Lawson Lundell’s Litigation Group has a focus on commercial litigation and a number of associated specialty areas all supported by the largest dedicated research team in Vancouver. We exclusively assist business clients and maintain a clear objective of achieving the best outcome for our clients either by agreement or through the courts. Our offices are in Vancouver, Calgary, Yellowknife and Kelowna.
Our group is distinguished with rankings from Chambers Global, Chambers Canada, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Best Lawyers in Canada. Our team has represented clients at all levels of Court in Canada and before most regulatory tribunals, has appeared before a wide range of administrative panels and in national and international arbitrations. Details concerning key practice areas are set out below.
Commercial Litigation – We have extensive experience with all kinds of commercial disputes, including banking, competition and anti-trust, forestry, mining, oil and gas and other natural resources disputes, franchising, transportation and shipping. We have particular expertise acting for major industrial manufacturers, such as leading engineering, mining, energy and forest products companies, including with respect to liability for products and services.
Corporate and Securities - We act for a wide variety of securities market participants in take-over bid litigation, shareholders rights claims, fiduciary duty and other disputes and securities commission investigations. We regularly represent clients in the following areas: dealer-client litigation, takeover bids, poison pills and related litigation, investigations and enforcement, corporate governance, and oppression and shareholder rights litigation. We have extensive experience in disputes within closely-held corporations.
Class Actions - We primarily represent corporate defendants, assisting our clients in resolving class actions expeditiously, by preliminary motions where possible. We frequently provide advice to our corporate and institutional clients to help minimize exposure to class actions.
Administrative, Constitutional and Public Law - We assist clients in developing legal strategies for complying with complex regulatory requirements and provide advice on the legal and public policy implications of changes in legislation and other government initiatives. We act as counsel in significant administrative and constitutional law cases, involving both Charter of Rights and division of powers issues.
Indigenous and Environmental Law - We represent resource-sector clients in project permitting and the defence of subsequent challenges brought by Indigenous and environmental groups. We have represented clients in precedent-setting Indigenous rights litigation and other Indigenous law matters before all levels of Court, and have handled permitting of major projects before regulatory tribunals and in subsequent litigation. We work with resource sector clients to defend their interests in disputes between Indigenous communities and governments related to the Crown’s duty to consult. We advise and represent clients in civil and criminal claims related to contaminated site and other environmental matters.
Public Utility and Regulatory - We act for utilities, major customers and regulators, with extensive experience in the power and energy sectors, acting for applicants and intervenors before administrative tribunals and on subsequent Court proceedings. We have also provided regulatory advice in the transportation, telecommunications and water utility sectors.
Labour, Employment & Human Rights - We advise employers in all aspects of workplace law in both the provincial and federal sectors, including labour relations, employment law, collective bargaining, wrongful dismissals, human rights, employment standards, pension and benefits litigation, employment equity, workers’ compensation, privacy issues and business immigration. We have extensive experience in acting as counsel before judicial and decision making tribunals such as provincial and federal labour relations boards, arbitration boards, employment standards tribunals, human rights tribunals, workers’ compensation boards as well as all levels of court. We regularly provide collective bargaining advice and act as chief spokespersons for companies.
Pension and Employee Benefits −We have been involved in many of the leading Canadian pension and benefits cases, including successful defence of a number of class actions. Cases have involved post-retirement benefits, surplus entitlement and expense claims, fiduciary duties, including claims relating to investment policy and plan immunization and contribution holiday and benefit entitlement litigation.
Real Estate and Construction - We advise and represent international, national and local corporations, financial institutions, tenants, commercial landlords, creditors, debtors and others in real estate matters. We provide advice and representations on complex disputes including delay claims, enforcing and defending builders’ liens, tendering disputes and leaky condominium and leaky school actions, as well as property tax planning and dispute resolution. The group is also well versed in strata corporation windups.
Insolvency and Restructuring - We routinely act as counsel to the various stakeholders involved in corporate insolvency proceedings, including bankruptcies and proposals under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, winding up and liquidations, receiverships, mortgage recovery, security realization under the Personal Property Security Act, arrangements under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act, and preservation and recovery proceedings relating to professional fraud, including securities fraud.
Defamation and Media - We pursue and defend claims for defamation and are frequently consulted for advice in connection with libel and slander, Privacy Act, copyright and other issues that involve the activities of the print or electronic media and, increasingly, the internet.
Privacy & Data Management - We help clients navigate privacy and data governance considerations resulting from the collection, use, disclosure and maintenance of personal information. We provide advice to both private and public-sector clients regarding access to personal information requests, requests that arise in the course of corporate transactions or employee matters.
