Sarah Firestone

Sarah Firestone

Associate, Disputes; Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment

Toronto

(416) 862-4727 

[email protected]

Bar Admission: Ontario, 2020

Home People

Areas of Expertise

Foreign Investment Review
Government and Public Sector
Anti-corruption and Bribery
Government Investigations and White-Collar Defence
Regulatory Investigations
Disputes
Corporate and Securities Disputes
Competition/Antitrust
Domestic and International Arbitration
International Trade and Investment
Risk Management and Crisis Response

Sarah is an associate practicing in Osler’s Competition, International Trade and Foreign Investment, and Disputes Groups. She advises Canadian and multinational clients on a range of international trade matters, including trade remedy proceedings, customs and cross-border regulatory issues, economic sanctions, export controls compliance, and dispute settlement and negotiations under trade and investment agreements.

Sarah draws on her knowledge of international law as well as her disputes and risk management experience to provide valuable business advice to clients.

As a trusted advisor, Sarah’s experience includes representing clients in domestic and international commercial arbitrations, investor-state arbitrations, trade remedy proceedings, complex commercial and civil litigation, government and internal investigations, enforcement proceedings, and compliance and governance reviews. She has also served in a regulatory capacity on secondment to the Enforcement Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission, in the International Arbitration practice of a major global law firm in Paris, and has completed a summer clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Sarah received her Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, her Master of Science in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Development Studies from McGill University. She also completed the Delos Advanced Oral Advocacy Training Program in International Arbitration and the Certificate in Public International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law, where she studied on scholarship. 

Areas of Expertise

Anti-corruption and BriberyCompetition/AntitrustCorporate and Securities DisputesDisputesDomestic and International ArbitrationForeign Investment ReviewGovernment and Public SectorGovernment Investigations and White-Collar DefenceInternational Trade and InvestmentRegulatory InvestigationsRisk Management and Crisis Response

Representative Work

  • Represented TransCanada Pipelines Limited before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in the expiry review of an anti-dumping injury finding
  • Represented a European subsidiary of a Canadian mining company in an investor-state arbitration in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague against a member state of the European Union, alleging discriminatory treatment under the terms of a bilateral investment treaty
  • Represented the applicant in a set-aside application of an international arbitral award that was constituted under Chapter 11 of NAFTA in an investor-state international arbitration proceeding, with the defendant being the government of Mexico
  • Defended a leading engineering consulting firm in private arbitration regarding shareholder claims
  • Prospector Capital Corp. in its business combination with LeddarTech for US$ 348 million

Awards and Recognition

  • The Edward and Emily McWhinney Foundation Scholarship to attend The Hague Academy of International Law
  • Women’s Law Association of Ontario/Torkin Manes LLP Trailblazer Award for her leadership role in promoting women in business, legal expertise and business acumen, and having an entrepreneurial spirit

Media Mentions

  • Media Mentions February 3, 2021

    Institution’s rules changes part of international arbitration’s embrace of technology, says lawyer — Law Times

    Revised International Chamber of Commerce rules that came into effect on January 1, 2021, are “part of a shift toward technological adoption in...

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  • Osler News October 14, 2020

    Osler welcomes the 2020 first-year associates to the Toronto office

    Osler Toronto is pleased to welcome the following first-year associates.

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  • Media Mentions January 22, 2020

    Canada is among the first countries to release guidelines for combining mediation and arbitration – Law Times

    A recent article in the Law Times looks at Canada’s forthcoming “med-arb” rules, which are among the first of their kind and are garnering...

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Community Involvement

  • Vice-President – Communications (2025), Chair – Policy and Advocacy Committee on Executive Board (2022-2024), Board of Directors (2021-2025), Events Committee Member (2020-2022), Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners (YCAP)
  • Arbitration Advisor at LexisNexis Practical Guidance
  • Moot Coach (2020-2022), Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Team at Osgoode Hall Law School
  • Volunteer Judge, McGill Moot Court Invitational Tournament (2021)

Credentials

Education

  • University of Toronto, J.D.
  • University of Oxford, M.Sc.
  • McGill University, B.A. (First Class Honours)

Languages

  • English

Professional Affiliations

  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Women’s White Collar Defense Association
  • Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners

Osler is a leading business law firm practising internationally from offices across Canada and in New York. Our clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the market and at various stages in the growth of their businesses. We have built our reputation on our commitment to our clients' success and the experience, expertise and collaborative approach for which we are recognized. We believe that our success is a reflection of our clients' success.