Formosa's documented education and early professional development took place in Ontario. He completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, the provincial capital and Canada's largest city, before pursuing legal training at Queen's University in Kingston, a city on the shore of Lake Ontario. Both institutions are located in the province, and his later admission to the Ontario bar tied his legal career to its legal system.
Formosa received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1981. The university traces its origins to King's College, founded by royal charter in 1827 as the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. It was reorganized as the non-denominational University of Toronto in 1850, and it has since grown into one of Canada's largest public research universities.
He then studied law at Queen's University, receiving a Bachelor of Laws in 1984. Queen's Faculty of Law is a professional faculty of Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, and it is regarded as one of Canada's leading law schools. The faculty later changed the LL.B. designation to a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a change made because most of its entrants already hold a university degree.
Formosa was called to the Ontario bar in 1986, two years after completing his law degree. Admission to the bar was the step that qualified him to practise law in the province.
Formosa was admitted to the bar in Ontario in 1986. He later became a partner at WeirFoulds LLP, a Toronto law firm that states it has litigated significant commercial cases since 1860 and represents clients before courts at all levels, arbitrators and administrative tribunals.
At WeirFoulds he works in the litigation practice. His documented focus includes civil litigation involving trademark, copyright, information technology and other intellectual property, shareholder rights and remedies, business valuations, commercial disputes, employment matters, real estate, commercial leasing and insolvency. Trademark and copyright disputes in Canada fall under federal statutes, which makes such litigation a specialized area of commercial law.
His documented mandates include acting for an educational institution in a dispute over confidential information, patent infringement and breach of fiduciary duty relating to an invention. He has also acted for minority shareholders against oppressive conduct by majority shareholders, for a public authority in trademark and official marks disputes, and on a complex shopping centre title dispute involving cross-easements. He is also involved in advising universities on research, academic and disciplinary matters, as well as on intellectual property and risk management.
Formosa is affiliated with the Canadian Bar Association. Formed in 1896 as a voluntary professional organization, the association represents lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students across Canada. Its stated purposes include improving the law and the administration of justice, promoting access to justice, and advancing the knowledge and ethical standards of the legal profession. The association has branches in every province and territory, and its sections provide information on specific areas of law.
