Brendan Donovan

Brendan began his legal career at a full-service law firm on Bay Street. He branched out in 2011 to focus on estates litigation at a well-known boutique in Toronto, eventually becoming a partner there, then founded Donovan Kochman LLP with Noah Kochman in 2018.

Brendan completed a master’s degree at Oxford University, then obtained his juris doctorate in law at the University of Toronto. A frequent guest speaker at continuing professional development seminars, Brendan approaches the practice of law as a craftsman – he gives individualized attention to each task and takes a different approach to each problem. He is known as a forthright advisor in the boardroom and a skillful advocate in the courtroom.

Some of Brendan’s recent contributions to the field include:

• B. Donovan and T. Lin, “Attorney battles: invalidating powers of attorney and attorney removal” Law Society of Ontario 26th Annual Estates and Trusts Summit 2023
• B. Donovan and H. Sahian, “Originating process – applications versus actions” Wagner Sidlofsky LLP Lunch & Learn seminar, July 5, 2023
• B. Donovan, “Tips on taking will instructions and reporting letters to clients” Law Society of Ontario’s Six-Minute Estates Lawyer CPD Seminar, May 2023
• B. Donovan, panelist, “Estates and family law considerations for fertility law, surrogacy arrangements and multi-parent families” Ontario Bar Association’s Legal Conference, February 2023
• B. Donovan and A. Tabrizi, “Assessing the capacity assessment” Law Society of Ontario’s Annotated Powers of Attorney for Property and Personal Care CPD Seminar 2023
• B. Donovan, P. Chopra and A. Tabrizi, “Weird assets in estate litigation” Law Society of Ontario 25th Annual Estates and Trusts Summit 2022
• B. Donovan, “Passings of accounts” Osgoode Hall Law School’s Estate Litigation: The Practical Guide for Legal Professionals, October 6, 2022
• B. Donovan and P. Chopra, “Power of attorney and guardianship: duties and obligations” Osgoode Certificate in Elder Law 2022
• B. Donovan (panelist), “Aging and family law: critical insights into family and estates disputes in blended families” Ontario Bar Association CPD Seminar 2021
• B. Donovan, P. Chopra and L. Peacock, “Gift litigation: the law taketh away” Law Society of Ontario 24th Annual Estates and Trusts Summit 2021
• B. Donovan, “Virtual lies: new challenges for litigators in 2021” Ontario Bar Association’s Innovation in Trusts & Estates Law 2021
• B. Donovan, “Converting an application to pass accounts into an action” Law Society of Ontario’s Estate Accounting and Passing of Accounts 2021
• B. Donovan and P. Chopra, “Admissibility of surreptitious audio recordings” BLG’s Estate Law Lunch & Learn 2020
• B. Donovan and P. Chopra, “Will-say statements: what to say, when to say it, and why bother” Ontario Bar Association’s Essential Evidence Series for Estate Litigators 2020
• B. Donovan, “Corroboration evidence in estate matters” Law Society of Ontario’s Six-Minute Estates Lawyer 2019