​
Health Research
Health research aims to find better ways to treat, prevent and cure disease.
This vital component of healthcare can take multiple forms and present a variety of risks and opportunities. Whether it is a clinical trial, secondary data research, research ethics board protocol review, or a material transfer agreement, we keep the aims of the study top of mind while advising researchers, funders, and health care organizations. We also advise on deidentification of data for research purposes, and questions of research versus quality.
Our services include:
-
Agreements - Material transfer, clinical trial, data sharing, basic science
-
Research ethics board advice
-
Research misconduct
-
Protocol reviews
-
Informed consents
-
Deidentified data
Connect with our team
Mary Jane Dykeman
Samara Starkman
​
Our People
Meet the dedicated team behind INQ.
Mary Jane Dykeman
BA (Hons), JD
MANAGING PARTNER
.jpg)
Mary Jane Dykeman is a managing partner at INQ Law. In addition to data law, she is a long-standing health lawyer.
Her data practice focuses on privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), cyber preparedness and response, and data governance. She regularly advises on use and disclosure of identifiable and de-identified data. Mary Jane applies a strategic, risk and innovation lens to data and emerging technologies. She helps clients identify the data they hold, understand how to use it within the law, and how to innovate responsibly.
Carole Piovesan
JD, MSc (Hons)
MANAGING PARTNER
Carole is managing partner at INQ Law, focusing her practice on privacy, cyber readiness, data governance and artificial intelligence (AI) risk management. She regularly counsels clients on a wide range of matters related to privacy, cyber readiness and breach response, data governance, ethical AI and responsible innovation. Prior to founding INQ Law, Carole was co-lead of the national Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Management group at McCarthy Tétrault. She has represented clients before all levels of court in Ontario as well as at the Supreme Court of Canada.
​
​
David Goodis
BA, LL.B
PARTNER
David is a partner of INQ Law and concentrates his practice on privacy, data protection, access to information and data governance. With more than 30 years of experience, David was a senior information and privacy regulator and has deep expertise in the application and enforcement of privacy and access laws.
Simmie Palter
PARTNER
BA, LLB
Simmie is a partner of INQ Law, and over the last two decades, has built a diverse health law practice that includes governance, health privacy, clinical and records issues, data sharing, corporate/commercial agreements, freedom of information and risk management.
Simmie strives to give practical and timely solutions to legal problems. She enjoys building positive long-term relationships with clients that include hospitals, long-term care homes, health profession associations, community mental health agencies, family health teams, physician groups, community health clinics, agencies and disease charities.
PARTNER
JD, LLM, CIPM, CIPP/C
Samara Starkman
Samara is a partner of INQ Law, concentrating her practice on privacy, data governance, health and technology. She is also the Managing Partner of INQ IQ Consulting.
Samara regularly advises clients on a wide range of matters related to privacy, compliance, health law and technology licensing. In her work, Samara provides both practical and strategic advice to assist organizations with responsible, compliant innovation.
PARTNER
LLM, LLB, BCom
Steven Tam
Steven has over 16 years of experience in healthcare legal, privacy and data governance roles in which he focused on supporting healthcare innovation and improvement through strategic and practical advice on managing legal and privacy risks. He served as General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) for over 12 years where he helped the health authority develop its privacy program from the ground up. He also led the development of the General Health Information Sharing Agreement (GHISA), a unified, overarching agreement signed in 2013 between the BC Ministry of Health and all BC health authorities, which governs almost all sharing of health information across the province for provision of care, research, quality improvement and healthcare planning.
Shanon Grauer
COUNSEL
Shanon helps clients understand the health regulatory landscape in Ontario and Canada, and the applicable laws in specific transactions. She advises boards of hospitals, foundations and other regulated entities with respect to their governance and corporate legal responsibilities, duties and liabilities. Shanon has also worked with not-for-profit corporations with contractual relationships with the Ontario government, including the subset of delegated administrative authorities. Her corporate work cover reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions. She also advises private sector suppliers with requests for proposals and contracts, as well as providing opinions in respect to their relationships with the broader public sector.
Kathy O’Brien
COUNSEL
Kathy’s practice is focused on corporate and commercial matters. She regularly speaks to boards of not-for-profit and charitable corporations to advise them of their governance and charitable law responsibilities, including providing advice on hospital, foundation and association by-laws.
Kathy works with healthcare organizations and foundations to establish appropriate governance structures and policies to facilitate and maintain healthy, cooperative relationships.
ASSOCIATE
BA, MA, JD
Tamara Adler
Tamara is an associate at INQ Law. Her practice focuses on privacy, health information protection, risk management, data sharing, freedom of information and access to information.
​
Tamara has experience drafting data protection clauses for various clients in the health, commercial, and public sectors. She recognizes that information is central to business and technology and works to help clients understand the information in their possession, the applicable data protection laws, and how they can responsibly use the information they hold to achieve their goals.
CORPORATE COUNSEL
HBA, JD, MSW
Pamela Seto
Pamela has experience drafting and negotiating corporate/commercial agreements, such as licensing, software and software as a service (SaaS), and capital equipment agreements. She advises on all types of integrations and restructurings, including mergers, amalgamations and alliances. Working with broader public sector entities, Pamela provides guidance on all stages of procurement to ensure their interests are protected throughout the process. She also has experience advising clients on the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act and international trade agreements. Knowledgeable about data sharing and privacy statutes, Pamela advises clients about complex shared health information systems and best privacy policies and procedures to safeguard information.
Mallory Sofianos
OFFICE MANAGER
In her role, Mallory is responsible for the firm’s billing operations, including invoicing, accounts receivable, banking and communications with clients. She manages suppliers, facilities and technology, while building strong vendor relationships. She is also accountable for all facets of human resource management, developing processes to coordinate and implement company policies. Mallory also manages employment compliance, employee relations, staffing and training on an ongoing basis, as well as assisting lawyers in all administrative capacities.
ASSOCIATE
LL.M., J.D., BCL, B.A.
Basia Walczak
Basia has extensive experience working on privacy, data, and technology governance issues in corporate and cross-functional environments. She successfully advocates for practical solutions in challenging and dynamic multi-stakeholder settings.
She has worked on behalf of governments, regional and multilateral organizations, as well as an international corporate law firm where she advised technology companies. She holds three advanced degrees in law and is fluent in English, French, and Polish.