Disponible en anglais seulement.
Leah Strand is an associate in our Litigation Group in Calgary. In 2021-22, Leah clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for the Honourable Justice Russell Brown. Prior to that, she clerked at the Court of Appeal of Alberta for the Honourable Justice Kevin Feehan.
Leah maintains a general civil/commercial practice with a focus on public law and class actions. She has appeared in all levels of court in Alberta, and has also worked on cases in the superior courts of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, and various tribunals.
Leah’s litigation experience includes complex commercial and contractual disputes; class action prosecution and defence; Charter and constitutional litigation; defamation claims; employment matters; estate and trust claims; fraud, conspiracy, oppression and breach of fiduciary duty claims; regulatory matters; and construction disputes. In 2023, she was part of a legal team that successfully defended an anti-SLAPP motion, allowing a group of drag performers to continue their defamation action (Rainbow Alliance et al. v. Webster, 2023 ONSC 2060). Leah is also a regional editor for the McCarthy Tétrault Class Actions Monitor.
In addition to her private practice, Leah is actively engaged in the firm’s pro bono initiatives. She frequently provides legal advice to unrepresented individuals in Alberta through the Civil Claims Duty Counsel Project and the King’s Bench Amicus Project.
Leah received her law degree from the University of Alberta. She was elected the Class of 2019 Valedictorian and awarded the silver medal for graduating second overall in her law class.
During her legal studies, Leah competed in moots at the regional, national, and international level. After winning the Gale Cup Moot in 2019, she went on to represent Canada in the Commonwealth Law Moot in Zambia, where her team won the competition and Leah was named Best Mooter in the Finals.