Profile
“I’m so proud to see that through my hard work and that of my team, we have built trust with our industry partners”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
Sarah Teich knew from a young age that she wanted to dedicate her legal career to combatting mass atrocities.
A series of serendipitous events during her graduate and law school years, combined with the legal work she undertook shortly after being called to the bar, paved the way for Teich’s emergence as a prominent international human rights lawyer.
Her significant accomplishments have earned her recognition as one of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2024.
As the co-founder of the charitable organization Human Rights Action Group, Teich now works alongside her mentor and leading international human rights lawyer, David Matas, whose mentorship she credits with what she has achieved.
“My work is my life, and I care deeply about every case I take,” she says. “I only handle files that I truly believe in. Whether I’m seeking justice for the millions of Uyghurs arbitrarily detained and forced into slavery across China, representing torture victims from Türkiye, testifying before the House of Commons about the genocide against Tigrayans, or documenting the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas, it’s all profoundly important to me.”
She taps into her exceptional creative thinking ability when expertly advocating for victims of mass atrocities or leading the public discourse on human rights violations.
“I do not tend to get discouraged by the improbability of something working. Just because something has not been done before does not mean it cannot be done,” says Teich. “A colleague once described me in these terms: ‘If all the doors are locked and bolted, Sarah will find a way – she’ll come down the chimney.’ Weird reference to Santa Claus aside, I think that’s pretty accurate.”
Instability and security are two significant challenges in running a charitable organization, as the organization largely relies on donations.
“Reliance on donations is inherently unstable, and there were months, especially in the early days, where our bank balance was down to $100 or so,” Teich reflects. “Thankfully, we have quickly become much more stable in our second year.”
Security is another critical challenge, she notes. And that comes with the type of work they do. For example, cybersecurity is incredibly important, as authoritarian regimes can and do engage in hacking. It’s not just human rights activists that get hacked; it’s their lawyers as well.
“My devices have been hacked; David survived an attempted bombing. We are both cautious with where we travel, and I have been blacklisted by Russia since 2022,” she remarks.
Not one to be easily deterred by long-term files, Teich has pursued justice for some of the most complex cases, including:
1400-18 King Street East, Toronto, ON
647 559 9595
steich@rightsactiongroup.org
linkedin.com/in/may-cheng-0a975228
rightsactiongroup.org
Sarah Teich
Co-founder and President
Human Rights Action Group
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
2016–2018
2019
2020
2022
2023
2016: Received a commendation from the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague
2018: Graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto
2016–
2018
Called to the Ontario bar
2019
Appointed Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute
2020
Called to the New York bar
Blacklisted by Russia in September 2022
Received the Hon. David Kilgour Global Humanitarian Leader of the Year Award
2022
Launched Human Rights Action Group, the charitable organization co-founded with David Matas, in June 2023
Received the Tamil Rights Defenders Award in October 2023
2023
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Coster brings depth and breadth of experience to her current position, having joined the industry as a mortgage processor before leaping into broking. She later honed her credit reporting education and credit repair skills for several years while working directly for various brokers.
“Starting Credit Fix Solutions was a deliberate move, as I saw there was a niche in ‘no win, no fee’ credit repair that the industry didn’t currently offer,” she says.
As a CEO, Coster learned through business coaching that there are no challenges in business, only opportunities to learn and grow. She wholeheartedly adopted that perspective, enabling her to overcome the obstacles inherent in team management and implement new and improved systems. She employs several strategies for challenging situations, such as following routines, forward planning, sleeping well and exercising.
“If I make sure I look after myself, have a plan of action, and I’m organised, then I can overcome any challenge (opportunity to learn) if and when it presents itself,” Coster says.
A firm believer in the power of leadership, Coster strives to set an example that the next generation of women and men can look up to. She prides herself on her reliability and trustworthiness and is the first person to show up and the last to leave the workplace.
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself,” she says. “Even now, at the top of my game, I’m still always learning.”
Guided by her favourite quote, “It’s better to be green and growing than ripe and rotting”, Coster constantly stokes her curiosity and keeps an open mind about life and business. Her kindness, positive attitude, business acumen and dedication to her profession make her a trusted and valuable partner to her peers and the mortgage industry.
• led a successful complaint against 14 companies for using Uyghur forced labour, prompting the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise’s first investigations and a critical report on Dynasty Gold Corp.
• successfully filed a complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, leading to Turkish legislation that allowed a terminally ill boy to spend his final days with his mother despite initially being denied interim measures
• drafted a legislative proposal, in consultation with David Matas and Daniel Eisen, co-published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (now known as Secure Canada), to combat hostage-taking and arbitrary detention, which led to the creation of Bill C-353, now advancing with broad bipartisan support in Canada
“Managing expectations at the outset is critical,” she says. “And we always make sure to celebrate the small victories. Suppose there’s press coverage about an advocacy effort, for example. In that case, that’s a win because there is not a lot of awareness for so many of these communities, especially among the general public, regarding what they have been through.”
Teich intends to continue her human rights work and focus on growing Human Rights Action Group. As there is no shortage of such cases, adding legal power to the team means the group can accomplish more.
• led a successful complaint against 14 companies for using Uyghur forced labour, prompting the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise’s first investigations and a critical report on Dynasty Gold Corp.
• successfully filed a complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, leading to Turkish legislation that allowed a terminally ill boy to spend his final days with his mother despite initially being denied interim measures
• drafted a legislative proposal, in consultation with David Matas and Daniel Eisen, co-published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (now known as Secure Canada), to combat hostage-taking and arbitrary detention, which led to the creation of Bill C-353, now advancing with broad bipartisan support in Canada
“Managing expectations at the outset is critical,” she says. “And we always make sure to celebrate the small victories. Suppose there’s press coverage about an advocacy effort, for example. In that case, that’s a win because there is not a lot of awareness for so many of these communities, especially among the general public, regarding what they have been through.”
Teich intends to continue her human rights work and focus on growing Human Rights Action Group. As there is no shortage of such cases, adding legal power to the team means the group can accomplish more.
• led a successful complaint against 14 companies for using Uyghur forced labour, prompting the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise’s first investigations and a critical report on Dynasty Gold Corp.
• successfully filed a complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, leading to Turkish legislation that allowed a terminally ill boy to spend his final days with his mother despite initially being denied interim measures
• drafted a legislative proposal, in consultation with David Matas and Daniel Eisen, co-published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (now known as Secure Canada), to combat hostage-taking and arbitrary detention, which led to the creation of Bill C-353, now advancing with broad bipartisan support in Canada
“Managing expectations at the outset is critical,” she says. “And we always make sure to celebrate the small victories. Suppose there’s press coverage about an advocacy effort, for example. In that case, that’s a win because there is not a lot of awareness for so many of these communities, especially among the general public, regarding what they have been through.”
Teich intends to continue her human rights work and focus on growing Human Rights Action Group. As there is no shortage of such cases, adding legal power to the team means the group can accomplish more.