Mark J. Sandler

Mr. Sandler has been a member of the Ontario bar for over 38 years. He is the senior partner of Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Bergman LLP, and practices as an appellate and trial lawyer in criminal and regulatory matters. He served as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the legal profession’s governing body, for three terms (just under 12 years), and chaired its Appeal Panel and Tribunal Committee. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is listed as one of Canada’s best lawyers in a number of publications. From 2006 to 2014, he was a member of the Board (a “trustee”) of the Law Foundation of Ontario and then its Chair from 2009 to 2014. He was an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School for 14 years, and lectures extensively to prosecutors, defence counsel, judges, Boards and agencies on a variety of topics, including, professional ethics and responsibilities, criminal and regulatory law. He has been consulted internationally (including by two governments) on law reform and has served as counsel or consultant to 12 public inquiries or systemic reviews, including a 2003-2004 review for the Minister of Health and Health Canada, Drug Strategy and Controlled Substances Programme of existing medical marihuana regulations and policies, and a review for Health Canada of the accuracy of certificates of drug analysis. He is the recipient of the G. Arthur Martin Medal for his outstanding contributions to criminal justice in Canada. A full biography is available on the Cooper, Sandler, Shime and Bergman LLP website.