Biography

Mitchell K. Kitagawa, B. Soc. Sc. (Hon.), MCA, LL. B., was called to the Bar in 1997. Originally from Mississauga, he is currently a Partner at Kelly Santini LLP in Ottawa practicing insurance defence litigation.  He has appeared at all levels of civil court in Ontario including the Federal Court of Canada as amicus curiae and providing written submissions to the Supreme Court of Canada.  He has acted as duty counsel in small claims court for Pro Bono Ontario and as amicus curiae for the Superior Court of Justice.  In 2004 he was awarded the Regional Senior Justice Award and in 2018 he was provided with the Gordon F. Henderson Award by the Carleton County Law Association.  He has been an active member of the CCLA having served as chair of the Continuing Professional Development committee for over 5 years and as a member of its diversity committee.  He has taught civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution at Algonquin College and he has participated in a number of mock trials from universities to secondary schools.  He has spoken on various topics at both legal and trade conferences and he has been a member of a number of Board of Directors for non-profit entities.  He was elected as the Law Society of Ontario Regional Bencher for the East Region of Ontario in 2023.