In this episode, Andrew Leroy Rudder takes a deep dive into what and who motivates him to practice catastrophic impairment law along with the approaches he takes to help his clients, inclusive of recognizing that the persons behind the case are worth the fight. Rudder earns the trust of his clients, often Indigenous and living on reserves, through intimacy, openness and challenging the notions he holds. Andrew discusses how important, yet intimating, it was to start his own firm that enabled him to go above and beyond the call of duty for his clients and now look to serve those most in need. He speaks to the barriers his clients face as well as a specific case whereby provincial legislation was amended in favor of his young Indigenous client. Rudder wants to continue to influence and leverage change within catastrophic impairment law while making himself available for the next generation of black lawyers in Canada.
Andrew Leroy Rudder is a civil litigation and personal injury lawyer specializing in catastrophic impairment law. Andrew is a published author of the LexisNexis Inc. book entitled, “Catastrophic Impairment Law in Canada,” a director at Head Injury Rehabilitation Ontario, and the founder of Rudder Law Group Professional Corporation (Rudder Law Group). He blogs and vlogs regularly on the vlog entitled, “Personal Injury Lawyer Tips".
His practice is devoted to severe and catastrophic plaintiffs’ personal injury tort cases, including motor vehicle collisions, slip and falls, and assaults, as well as accident benefits and disability benefits claims. His clients include people who sustained catastrophic impairments, such as a catastrophic traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and fracture(s), paraplegia, tetraplegia, severe impairment of ambulatory mobility or the use of an arm, amputation of a leg or an arm, loss of vision, and/or a mental and behavioural disorder.
He is a recent award winner of the 2022 Reisman Award for the best new law firm recognizing his work to press for change in the legal system. He also won an Advocacy Award from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers in November 2022.
Rudder received an Honours Bachelors of Arts degree from York University, majoring in Philosophy. Rudder earned his law degree from the University of Windsor.