scouts Leaders), camp counselors, foster parents, and relatives. In many of these cases, the institutions who employed or supervised the perpetrator of the abuse, are named as a defendant. This may include school boards, recreational organizations, group homes, camps and religious institutions. Chelsea’s practice spans across the country with a focus in Ontario (Ottawa, Toronto, London, Windsor and Northern Ontario) as well as in Western Canada (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia).
Chelsea takes a trauma-informed approach to her practice, providing caring and compassionate support to her clients, while ensuring their voices are heard and their rights are protected.
In addition to her casework, Chelsea is dedicated to educating others about the legal rights of victims of sexual abuse and assault. She has worked with various non-profit organizations who serve populations more likely to have experienced sexual abuse. She is a regular speaker at ANOVA’s Crisis Line volunteer training. Chelsea is also a recurring guest lecturer at the Western University, Faculty of Law, on the topic of trauma-informed lawyering.
In October 2023, Chelsea was appointed to the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) Board of Directors. In this role, she advocates for the rights and access to justice of all injured plaintiffs, including those who have been sexually abused.
Chelsea is committed to ongoing professional development. She attended the Harvard Negotiation Institute in June 2016 and the Intensive Trial Advocacy program through Osgoode Hall Law School in 2017. She is also a member of OTLA Continuing Legal Education Committee.
Chelsea holds an Honours Degree in Psychology and Sociology from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor. While in her final year at law school, Chelsea received the Sharon White Ducharme Memorial Award and the J.W. Whiteside Award in recognition of her service to the legal community, the community of Windsor, and her advocacy on behalf of children.
Outside of work, Chelsea enjoys spending time with her family.