PILI's Leadership

Lawrence David, JD/BCL, LLM, President and Founder

Lawrence David founded PILI to  deploy strategic litigation as a vehicle for advancing access to justice, the rule of law, and legal education across Canada.. With extensive experience in law, public policy, and government, Lawrence guides and executes PILI’s strategic direction, overseeing major interventions and proceedings before the Supreme Court of Canada and other Canadian courts in both common law and civil law traditions.

Lawrence has held several significant legal and policy positions at the highest levels of Canadian federal government:

  • Legal and Policy Advisor at the Privy Council Office
  • Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice Canada
  • Senior Legal and Parliamentary Advisor at the Senate of Canada, 

  • Judicial Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada

  • Judicial Law Clerk at the Quebec Court of Appeal

Lawrence has extensive litigation experience:

  • Supreme Court of Canada: Lawrence has acted as counsel in sixteen (16) appeals heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, involving issues of the highest complexity in fields including regulatory and administrative law, competition law, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law and procedure, immigration law, class actions, and legal ethics.
  • Litigation in Canadian courts: Lawrence has litigated before the Federal Court of Canada, the Quebec Court of Appeal, the Quebec Superior Court, the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Justice, the Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan, and the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Lawrence's public interest litigation and advocacy are shaped by exceptional academic qualifications:

  • Harvard Law School: Master of Laws (LL.M)
  • McGill University: Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law (JD/BCL) 
  • Concordia University: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science

Lawrence is a member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario.

Jeffrey Orenstein, BCL, LL.M, Vice-President

As Vice-President, Jeff Orenstein plays an instrumental role in shaping PILI’s public interest litigation strategy and execution. His extensive legal experience and commitment to advancing the public interest help steer PILI's litigation and interventions in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Jeff has been a member of the Barreau du Québec and of the Law Society of Ontario. He is the Founder of Consumer Law Group, a national plaintiff-side class action law firm based in Quebec and Ontario with a successful track record of achieving access to justice and behaviour modification on behalf of Canadian class members.

Jeff's extensive experience extends to numerous national and provincial class actions in fields including consumer protection, competition law, product liability, employment law, and personal injury. Jeff has a stellar track record of achieving justice against powerful actors including large multinational corporations and governments.

Jeff's public interest litigation and advocacy are shaped by exceptional academic qualifications:

  • New York University: Master of Laws (LL.M)
  • Université de Montréal: Bachelor of Laws (BCL) 
  • Concordia University: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science