Sana Halwani Receives Inaugural OBA Luminary Award
We are proud to announce that Sana Halwani will be the inaugural recipient of the 2026 Luminary Award for the OBA Information Technology & Intellectual Property Law Section. The award will be presented at the OBA IT/IP Fireside Chat Program on April 28, 2026.
“Sana has made and continues to make a significant impact on the practice of IP law in Canada,” says Monique Jilesen, Managing Partner at Lenczner Slaght. “Her exceptional advocacy, leadership in advancing the IP bar, and commitment to concretely advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the legal profession inspires us all. Sana represents the very best of our profession and this award is a well-deserved reflection of her contributions.”
Sana has a track record of leading some of the largest, most complex, and high-profile IP matters in the country. She represents Canada's major news media companies (The Globe & Mail, CBC, Toronto Star, Postmedia, and Canadian Press) in a landmark legal action against OpenAI that has received worldwide media attention. She has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada twice in recent years on behalf of intervenors Ariel Katz and Authors Alliance on precedent-setting IP issues. She also served as lead counsel to the Stephen Bulger Gallery in a 2025 trial for copyright infringement involving fine art photographs by the posthumously discovered and now-renowned photographer Vivian Maier. Sana continues to lead multiple complex patent infringement trials for Adeia (formerly TiVo) and previously represented them in the first-ever virtual trials at the Federal Court of Canada in 2020.
Beyond her advocacy, Sana’s dedication to advancing the IP bar, legal profession, and broader community has been unwavering. She has held numerous Board and committee positions, including Director of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, Co-Founder of its Women in IP Networking Group, IP Law representative of the Federal Courts Rules Committee, member of the Federal Court IP Users Committee, Director and Secretary of the Writer’s Trust of Canada, and Senior Chair of the University of Toronto Tribunal. She also shares her expertise generously through countless speaking engagements on IP law, innovation, virtual advocacy, and EDI.
Sana has also boldly advanced EDI at our firm and in the profession, co-creating ReferToHer, a groundbreaking program that helps keep women top of mind for referrals. Described as “break the box thinking”, ReferToHer has received over 100,000 website visits, was featured in The Globe & Mail and Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report, and has raised almost $200,000 for organizations focused on advancing and supporting women across Canada.
Congratulations to Sana on this well-deserved recognition!