Headquarters:
2400 Sun Life Place, 10123 99 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 3H1
Year founded:
1993
Number of employees:
1 partner, 68 employees
Phone:
780 428 0088
Email:
info@jameshbrown.com
Website:
jameshbrown.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/james-h-brown-associates-alberta-injury-lawyers
We understand that when someone suffers a serious injury, the legal process becomes only one part of what they are dealing with. Our role is to provide stability, guidance, and trusted support while helping clients move forward with confidence”
Trent Brown, James H. Brown & Associates
Trent Brown
Managing Partner
Darcy Romaine
Partner
Richard Halpern
Senior Counsel
Leadership
Trent Brown is the managing partner of James H. Brown Injury Lawyers and a driving force behind the firm’s continued growth and success. A former CFL All-Star and member of the All-Time EE Football Team, Brown brings the same passion and determination to the firm that he once brought to the field.
Under his leadership, the firm has earned a reputation for securing landmark settlements and delivering life-changing results for clients across Alberta. Deeply committed to community, Brown champions numerous philanthropic initiatives, supporting local hospitals, youth programs, and families in need. His vision is simple: help people, change lives.
Managing Partner
Trent Brown
Darcy Romaine has won trials where liability is complex, and the injuries are profound. He is known for trials involving municipal negligence and his efforts to have unsafe winter roadway maintenance regulations eliminated. He has acted as outside counsel on behalf of the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee, representing those whose injuries render them incapable of making legal decisions. Notably, such cases include a successful 22-day trial against the Ontario Provincial Police (Pelletier v. Her Majesty the Queen), and Youssef v. Redi-Mix Limited et al., which went to the Supreme Court of Canada to interpret the Residential Tenancies Act and a landlord’s negligent property management.
Romaine is the treasurer of the York Region Law Association. From 2010 to 2017, he was a director of the OTLA and was selected to review Ontario’s proposed Protocol for Traffic Injury Management.
Partner
Darcy Romaine
Richard Halpern is a senior lawyer acting exclusively for injured people in medical negligence cases, with a special focus on infants injured at or around the time of birth. He is known across Canada for his expertise in birth injury cases.
With more than 30 years of experience representing seriously injured people, Halpern has a detailed understanding of the highly technical medical issues, particularly relating to birth injury cases. His experience allows him to provide meaningful advice and direction to families considering a medical negligence lawsuit following a review of the medical records.
Halpern is known for tackling some of the most complex and challenging medical malpractice cases. He has lectured and written extensively on matters concerned with obstetrics, causes of newborn injuries, medical malpractice cases more generally, and legal and trial strategies. He has delivered more than 90 presentations to professional groups, including lawyers and health care providers.
Senior Counsel
Richard Halpern
Simona Jellinek
Senior Counsel
Simona Jellinek leads the sexual abuse and assault team as counsel. She has more than 25 years of experience in representing survivors of childhood abuse as well as adult assaults.
Jellinek has litigated against religious institutions, Childrens’ Aid Societies, all levels of government, Big Brothers, Scouts, school boards, and many other institutions where people are placed in harm’s way. She has litigated hundreds of cases and has helped her clients achieve some of the highest settlements for sexual abuse cases in Canada.
Jellinek is one of Canada’s most experienced and successful lawyers in the complex and unique area of sexual abuse and assault litigation. Her experience in the area allows her to provide effective legal advice with knowledge and compassion. She has dedicated her life to helping survivors of sexual trauma in their journey towards healing.
Senior Counsel
Simona Jellinek
M. Steve Rastin
Senior Counsel
Steve Rastin is a senior counsel who represents seriously injured and wronged people with a focus on motor vehicle litigation, disability law, medical negligence and birth trauma cases, and class action/mass tort proceedings. He has close to 30 years of experience and has argued cases for clients in the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 2021, he joined Gluckstein Lawyers to lead the Rastin Gluckstein offices in central Ontario and to assist with complex litigation, serious medical negligence, and class action/mass tort litigation. Rastin also acts as trial counsel for Gluckstein in cases across Ontario. He has acted as lead counsel in hundreds of serious injury cases and has obtained multimillion-dollar recoveries.
Rastin is dedicated to helping injured victims recover after suffering an injury and is an advocate for his clients, and takes the time to listen to their concerns.
Senior Counsel
M. Steve Rastin
For more than three decades, James H. Brown Injury Lawyers has focused exclusively on helping injured people rebuild their lives after serious accidents and injuries. Built entirely around personal injury law, the firm has developed the experience, systems, and resources required to guide clients through some of the most difficult periods they will ever face.
That long standing commitment has earned the firm recognition as one of Canadian Lawyer’s Top Personal Injury Boutiques 2026.
Based in Alberta, James H. Brown Injury Lawyers has grown into one of the province’s most recognized personal injury practices by combining the depth and infrastructure required for complex litigation with an approach that remains deeply focused on client care and support.
The firm handles a wide range of injury claims, including catastrophic injuries, serious motor vehicle accidents, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and cases involving extensive medical and vocational evidence. Its structure allows the team to manage complex files with careful preparation while ensuring clients remain informed and supported throughout the process.
Personal injury is not one part of the business. It is the business.
That singular focus has allowed the firm to develop a detailed understanding of the legal, medical, financial, and practical challenges that often follow a serious injury. Clients are guided through every stage of the claim process, from dealing with insurance companies and gathering evidence to securing compensation and planning for long term recovery.
Founder James H. Brown built the practice on the belief that injured people deserved strong representation and meaningful support during some of the most uncertain moments of their lives. Under the leadership of Trent Brown, the firm has continued to evolve while staying grounded in those same principles.
