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Cambridge LLP is a truly unique law firm. With 4 offices across Ontario, Cambridge is one of Canada’s most dynamic and progressive law firms. Our lawyers take pride in our extensive history of fighting passionately for human rights at the Supreme Court of Canada, and around the world.
Cambridge lawyers played a leading role in assisting Egale’s Just Society Committee to create their landmark report on injustices inflicted on the LGBT community by the government, entitled “Grossly Indecent.” Our Cambridge class action team is led by Douglas Elliott, a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has been consistently recognized by his class action peers as one the Best Lawyers in Canada.
R. Douglas Elliott
CAMBRIDGE LLP
Doug Elliott Grew up in Elliot Lake, Northern Ontario, but spent most of his working life in Toronto. Doug is a recognized expert on LGBT rights, constitutional law, and class actions and he was the lead author on the Just Society Report. Doug won the Hislop v Canada class action, which is the largest LGBT class action concerning LGBT rights, to date. Doug was also the first openly gay lawyer to be awarded the Law Society Medal.
H. Scott Fairley
CAMBRIDGE LLP
Scott Fairley is a recognized scholar and practitioner in the fields of constitutional and international law, which complement a predominantly cross-border litigation and arbitration practice. Scott is a native of Ottawa, began his formative education in the U.K., but completed his secondary and post-secondary education, including law, back in Ontario. Following graduate legal studies in the United States, Scott began his career in law-teaching and served a brief stint with the Ontario Attorney General before entering private practice.
Chris MacLeod
CAMBRIDGE LLP
Chris MacLeod is a partner at Cambridge LLP. He was born and raised in Saskatchewan where he attended law school. He moved to Ontario and practices in the area of complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on multijurisdictional litigation. He has represented numerous Canadians who have had their human rights violated in foreign jurisdictions. He also has represented many individuals in their fight against the Federal and Provincial governments to secure access to life saving medications.
Sana Ebrahimi
CAMBRIDGE LLP
Sana Ebrahimi moved from Iran to Canada (Toronto) at the age of 9. She obtained her undergraduate degree, in psychology, from the University of Toronto and her law degree from the University of Ottawa. In addition to her broad civil litigation practice, Sana is extremely interested in human rights law. Sana’s interest in social justice is rooted in her personal experience with, and ties to, a country with an oppressive and dictatorial regime.
Joan Kasozi
CAMBRIDGE LLP
Joan Kasozi holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto. Ms. Kasozi also holds a master’s degree in law from Osgoode Hall Law School. Ms. Kasozi is a native of Uganda. The threat of violence and actual violence is a fact of life for the LGBT community in Uganda. After witnessing the harmful social effects of the anti-gay attitudes of political leaders in Uganda, Ms. Kasozi became passionate about human rights. Her background inspired her to be a part of this Class Action.
The story of IMK has been unfolding since 1997. Today, our team of 21 lawyers includes 9 former law clerks, 6 of whom clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. Within our firm, we have lawyers licensed to practice in 3 provinces and states. All IMK lawyers and staff are fluent in Canada’s 2 official languages, and amongst our team, we can cover 7 other languages.
The strength of our team lies in the diversity of its members. Our people come from a variety of different backgrounds and work together to respond to our clients’ needs. IMK is a firm on the leading edge, a place where gender parity exists at all levels of the firm, including the partnership.
Audrey Boctor
IRVING MITCHELL KALICHMAN
Audrey Boctor has a broad public law practice and has acted in several cases involving constitutional and human rights law. She is currently lead counsel to the Center for Gender Advocacy in a constitutional challenge to provisions of the Quebec Civil Code that impact the rights of trans and intersex individuals. Audrey is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Jean-Michel Boudreau
IRVING MITCHELL KALICHMAN
Jean-Michel Boudreau has acted in numerous class actions and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants. Prior to joining IMK, Jean-Michel worked at a top litigation firm in New York and was a law clerk to Justice Ian Binnie at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Olga Redko
IRVING MITCHELL KALICHMAN
Olga Redko works on a variety of constitutional and human rights cases, including lawsuits challenging discriminatory practices and class actions on behalf of plaintiffs. Prior to joining IMK she completed a clerkship with Justice Clément Gascon at the Supreme Court of Canada.
At McKiggan Hebert Lawyers, we only take cases that we truly believe have merit and meet our rigorous selection criteria. We have a proven track record of success in challenging cases involving access to justice and historical misconduct. As a result McKiggan Hebert has been recognized by Best Lawyers International, ranked as a top practitioner in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Guide and named as local litigation stars by Benchmark Litigation Canada. When we commit to your case, our whole firm works together to achieve the best result in the most favourable time frame.
John McKiggan Q.C.
MCKIGGAN HEBERT
John McKiggan Q.C. has a special interest in using class actions as a tool to hold governments and institutions accountable for historical wrongs. He represented over 500 former residents of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in a claim over sexual abuse and loss of cultural identity. John was class counsel in Martin v Lahey, a $15 million sexual abuse claim against the Catholic Diocese of Antigonish. He is currently class counsel in Hayes v City of Saint John a class action on behalf of 150 survivors of abuse by a former city police officer.
John was inspired to bring this claim by his son, an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights.
We are exceptional advocates, tireless defenders, pragmatic advisors and together form one of Canada’s leading law firms for class actions, union-side labour relations, civil litigation and pension and benefits. Our class action litigation specialists have extensive experience handling complex class actions in a wide variety of areas – including residential schools, crown liability, environmental claims, securities misrepresentation, employment law, product liability, and consumer protection.
Kirk M. Baert
KOSKIE MINKY
Kirk Baert is a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP and is head of the firm's class action group. Kirk specializes in class proceedings against all levels of government. For example, Kirk was counsel in Cloud v. Canada, the first Indian Residential Schools class action certified in Canada which was settled for $5 billion. Kirk was also counsel in Dolmage v. Ontario and three other related cases against the province of Ontario on behalf of thousands of people with disabilities which were settled for more than $107 million. These examples and the dozens of additional cases that Kirk has prosecuted against all levels of government demonstrate Kirk's exceptional track record in cases of Crown liability and his commitment to making the Crown account for its improper conduct.
Garth Myers
KOSKIE MINSKY
Garth Myers is an associate at Koskie Minsky LLP in the firm's class action group. His practice focuses primarily on behalf of plaintiffs in class proceedings, particularly on behalf of vulnerable groups such as Crown wards, people with disabilities, and prisoners.
