The Ross & McBride associate counsel is known for his advocacy for persons with disabilities
Legal Aid Ontario has presented the 2024 Sidney B. Linden Access to Justice Award to Ross & McBride associate counsel David Baker, who is known for his legal advocacy for persons with disabilities.
According to the organization, Baker’s name has “become synonymous with precedent-setting litigation that has advanced the rights of individuals with disabilities and other marginalized communities.” Over a career spanning over 40 years, he has become a member of the UNESCO Panel of International Human Rights Experts, received the Law Society Medal, obtained an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters from University of Toronto’s Trinity College, and received the Gerry Bloomfield Volunteer Award from Autism Ontario.
His involvement with legal aid began when he took a summer job with a legal aid organization and helped to establish a clinic in a psychiatric hospital. He kept on with the work after graduation; in 1979, he contributed to the launch of the ARCH Disability Law Centre by bringing together a group of organizations supporting persons living with disability.
Baker went on to become executive director of the centre for two decades. He also co-founded The Inclusive Commons, which does inclusion research, drafts barrier removal standards, and pursues precedent-setting litigation.
In his current role with Ross & McBride, he concentrates on constitutional cases with potential long-term societal impact, such as class actions tackling disability discrimination in education and public policy. He continues to champion community legal clinics.
Baker has appeared before all levels of provincial and federal court and at senior administrative and regulatory tribunals. He has been a lecturer at law schools in Ontario, Alberta, and France and taught an Access to Justice course at the University of Toronto that centered on enabling disadvantaged litigants to achieve a just outcome against more advantaged opponents. He has also lectured at the Law Society of Ontario, and the Canadian Bar Association.
“I’m very, very pleased. When I first went to law school, I started working in student legal aid and saw how difficult it was for people who lack the necessary resources to make their case and get the kinds of judgments we were being taught about,” Baker said in a statement. “I felt that access to justice for these individuals was an area where we fell short. I’m now thinking about where we have made progress, as well as areas where we still have a ways to go.”
Baker will receive the Sidney B. Linden award from Legal Aid Ontario at a ceremony next month. The award is named for the first chair of Legal Aid Ontario’s board and is granted to individuals who have committed to assisting low-income Ontarians and have advocated for access to justice in Ontario.
