Sarah Armstrong is the Chair of Fasken’s Ontario Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. An experienced and strategic litigator with broad litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution experience, she has developed a robust practice focused on commercial and contractual disputes and class action defence. Sarah is also a member of Fasken’s Ontario Professional Development Committee and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Ontario Pro Bono Committee.
Working with clients across a range of industries, including mining, professional services, insurance, health, automotive, retail and manufacturing, Sarah advises clients on complex and business-critical commercial disputes and professional liability matters. Her class action experience includes securities, product liability, privacy, insurance and consumer cases, and she has advocated for clients at both the trial and appellate levels. Acting as lead counsel and co-counsel in matters before all levels of court in Ontario as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals, Sarah also has experience in administrative law matters, including acting as independent legal counsel to the discipline and fitness practice committees of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Sarah has been recognized as a leading litigator by legal directories including Benchmark Litigation, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Best Lawyers, Legal 500 and was named a “Rising Star” by Lexpert in 2015. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Advocates’ Society (2015-2019), Sarah played a leadership role in Canada’s leading organization for advocates, including as Chair of its Collegiality, Mentoring and Membership Standing Committee. Sarah is a frequent presenter on class actions, commercial litigation, arbitration and advocacy, is a skills instructor for The Advocates’ Society’s skills education programs and regularly acts as a mentor to help further the goals of promoting excellence in advocacy and professionalism.
Recognized for her volunteer contributions to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Sarah is a Board Member of the University of Toronto Alumni Association. Sarah is a Visionary member of United Way Women United and a member of the organizing committee for Covenant House Toronto’s annual Guts + Glory fundraising event. Sarah has dedicated a significant amount of time to pro bono work each year since her 2003 call to the bar. Her pro bono advocacy for children with disabilities has helped many children address unlawful conditions that kept them out of school or without appropriate special education services. Sarah is currently serving as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Pro Bono Ontario.
While studying law at the University of Toronto, Sarah interned at Interights, an international human rights law advocacy group in London, England as part of the faculty of law’s International Human Rights Program (IHRP). She continues to be actively involved in the IHRP as a member of its Alumni Steering Committee.
