A quarter century of excellence

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Built to help, grown to lead: Howie, Sacks & Henry celebrates 25 years – and counting – of client-centred advocacy

FROM INCEPTION, the founding partners of Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP set a high bar for the firm they were building together. As James Howie puts it, “We set out to create one of the best, if not the best, personal injury law firms in Toronto, if not Canada.” After 25 years of growing the firm alongside fellow founders Neil Sacks and Mike Henry, it’s safe to say they achieved their original goal – but are happy to keep moving the goalposts. “Everything we do is in the vein of, how can we help members of our community, our city, our country who have been harmed navigate through to the best legal results that can be achieved?” Howie explains. “First and foremost, the firm is about helping people. That’s our core value.”

Since 2000, Howie, Sacks & Henry (HSH) has been dedicated to handling the most serious personal injury cases with professionalism, expertise, and compassion. HSH represents individual clients with serious injury claims, medical malpractice claims, long-term disability denials, and slip-and-fall accidents. On a larger scale, in class action and mass tort lawsuits, HSH represents groups of people injured by dangerous products, medications, medical devices, and negligent organizations. HSH lawyers are consistently recognized and awarded for their legal work. They have held prominent leadership positions within the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto, and brain injury associations across Ontario. HSH’s lawyers are supported by clerks, assistants, and staff who help obtain exceptional results for our clients. HSH works with an extensive network of top rehabilitation specialists and medical experts who support our clients in making the best possible recovery. Our team is known for providing caring and attentive service to our clients, and we take great pride in our strong reputation within both the legal and medical communities.

“First and foremost, the firm is about helping people. That’s our core value”

James Howie, Howie, Sacks & Henry

David Levy, managing partner, joined the firm as a junior associate early on – “I was there on day one when we couldn’t get the phones to work,” he recalls with a laugh. He refers to his fellow “HSH lifers” who joined in the first few years, if not the first few days, as the pillars of the firm. From partners to lawyers to support staff, their length of service illustrates the firm’s strong internal culture. “You cannot underestimate the power of continuity; of surrounding yourself with the right people and being with those people year after year, decade after decade,” Levy says, adding that while the intention was to keep the firm small at around 15 lawyers plus staff, that benchmark came and went as the firm kept pace with the volume of clientele it was attracting, and as its ambitious practitioners made their respective marks as strong business developers. “You know the old saying: life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans. The firm grew in a way that we hadn’t necessarily expected or even gone looking for, but that became almost inevitable and was quite welcome,” Levy says.

Overwhelmingly organic growth

Published April 14, 2025

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“You cannot underestimate the power of continuity; of surrounding yourself with the right people and being with those people year after year, decade after decade”

David Levy, Howie, Sacks & Henry

“The future of our firm is tied to the idea that we celebrate our unique interests and that we’re well-rounded advocates, and not just in the courtroom”

Melissa Miller, Howie, Sacks & Henry

Now sitting at 13 partners – 12 homegrown, one a lateral hire – 21 lawyers, and over 100 staff members, he says it’s satisfying to watch the people Howie, Sacks, and Henry hand-selected and trained contribute to the firm’s success. The philosophy behind such a loyal and like-minded group is to cultivate not just sharp legal skills but also the value of perseverance, a deep sense of empathy, and a mindset of unwavering commitment to clients.

“It takes a certain type of personality to say this person needs help and I’m the one who’s going to dig in and get it done,” Howie says. “Every lawyer we’ve brought in has been successful in their own right; there’s no cookie-cutter formula for success.”

Diversifying to meet clients’ needs

Building on its well-established foundation, the firm explores opportunities outside its traditional practice areas that align with its overall mission. Leaning into innovation through diversification, it’s expanding its reach while remaining true to its core notion of helping the vulnerable. Paul Miller, who has the distinction of being the one lateral partnership hire, was strategically brought aboard for his deep expertise in the areas of mass torts and class actions. Far beyond the historical core of personal injury practice, Howie, Sacks & Henry now has claims involving airline disaster and opioid litigation. Of note is the Purdue legislation, a class action launched by BC against pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids, seeking to recover millions in opioid-related healthcare costs. Spearheaded by Miller, the firm is proud to be co-counsel with Branch MacMaster LLP and Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP to help address the opioid crisis.

