Sarah J. Armstrong

Sarah Armstrong is the Chair of Faskens Ontario Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. An adept and strategic litigator, Sarah combines skilled courtroom advocacy and sound judgment to represent clients who are involved in business-critical disputes.

Sarah navigates clients through complex commercial disputes and professional liability matters in both court and in arbitration. In the class action arena, Sarah has extensive experience managing and coordinating the defence of overlapping and multi-jurisdictional proceedings in securities, product liability, privacy and cybersecurity, insurance coverage and consumer cases. Sarah advises organizations across a wide array of industries including mining, professional services, insurance, health, automotive, retail and manufacturing. Sarah acts as lead and co-counsel at the trial and appellate levels as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals.

A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Sarah is consistently recognized as a leading litigator nationally by legal directories including Chambers and Partners, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers, Legal 500, and the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, which previously named her a Rising Star. Based on its extensive research, Chambers reports that clients have described Sarah as having exceptional judgement and [being] a fantastic oral advocate and highlight that her experience in class actions and understanding of the processes in that area really stands out. Another client noted: “Sarah is the whole package of expertise and wisdom. She focuses on the real issues and is strategic in the way that she advances her client’s position.” Sarah is also a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a member of the International Association of Defence Counsel (IADC).

Committed to furthering the goals of promoting excellence in advocacy, Sarah is a frequent presenter and mentor with The Advocates Society, instructing fellow advocates on skills essential to class actions, commercial litigation, arbitration and advocacy and has been recognized for her volunteer contributions to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the University of Toronto Alumni Association.

Sarah dedicates a significant amount of time to pro bono work annually. In addition to Co-Chairing Faskens Ontario Pro Bono Committee, Sarah is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Pro Bono Ontario. Her advocacy for children with disabilities has helped to address unlawful conditions that kept them out of school or without appropriate special education services. In 2023, Sarah received the Ontario Bar Associations David Scott Award for Pro Bono Law, which acknowledges outstanding contributions and achievements by members of the OBA in the practice, promotion or enhancement of, or leadership in, pro bono legal services.