Jeffrey Sack, K.C.
Kassandra Lawson
Kassandra Lawson is a dedicated advocate for the rights of injured workers.
Kassandra is a paralegal in the firm’s Ottawa office and provides legal services in the area of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Claims and Appeals both at WSIB and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.
Haley Cuillerier
Andrew Astritis
Andrew works to advance the law in areas that will benefit workers and vulnerable groups. He represents unions in the federal public sector and elsewhere and has extensive experience in judicial review and appellate litigation. Andrew has been involved in leading cases on the duty to accommodate family status, essential services, public service pension litigation, and the collective rights of workers under the Charter. Andrew also represented current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces in a historic class action regarding sexual misconduct in the military, which resulted in a $900 million settlement. He has appeared before labour arbitrators, administrative tribunals, and all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Andrew is a part-time professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he teaches an advanced labour law seminar. He is regularly invited to speak at conferences on a range of legal issues. Andrew previously served as a law clerk for the Honourable Justice John Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal.
NOTABLE CASES
- Fraser v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 SCC 28 [represented intervener in landmark adverse impact discrimination case under section 15 of the Charter]
- Heyder v Canada (Attorney General), 2019 FC 1477 [settlement for current and former members of Canadian Armed Forces and employees of the Department of National Defence who experienced gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault]
- McIlvenna v Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), 2019 FC 1610 [ruling setting aside Canadian Human Rights Commission decision and directing the Commission to refer the complaint to the Tribunal]
- Public Service Alliance of Canada v Treasury Board (Department of Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FPSLREB 74 [the employer breached the collective agreement by failing to establish a “voluntary program” when it relocated the Vegreville immigration case processing centre to Edmonton]
- Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan, 2015 SCC 4 [represented intervener in ruling recognizing a constitutional right to strike under section 2(d) of the Charter]
- Mounted Police Association of Ontario v Attorney General of Canada, 2015 SCC 1 [represented intervener in appeal recognizing that section 2(d) of the Charter requires independence and choice in selecting worker associations]
- Canada (Attorney General) v Johnstone, 2014 FCA 110; Fiona Ann Johnstone v Canada Border Service Agency, 2010 CHRT 20 [ruling confirming requirement that employers accommodate the family obligations of their employees]
- Telecommunications Employees Association of Manitoba Inc v Manitoba Telecom Services Inc, 2014 SCC 11 [ruling that $43 million surplus that existed when Manitoba Telecom Services was privatized belonged to workers]
- Public Service Alliance of Canada v Statistical Survey Operations, 2014 PSLRB 83 [preliminary decision that ultimately led to $45 million pay equity settlement for interviewers and senior interviewers at SSO]
- Public Service Alliance of Canada v. Canada Post Corporation, 2011 SCC 57 [$150 million pay equity ruling reinstating decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal]
Assma Basalamah
Assma Basalamah is an Associate at our Ottawa office. After completing her Bachelor of Civil Law (LLL), with distinction and honours, and a complementary Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Ottawa, Assma became interested in employment law in her time working for Katherine Lippel, a leading academic authority in this area of the law and the Canadian Research Chair on Occupational Health and Safety Law at the time.
Her experience includes completing her articles and working for the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel at the House of Commons.
She has also worked for Ottawa’s Refugee Hub helping to successfully resettle refugees in Canada. Throughout her career, Assma has consistently demonstrated her commitment to human rights. She has been a representative before the Social Security Tribunal, worked on International Law and Labour research projects, and interned with various law firms and organizations.
Assma received awards including the Norton Rose Fulbright scholarship awarded by the Famous 5 organization as well as a Moot Court Competition featuring former Quebec Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard in the judge panel.
Fluent in French, English, and Arabic, Assma is dedicated to using her diverse skills and experiences to serve those seeking the support and tools of the profession towards their personal and collective goals.
Lily Black
Laura Boerner
Claire Boychuk
Claire practices labour, employment, and public law in our Ottawa office. She received her B.C.L./L.L.B from McGill’s Faculty of Law, and her B.A. (Hons.) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Davis Scholar.
Claire has provided representation to clients in a range of workplace contexts federally and provincially, including on the legal issues surrounding whistleblower legislation, novel human rights claims, and emerging issues in workplace privacy law. In recent years, she has provided representation at all levels of court.
As a former Judicial Law Clerk at the Federal Court of Canada, she also brings significant expertise to administrative law issues. Claire is an alumnus of the Parliamentary Internship Programme and takes an interest in questions of law and public policy. She is currently completing a procedural textbook on the role of public interest interveners in Canadian courts (Intervening in Canadian Courts, forthcoming 2025).
Claire brings to her practice experience working and volunteering with a range of advocacy organizations—locally and internationally—to advance issues of social justice. Claire speaks English, French, Spanish, and some mandarin Chinese.
Keagan Davis-Burns
Keagan Davis-Burns practices labour and employment law in our Kingston office. She has experience practicing in Ottawa, Toronto, and Kingston and has represented both employees and employers. She now focuses her practice exclusively on assisting employees.
Keagan assists clients throughout the employment relationship, from reviewing initial employment contracts, to advising on discrimination, harassment, accommodation and short- and long-term disability benefits, to negotiating wrongful dismissal settlements. Keagan has represented clients before the Ontario Small Claims Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
Keagan aims to use her time outside of the office to support the community that supported her growing up in Kingston. She sits on the YGK Healthcare Champions executive of the University Hospital Kingston Foundation, whose fundraising efforts supports local health organizations. Keagan also sits on the EDI Committee of the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce, is the Social Events Chair of the Frontenac Law Association, and is actively involved with the Ontario Bar Association and Pro-Bono Students Canada.
Outside of work, Keagan can be found at local restaurants and cafes and attempting to train her rescue Husky-mix.