Vancouver’s Hunter Litigation Chambers makes no bones about its agenda; this litigation-specific outfit has won commendations from peers and clients for its focus on disputes and its success with attending to them. The firm’s culture and approach has garnered as much praise as its work product; one client testifies,
“The way they advise, manage emotions and expectations, interact with opposing parties and essentially all things we've experienced are done exceptionally well.” Another client opines, “I’m glad to see that they work with and are training female juniors.” Peers observe that, “Hunter does a lot of unusual cases, such as ongoing work related to indigenous rights and title, forestry law compliance issues and government policy issues. They do a lot of things and do them all well.”
Firm namesake Claire Hunter remains “a real force, incredibly busy.” A client enthuses, “Claire is extremely smart and articulate, [a] strategic thinker and pragmatic. She has the ability to quickly grasp complex topics and distil them into strategic legal arguments.” Hunter represented the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in the wake of the British Columbia Securities Commission imposing $13.5 million in administrative penalties and $5.5 million in disgorgement orders for BC Securities Act violations. It then sought an order under ss. 178(1)(a) and (e) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to declare that the debts would survive the debtors’ discharge from bankruptcy. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia concluded that the debts would survive discharge under s. 178(1)(e), breaking with the interpretation given to that provision by the Court of Appeal of Alberta. Hunter also leads a team that represents the Province of British Columbia and the Minister of Education and Child Care in the latest episode of constitutional litigation that has been intermittently underway since 1996, concerning claims of continuing violation of rights to French-language instruction and facilities guaranteed by the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Acting with Hunter on this team are
Shannon Ramsay and Brian Duong, the latter of whom makes his debut as a future star in this edition and is making a name for himself within the firm and the BC legal community more broadly with aplomb. Duong is leading the charge on a highly publicized dispute between the Province and the City of Surrey concerning a controversial decision to revamp the City’s police force. Peers also insist, “You’ve got to give it to [more senior partners]
Bill Smart and Randy Kaardal. They are both still very active on a host of varied cases.”
