Poulus Ensom Smith is one of the newest entries to the crowded Vancouver litigation boutique pedestal and, in short order, “has really established itself in the market,” according to peers. The firm’s primary founder and senior partner, however, is anything but a new name to the Canadian legal landscape. Hein Poulus is a longtime pillar of the Vancouver community, with a wealth of experience, youthful vigor and, to hear peers tell it, “fighting spirit.” One contemporary confides, “I spent six weeks in trial with Hein, and he was really on his game.” Another offers in summary, “Hein is the best lawyer in Vancouver when it comes to trench warfare. It’s almost like he doesn’t belong in this province!” However, it is noted that “it’s also a deep team,” with name partners
Joseph Ensom and Laésha Smith, as well as younger stars such as
Kelly Ann Maw and Kyle Thompson, also generating their own acclaim.
A peer testifies, “I’m dealing with the same people on all my files, and they’re all between 35 and 50, and they’re all at boutiques. We had a file recently where we needed another counsel, and it was the kind of case we would never give to a 60-year-old, and we would never give to a 30-year-old. So we brought in Joe Ensom, who seems just perfect in this sweet spot.” Ensom has been steadily gaining traction for his all-purpose commercial practice. Smith attends to more of a securities niche; she and Thompson represent the defendant in an action brought by the BC Securities Commission, alleging that the defendants carried out
three different pump-and-dump schemes over four years that artificially inflated the price of three BC companies that trade on the TSX-V, CSE and US OTC markets. A trial took place between April and June 2024. Smith and Maw acted for Real Estate Webmasters in litigation brought concerning a customized web platform, and the firm’s three name partners represent TELUS in a matter concerning the Medical Service Commission’s filing of a petition in December 2022 seeking an injunction to shut down TELUS’s private “TELUS Health” business on the basis that it violates the Medicare Protection Act by charging for primary-care services.
