Before becoming a civil litigation mediator, Marcela Saitua worked as a lawyer with a diverse civil litigation practice.  Her practice was primarily in the area of insurance defence, including coverage disputes, with an emphasis on personal injury and solicitors' negligence.  She has, however, represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of civil actions and applications.  Marcela has appeared as counsel in the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Canada, and has appeared before various administrative tribunals, including the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.

On a personal note, Marcela was born in Santiago, Chile.  She is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French and Italian.  She is an avid traveller and has an interest in hiking and photography.  She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.  They are a happy family of baseball fanatics, and she often acts as unofficial chauffeur and "Co-Momager" (i.e. a mom who acts as equipment and tournament-booking manager) of her children's rep and development league baseball teams.

Marcela Saitua graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto, with a Combined Specialist B.A. in History and Political Science and a minor in French Language in 1996. She received her M.A. in International Relations and J.D. from the University of Toronto in 2000, and was called to Bar in February of 2002.

Marcela is intimately familiar with both the litigation process and the methods of Principled Negotiation, developed at Harvard University. She has dealt with claims ranging from routine slip and fall and motor vehicle accidents, to civil sexual assaults, institutional abuse, directors' and officers' liability, class actions, and complex multi-party construction disputes. She knows that claims of different types and magnitudes require different approaches, but that all require due care and attention.

Marcela has studied alternative dispute resolution at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and has completed the Stitt Feld Handy Group/University of Windsor, Faculty of Law ADR and Advanced ADR Workshops.

Marcela is a member of the ADR Institute of Canada, and Advocates' Society.  She is also a current member and past President and past Executive Director of the Canadian Hispanic Bar Association (CHBA), and past Co-Vice Chair of the Roundtable of Diversity Associations (RODA). She has served as a mentor with the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and has acted as a Run-Through Judge and Supervisor for the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law's Compulsory Upper Year Moot Program.

Rates for a half-day mediation (up to 3 hours) are as follows:​​

2 parties: $2,200.00 plus HST

3 parties: $2,450.00 plus HST

4 parties: $2,700.00 plus HST

​Rates for a full day mediation (up to 7 hours) are as follows:

2 parties: $3,700.00 plus HST

3 parties: $4,200.00 plus HST

4 parties: $4,700.00 plus HST

5 parties: $5,200.00 plus HST

6 parties​*: $5,700.00 plus HST

​*Please inquire as to rates for more than 6 parties.

Additional hours are billed at $350.00/hour for 2 separately represented parties, $400.00/hour for 3-5 parties, and $450.00/hour for 6 or more parties.

Travel time for locations outside of downtown Toronto, North York and Mississauga is charged at $200.00/hour plus HST for travel in excess of ¼ hour.  â€‹

Cancellations received less than 30 days (but more than one week) in advance of the mediation date are subject to a $1,000 cancellation fee for a half-day mediation, and $1,700 for a full-day mediation.  Mediations cancelled within one week of the scheduled mediation date are subject to a $1,300 cancellation fee for a half-day, and $2,200 for a full day.  Mediations cancelled later than 10:00 am on the business day prior to the scheduled mediation will be subject to the full mediation fee, HST, and any applicable disbursements.

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Preparation time and video-conferencing fees are included in the above rates.  Room rental fees, (telephone and food charges, if any), are in addition to the above rates.  No other disbursements are applicable. 

English, Spanish