Partner / Class Actions, Commercial Litigation
John-Otto Phillips
647-313-1890
otto@phillipsbarristers.ca
Otto has effectively managed litigation matters including personal injury, property damage, crown liability, commercial general liability, construction claims, occupiers’ liability, and insurance coverage through both court proceedings and negotiated resolutions.
Otto is now focusing his talents on class actions, commercial, administrative law, constitutional law, and civil litigation. He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and Alberta and has practiced in a wide-range of jurisdictions and courts including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Federal Court.
Otto is involved in a wide variety of civil and commercial litigation and class actions focusing on consumer protection, securities, privacy, insurance, and product liability claims. He also practices in administrative law and constitutional law.
Education
- Juris Doctor (JD): Osgoode Hall Law School 2012-2015
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Philosophy/Legal Theory): McMaster University 2008-2012
- Master of Arts (Philosophy): McMaster University 2006-2008
- Bachelor of Arts (High Honors) (Philosophy/History): University of Saskatchewan 2003-2006
Bar Admissions
- Law Society of Alberta, 1990
- Law Society of Ontario, 2002
- Law Society of Nunavut, 2019
- Upper Canada, 2016
Professional Affiliation:
- Toronto Lawyers’ Association
- Ontario Bar Association
- The Advocates’ Society
- Canada Bar Association
- Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association
- PhD Dissertation – Deference, Authority, and Administrative Review: New Foundations for the Judicial Review of Administrative Tribunal Decision Making (2012)
- MA Thesis – Defining Legitimacy: A Hartian Conception of Judicial Activism (2008)
- ‘Law, Compulsion, and Community in Plato’s Republic’ in Polis, vol. 28, no. 1 (2011)
- ‘Making Friends of Old Enemies: A Communitarian Defense of Judicial Review’ in Gnosis, vol. 11, no.1 (2010)

