20 Years and 20 Stories | Hon. Justice David Brown

“Resist the relentless seduction of the practice of law to devour all of your
time. Spend more time with family.”

Law was not my first choice for a career. In my undergraduate years, my academic passion was modern Chinese politics, which culminated in studying in the People’s Republic of China for two years in the mid-70s. However, that stint persuaded me that a career teaching Chinese politics was not appealing. Law was always a second choice, so I went to law school and ended up spending my entire career as a lawyer practising at Stikemans.

While most of my practice was focused on the business interests of clients, particularly energy sector clients during my last decade of practice, I always had at least one constitutional case on the go at any time. The constitutional cases engaged the policy side of the law, and raised both fascinating and troubling questions about the role of law and the courts in the broader political life of the Canadian community. It was my on-going exposure to constitutional law questions that ultimately led me to pursue an Osgoode LLM in constitutional law so that I could learn that area of the law in a more disciplined way.

Although I enjoyed a stimulating law practice at an outstanding and supportive law firm, by the time I had hit 50 I was looking for another way to approach the law. I applied to the Bench, and was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in 2006. The experience of the first few years on the trial bench was like being a kid in a candy shop – you are exposed to cases in every area of the law. It was liberating. It was also extremely hard work, especially given how under-resourced our courts are.

As a trial division judge, I became quite concerned about the level of service the courts were offering the public. I began to write extensively – both in judgments and in articles – about the need for our courts to re-think the way we manage our case loads in order to improve our level of service to the public. I also became quite concerned about the poor infrastructure provided by government to the courts, particularly the lack of appropriate information technology systems.

After over 8 years on the trial division bench, I was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in December, 2014. Working with two other colleagues to decide appeals is an invigorating intellectual and collegial exercise. It is the best job I have ever had.

“What motivates me as a judge? Attempting to fulfill the trust the public reposes in every judge by serving the public in two ways. First, striving to do justice in each case. Second, striving as an institution of judges to provide the public with “best in class” levels of service in all aspects of our judicial work.”