As one of Woodward and Company’s lawyers, Tara’s work focuses on governance issues, section 35 litigation, and administrative law. Tara is deeply passionate about working with Indigenous nations to strengthen Indigenous laws for future generations.
Tara grew up in rural Ontario as an uninvited guest on Huron-Wendat territory. Prior to joining Woodward and Company in 2022, Tara served as Judicial Law Clerk at the Federal Court to the Honourable Justice Paul Favel and interned at the Senate of Canada in Senator Yvonne Boyer’s office. She also worked as a summer student and interned for two notable law firms that serve Indigenous nations across the country. In these roles Tara gained experience in First Nation election disputes, class actions, and consultation and accommodation.
Prior to being called to the Ontario Bar in 2022, Tara earned a Bachelor of Arts in Global Development and Political Studies from Queen’s University. She obtained her Juris Doctorate at the University of Ottawa, where she graduated Cum Laude and won the University of Ottawa’s Hicks Morley Labour and Employment Moot. Throughout law school, Tara held four different research assistantships focusing on access to justice, Aboriginal law, and Indigenous legal traditions.
Tara pursued a legal education to serve Indigenous nations that are seeking justice for acts of genocide. Above all, her work is fuelled by her desire to help nations assert their inherent jurisdiction.