R. Douglas Elliott

R. Douglas Elliott is a partner in Cambridge LLP. He received his B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1979, his LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1982, and was called to the Bar in 1984. The Law Society certified him as a Specialist in Civil Litigation in 2003, and awarded him the Law Society Medal in 2010.
His practice encompasses a wide range of complex business litigation including cross-border litigation, alternative dispute resolution, estates and trusts law.
Mr. Elliott is well known for his work on landmark constitutional cases such as same sex marriage, and is also a leader in the field of class actions. He has been counsel in class actions involving some of the largest recoveries against the Crown in Canada. Mr. Elliott won the largest Canadian class action trial judgement valued at $50 million in an action brought by a group of gay and lesbian Canadians seeking CPP survivor’s pensions against the federal government in Hislop v Canada. He played a key role in the national hepatitis C team that secured a $1.5 billion settlement from the federal and provincial governments in Parsons v Canada, one of the largest settlements in Canadian class action history.
Mr. Elliott is lead counsel or co-counsel in a number of current class actions. In addition to numerous awards for his social justice work, Mr. Elliott has been recognized as a leading expert on public law, both class actions and Charter litigation, and as one of the Best Class Action Lawyers in Canada by The Best Lawyers in Canada. He is also listed in Canadian Who’s Who, published by the University of Toronto Press.
Mr. Elliott is an avid gardener, reader and swimmer, with a passion for history and genealogy.
Areas of Expertise
- Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation
- Appeals
- Class Actions
- Constitutional Law
- Estate Litigation
- Health Law
- Human Rights
- Injunctions
Organizations & Activities
Chair, Just Society Committee, Egale Canada Human Rights Trust
Vice-Chair (Policy), American Bar Association Section of International Law, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues Networks (GIN)
Vice-President, Northern Ontario Pride Network
Secretary, Elliot Lake Pride
Director, Holy Trinity United Church Board of Trustees
Member, Honorary Advisory Board, Egale Human Rights Trust
Member, Commonwealth Lawyers Association
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Member, Ontario Bar Association
Member, Toronto Lawyers Association
Member, Algoma District Law Association
Blog Posts
Cambridge in Cambridge: Historic Class Action Settlement Lauded at Harvard Law School
May 2, 2018