Susan Ursel received her Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1984. She received an award in civil litigation during the Bar Admission course, and was called to the Bar in 1986. She currently works as a senior partner with the Toronto law firm of Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP, and serves as Chair of the Canadian component of the African Legal Research Team which provides legal research support to the multi-disciplinary project Envisioning Global LGBT Rights.

An experienced litigator, Ms. Ursel’s work includes both arbitration/trial level work, and appellate advocacy. She practices in the areas of labour, employment, pay equity, employment equity, human rights, pensions, and benefits law. She has practiced at all court levels, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as extensively before labour boards, human rights tribunals, and arbitration boards.

Ms. Ursel is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers, and the Association of Human Rights Lawyers. She has also been a founding member or director of various groups and organizations, including the Coalition for the Reform of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Association of Human Rights Lawyers, the Foundation for Equal Families, the Feminist Legal Analysis Committee, the Gay and Lesbian Issues and Rights Committee of the Canadian Bar Association: Ontario (now the SOGIC of the Ontario Bar Association), and Pro Bono Law Ontario.

Ms. Ursel has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Pro Bono Ontario in 2016, the Canadian Bar Association’s Young Lawyer's Pro Bono Service Award in 1998, and the Canadian Bar Association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference Hero Award in 2011.