David Sterns

Career

David has been practising class actions for over 25 years. His cases have been at the forefront of the law relating to privacy, antitrust, consumer protection and human rights.

A passionate advocate for his clients, David is honoured to be one of the lead counsel in the Moushoom/AFN v. Canada Class class action which has resulted in the largest settlement in Canadian history ($23.34 billion). As part of the counsel team, he has been involved in every aspect of the case, often on a daily basis, and has acquired intimate familiarity with the complex settlement agreement and distribution process. In this regard, David is involved in the pioneering work to pilot the Jordan’s Principle distribution process which will put into effect $5 billion in compensation for the Jordan Principle/essential services class.

David is also one of the lead counsel in a series of cases against Canada and the provinces on behalf of off-reserve indigenous children (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) who were removed from their homes while living off reserve.

In addition to his active practice, David devotes time to justice issues and the advancement of the legal profession. He is a past President of the Ontario Bar Association and a past Board member of the Canadian Bar Association. He is often called upon to comment on legal and justice matters in the national media and is a regular speaker on civil litigation and class actions. He represents plaintiffs in courts throughout Canada and is bilingual in English and French.

Awards