From what got her started to what keeps her going, Teich shares insights on her journey in a complex area of law
In an insightful interview, Sarah Teich, co-founder and president of the Human Rights Action Group, discusses her recognition as one of Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2024. Teich reflects on the personal motivations driving her to combat global atrocities, the challenges of sustaining such demanding work, and her advice for aspiring lawyers. She also highlights her role at the MacDonald Laurier Institute and her plans to expand her organization to continue impactful pro bono work worldwide.
Greg Greenberg 00:00:08 Hello and welcome to Canadian Lawyer TV. I'm Greg Greenberg for Key Media and today we're speaking with Sarah Teich, Co-founder and President of Human Rights Action Group and International Human Rights Lawyer based in Toronto. Sarah advises various organizations on utilizing domestic foreign and international mechanisms to seek justice for atrocity crimes and human rights abuses committed by state and non state actors around the world. She has represented clients at all levels of court and has testified at numerous has the parliament's including the Canadian House of Commons and the United Kingdom House of Lords. Sarah, thanks for joining us today.
Sarah Teich 00:00:43 Thanks for having me.
Greg Greenberg 00:00:46 So let's just say you're no stranger to recognition and awards. You've received commendation in 2016. From the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and the 2022. Honorable David Kilgour Global Humanitarian Leader of the Year Award, just to name a few. So it comes as no surprise given your impressive resume. You're also recently named one of Canadian Lawyers, Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2024, can you tell us what all of the recognition you've received means to you, especially something like being named an Influential Lawyer by your peers?
Sarah Teich 00:01:21 It's definitely very meaningful, you know, I, what I think is interesting is I also find very meaningful being recognized by my clients. So I've also received the Tamil Rights Defender of the Year Award from Tamil Rights Group and CSRDN is a group that I advise as well. So, I mean, that's all meaningful, but you know, especially considering that clients find the impact of our work valuable. In addition to that peers find the value of the work impressive is an incredible combination. I'm very so, so humbled and flattered.
Greg Greenberg 00:01:53 And so what drew you to this area of practice to begin with, what drives you to keep at it?
Sarah Teich 00:02:00 Um, I mean, essentially, the Holocaust, I was brought up in a Jewish family, I had family members die in the Holocaust. And since I was a child, I really wanted to spend my career making sure that mass atrocities were combat it to the best of our ability, obviously, we can't make sure that it never happens. That's not realistic. I no longer think that but at least that we can mitigate the wrongs that happened in the world and just use US law for the good.
Greg Greenberg 00:02:26 What would you say are the biggest challenges you face doing this work? How do you protect yourself from what you witness so that you can continue to fight another day?
Sarah Teich 00:02:35 Therapy, regular exercise, healthy eating, I mean, all those sort of typical tips to sort of keep going and keep mental health strong. And then just you know, being motivated by the work itself really drives me and seeing the clients happy and seeing them find the work to be impactful is definitely a motivation to keep going.
Greg Greenberg 00:02:56 You're also a senior fellow at the MacDonald Laurier Institute, focusing on foreign policy and international law. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? How did you get started? And what do you enjoy about that role?
Sarah Teich 00:03:08 Sure, I've been a senior fellow since 2020. So it's been a few years I was brought in by Shuvaloy Majumdar, who's now a member of parliament, actually. And I got into it during the pandemic, when I wrote a paper looking at the international legal implications of COVID-19. Specifically, it was the early days, and we were looking at breaches of international law by by China and Iran for covering up the pandemic and silencing medical whistleblowers. And MLI was really interested in that. And that just kicked off a great relationship. So that's been a really exciting role. And it's, you know, it's great to give a platform to some of the issues that I work on otherwise, as well. So you know, when we do a targeted sanction submission or a strategic litigation of some kind, then MacDonald Laurier Institute will often be willing to publish an opinion piece about that. So it's a great way also to raise awareness about everything else that I'm working.
Greg Greenberg 00:04:01 And what advice would you give law students or young lawyers who might be considering this career path?
Sarah Teich 00:04:08 Don't be afraid to hustle. I mean, it's a hard career path to get into sort of my number one advice there's there are very few jobs I essentially created my own by founding my own organization with David Matas. So just, yeah, I mean, work hard. Reach out to lawyers who are doing the kind of work that you want to be doing volunteer. And don't be dissuaded if you get you know, rejections, I got over 100 job rejections and my two year of law school, so just, you know, keep going.
Greg Greenberg 00:04:36 Finally, what are your plans going forward? Anything you can share about what the future might hold for you?
Sarah Teich 00:04:42 I just want to keep building my organization. The reason we co-founded a charity was so that we can also received grants and expand because so much of our work is pro bono. So just building our team being able to do more of the great work that we love to do and, you know, just keep on doing it.
Greg Greenberg 00:05:00 Well, thank you for talking to us today, Sarah, and congratulations again on being named one of Canadian Lawyers Most Influential Lawyers. Thank you. And thanks to our audience for joining us today. Make sure you stay tuned for more award spotlights. I'm Greg Greenberg for Canadian Lawyer TV.