Brown’s background as a professional athlete continues to influence the culture of the firm today. Preparation, accountability, teamwork, and resilience remain central to how the team approaches both litigation and client service. The result is a practice built not only around performance, but around trust, consistency, and relationships that often continue long after a file is resolved.
“Our goal remains simple: to provide injured people with trusted guidance, strong representation, and the support they need to move forward and rebuild their lives”
Trent Brown, James H. Brown & Associates
David Lackman
Senior Counsel
Jonathan Burton
Senior Associate
Erin Ellis
Senior Associate
Liane Brown
Partner
David Lackman graduated with honours from Montreal’s McGill University in 1978. Thereafter, he received his Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.
In 1982, he was admitted by the Supreme Court of California to practice as an attorney and counsellor-at-law in the state’s courts. He was admitted by the Law Society of Ontario as a barrister, solicitor and notary public in 1985.
Lackman’s litigation practice now extends over 35 years, encompassing serious and complex personal injury and disability claims, and wrongful death claims. He has achieved outstanding results against some of the country’s largest corporations, including railway operators.
Senior Counsel
David Lackman
Jonathan Burton is a senior associate at Gluckstein Lawyers, a prominent personal injury law firm based in Toronto. With over 18 years of experience, he has established himself as a knowledgeable, compassionate, and dedicated personal injury lawyer.
Burton joined the firm in 2005 and has since been instrumental in providing expert legal representation to clients seeking justice for their injuries. His broad expertise and commitment to his clients make him an invaluable member of the Gluckstein Lawyers team.
Senior Associate
Jonathan Burton
Erin Ellis has over a decade of experience and a proven track record of success advocating for survivors of both recent and historical sexual and physical abuse. She represents plaintiffs from across Canada, demanding acknowledgment and compensation for the harms perpetrated or facilitated by individuals and institutions, including abuse by teachers, coaches, relatives, foster parents, doctors, and clergy.
Ellis has a deep understanding of civil abuse litigation. Her extensive experience allows her to work effectively with her clients to determine the best approach for each individual case. She is passionate about representing survivors and uses compassion, dedication, and strong advocacy skills to assist her clients.
Senior Associate
Erin Ellis
Liane Brown is committed to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries and to families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Her practice concentrates on personal injury law, including accident benefits, motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, occupiers’ liability, product liability and wrongful death cases.
Partner
Liane Brown
One of its crucial strategies has been consistently driving the litigation process promptly and efficiently. In doing so, clients have come to expect a clear pathway to successfully resolving their cases, substantially reducing the strains and stresses of litigation.
“Our extensive experience in the field allows us to provide these services with skill and ability, no matter how complex the medical, legal, and insurance issues are,” notes Bogoroch.
From celebrating special occasions, hosting guest speakers, conducting town halls, and mentoring young lawyers and co-op students, its culture exemplifies an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Superior client service has propelled the firm’s growth and recognition within the legal community and with the public. Client testimonials attest powerfully to the mutual respect and trust the firm has built and aims to build with each new client.
Client empowerment is paramount at the firm, along with distinguishing factors such as trial experience, knowledge of the law, and compassion. The firm’s longstanding reputation as trial lawyers is matched only by its commitment to fostering a trusted lawyer-client relationship based on respect, open communication, and understanding.
“Our onboarding process provides constant and continued communication with our clients, ensuring that they are involved and informed throughout the litigation process,” Bogoroch adds. “It is a core principle that clients are entitled to straightforward, direct, effective, and practical legal advice.”
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Through its unwavering focus on employee engagement, Accolade strives to create a welcoming and diverse environment where talent is excited to come to work every day.
· serious injury claims
· medical malpractice claims
· long-term disability denials
· slip-and-fall accidents
· Day-to-day Shout-outs – to award outstanding work, employees can exchange earned points for gift vouchers of up to $150
· Quarterly Stars Award – employees demonstrating core values have the chance to win $500
· Annual Hero’s Celebration – manager-nominated and peer-voted awards where outstanding employees earn a $5,000 bonus
Ben Irantalab
Partner
Ben Irantalab enjoys the complexities of personal injury litigation. His practice is exclusively devoted to representing clients with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and severe orthopedic injuries. For him, the cases that require special creativity and thinking outside the box are the most gratifying.
Partner
Ben Irantalab
“We understand that when someone suffers a serious injury, the legal process becomes only one part of what they are dealing with. Our role is to provide stability, guidance, and trusted support while helping clients move forward with confidence,” says Trent Brown.
In recent years, James H. Brown Injury Lawyers has continued to invest heavily in its internal operations and client service structure. Files are managed proactively, with early identification of key issues, strategic development of evidence, and coordinated collaboration between lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants, and operational staff.
As the firm has expanded its presence across Alberta and beyond, it has remained focused on maintaining consistency in how clients experience the process. Internal systems and team coordination are designed to ensure every file receives the same level of preparation, communication, and attention to detail.
Much of the firm’s work continues to come through referrals from former clients, healthcare providers, and members of the community. That trust has been built over decades through both legal advocacy and a continued commitment to supporting the communities it serves.
Community involvement remains closely connected to the identity of the firm. James H. Brown Injury Lawyers maintains long standing partnerships with hospitals, rehabilitation foundations, youth organizations, sports teams, and local non profits across Alberta. That work reflects the same philosophy that drives the practice itself: helping people through difficult moments and contributing to stronger communities beyond the courtroom.
“Our goal remains simple: to provide injured people with trusted guidance, strong representation, and the support they need to move forward and rebuild their lives,” adds Trent Brown.
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JAMES H. BROWN & ASSOCIATES