Jai Singh Sheikhupura*

Jai Singh Sheikhupura is a seasoned insurance defence counsel with experience handling complex personal injury claims, including traumatic brain injuries, chronic pain, orthopedic and psychiatric injuries.

He also has experience in immigration law, civil and commercial litigation, including representing of plaintiffs in sexual abuse claims, property disputes, and commercial disputes. He has represented various First Nations in election disputes, commercials disputes and land disputes.

Jai practiced law in India for 10 years before shifting to Canada. His legal experience is impressive and diverse. He has acted as litigation and corporate counsel at a large international law firm in India, where he represented some of the world’s largest multinational corporations. He also has significant experience handling international human rights and public interest litigation cases. He spent four years as Director, Criminal and Civil Litigation for the Human Rights Law Network, India’s largest network of pro bono lawyers. During this time, Jai worked as a public interest litigation specialist and was involved high profile cases including:

• The Punjab Mass Disappearance class action where he secured compensation for the next of kin of 2000 deceased victims of state-sponsored extra-judicial killings in the Supreme Court of India and the National Human Rights Commission.
• The Right to Food class action where he represented hundreds of millions of victims of starvation in India in one of the world’s largest and most recognized class actions. This case is a unique example of judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights such as the right to food, clothing, education, employment and housing.

After his accreditation in Canada in 2010, Jai joined a large international firm in Vancouver as an associate. He served as litigation counsel on civil and administrative law matters, including one of the Canada’s longest-running human rights discrimination complaints. Jai also continued developing his expertise as class counsel in class actions, representing class members in major Canadian class actions, including:

• The 60’s Scoop,
• The Métis 60’s Scoop; and
• The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement – he representing over 300 residential school victims in their personal injury claims.

He continues to serve as general counsel for various Indigenous individuals and organizations.

Jai has also been a spokesperson at various international forums, advocating for important legal principles such as the Rule of Law, Customary International Law, access to justice, and public interest litigation. His work has brought him into close collaboration with eminent jurists and economists from diverse regions, including South Africa, the U.K., West Africa, and the United States, further enriching his global legal understanding.

*Laurentia Law Corporation