“Paul and his team have brought us into a whole new world and allowed us to diversify our practice while keeping our signature approach to the work that we do,” Levy says. “The tenacity with which files are handled, and the care clients are shown, is something I’ve appreciated about Howie, Sacks & Henry from the start – and Paul brings that same mentality.” Another partner forging a new path is Melissa Miller, who came to the firm after completing her articles and single-handedly developed an elder law practice. Identifying a gap, in that there’s a steady uptick in the senior demographic but not many lawyers litigating nursing home negligence as an area of practice, she made a conscious effort to turn it into one.

Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact, Miller got involved on the advocacy side of things, from writing submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation and speaking at organized demonstrations calling for national standards for long-term care, to testifying before the Justice Committee of the House of Commons that was struck to implement Criminal Code changes increasing accountability for those managing nursing homes. As a result of her work, the National Film Board of Canada did a documentary on Miller called Stolen Time that highlights the deficiencies in the system and the for-profit model. Howie, Sacks & Henry was “wildly supportive” of her endeavours and encourages all its lawyers to make their practices their own. As regulatory changes continue to restrict plaintiffs’ avenues of recourse in motor vehicle cases, Miller predicts “a trend of personal injury lawyers being really creative and thinking outside the box.” That’s something the firm actively promotes, with a special focus on cultivating it in young associates. In a changing field with more virtual elements of practice, juniors need to be aware that business preservation and evolving with client needs goes beyond the cases in front of them: it involves creating new law and pushing for better systems. Howie, Sacks & Henry is intentional about providing the support and guidance new lawyers need as it compensates for the loss of “education by osmosis” and other unofficial opportunities for mentorship and connection diminished by the hybrid workplace. “The future of our firm is tied to the idea that we celebrate our unique interests and that we’re well-rounded advocates, and not just in the courtroom,” Miller says. “We care a lot about what’s happening to the public, because that’s who becomes our clients.”

Driving change on all levels

When it aligns with the paramount goal of client-first, the firm welcomes opportunities to drive broader systemic change. For example, in one case a twin was born with a treatable condition that fell under the government’s newborn screening tests at birth. However, a letter was misplaced, leading to delayed diagnosis and permanent health issues. As a direct result of the litigation, the government altered how the results are communicated, preventing future newborns from suffering a similar fate. In another case, a young man was severely injured in a crash involving a tractor-trailer near a construction zone, in part because there was no shoulder to pull over onto. The case led to increased safety measures for road shoulders near construction sites – hopefully avoiding similar tragedies in future. “When you do a job properly and get a client the result they deserve, there’s a great feeling of satisfaction,” Howie says. “On top of that, tort law is often very effective because it helps make positive changes that don’t just affect that case but future generations of people.” As Levy puts it, “we strongly believe that once we get involved in a case, we’re there for all 15 rounds,” and the firm’s senior leadership is only too aware that the effective execution of their role is only possible because of the support provided all the way up the chain. “We make sure everyone at the firm knows they play a key role in the success of our claims,” he adds, noting that Henry, Sacks & Henry lives and breathes its commitment to every aspect of operating as a top personal injury firm. “We’re proud of how we conduct ourselves internally, with our charitable endeavours and our roles within legal organizations across the province that advance the cause of all accident victims across Ontario.”

After a quarter century of delivering justice to clients and making positive change for the public and the profession along the way, “leave things better than you found them” has turned into a guiding principle. Leaning into its motto, “Hope Starts Here,” as the firm evolves over the next 25 years it plans to remain steadfast in its core mission, while sustaining growth, fostering innovation, and embracing challenges. Grounding these lofty goals is something Howie’s parents told him: “If you like what you do and you’re happy doing it, you’re likely to be successful at it.” That simple statement has served as something of a barometer for Howie throughout his career.

“Hanging out your own shingle involves much more risk than people realize,” he says. “But if you work hard at it, have the right people around you, and are committed to do what it takes to help clients, success will follow. That certainly has been the case for us.”