Estate Litigation – We assist clients in navigating the highly sensitive and complex issues involved when an estate plan is challenged. This includes challenges to the validity of wills or trusts, claim arising from the administration of wills or trusts, claims against executors, court applications, proceedings to change trustees or guardians, and matters involving charities.
Miller Thomson LLP is one of Canada’s leading national business law firms with approximately 500 lawyers. We consistently deliver the highest quality advisory and advocacy skills and expertise required by international clients doing business in Canada. We have more Canadian locations than any other national firm, allowing our lawyers to provide our clients with valuable local knowledge. More specifically, with offices in Montreal, Vaughan, Toronto, Waterloo-Region, London, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, we are uniquely positioned to provide ‘on the ground’ insight and knowledge from the country’s key economic hubs, and under both the common law and civil law systems in Canada.
Miller Thomson’s national advocacy practice comprises close to 200 litigators, organized around a comprehensive range of sub-specialties. Our expertise covers complex commercial litigation, class actions, construction litigation, environmental litigation, insurance defence, IP litigation, health litigation, securities litigation, shareholder disputes, tax litigation, insolvency, and labour & employment disputes, among other areas of litigation support. The national group has extensive experience acting for a wide range of clients in all industry segments in trial proceedings, court applications, arbitrations and appeals at the provincial and federal levels. These clients range from sole proprietorships and individuals to some of the largest and most recognized national and international corporations operating in Canada.
Our litigators look for opportunities for efficient and expedient dispute resolutions. In this regard, our litigators are experienced in mediation and arbitration proceedings of all types, whether required as part of the litigation process or undertaken pursuant to an agreement with the other side to a dispute.
The Group also draws on the firm’s discovery capabilities. Our litigators adopt procedures to drive greater case management and discovery efficiency, thereby mitigating the resource intensive, often costly document production phase of litigation.
We have extensive experience acting for clients in litigation concerning:
Formerly a prominent regional insurance defense firm, Vancouver-founded Whitelaw Twining has seen impressive growth in its near 45-year history. From establishing a strong corporate-commercial litigation practice, to expanding across Canada, to becoming part of DWF Group and its global network, our milestones reflect our continuing commitment to scale and innovate to better cater to our clients’ diverse needs and growing lines of business.
With offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, and with capabilities to serve further provinces and territories, our team of over 130 professionals pushes beyond standard litigation practices to deliver progressive and creative solutions in complex, high-stakes and multi-jurisdictional disputes. Our culture is one of collaboration, and we combine local knowledge with global resources to achieve success for our clients.
We work closely with each client to determine their particular needs and employ a results-driven approach to ensure strategic alignment with our clients’ long-term goals. Our team skillfully and tactfully advocates for our clients in the courtroom, before various regulatory bodies and tribunals and in arbitrations and mediations.
With an eye on data and analytics, we maintain metrics that assist us with and inform our clients of our ongoing evaluation and improvement of cost-efficiency, cycle times and general file-handling procedures.
We value being a good corporate citizen. Our lawyers actively participate in their local business and social communities. We support and enthusiastically volunteer with access to justice organizations and community outreach programs and devote time to lecturing at universities and hosting informational seminars on current industry topics.
Practice Areas:
McEwan Partners is a litigation boutique with a focus on complex corporate, commercial, and securities matters. Formed in the fall of 2017, the firm is headed by Ken McEwan K.C., Bob Cooper K.C., and Emily Kirkpatrick, three nationally and internationally recognized litigators. The firm’s lawyers share a dedication to exceptional advocacy, professionalism, rigourous legal analysis, and business-minded practicality. Just six months after its inception McEwan Partners was the recipient of Benchmark Canada’s Litigation Boutique of the Year award for 2018, an honour repeated in 2019 and 2021. Benchmark Litigation has also recognized McEwan Partners as 2020 and 2022 BC Firm of the Year and 2021 BC Litigation Firm of the Year, and our partners are recognized as Litigation Stars or Future Litigation Stars.
Although our litigation expertise is broad, the firm’s primary focus is on business disputes. Most of our lawyers have experience in full-service corporate commercial firms, working closely with business lawyers on complex securities and corporate litigation and arbitration. We strive to understand our clients’ businesses and to deliver practical results tailored to their interests.
Our firm’s lawyers include former judicial clerks and members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Our lawyers have delivered successful results for clients in trials and appeals across Canada, including significant victories at the Supreme Court of Canada. Our recent highlights including rankings among the top 50 trial lawyers in Canada, 2019 and 2022 Lawyer of the Year, and 2019 and 2020 Litigator of the Year.
In addition to all our lawyers acting as counsel, our senior lawyers also arbitrate and mediate disputes. Two are members of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Ken McEwan, K.C. is an author of Commercial Arbitration in Canada and contributing author to A Practitioner’s Guide to Commercial Arbitration.
McEwan Partners’ Representative Experience:
Administrative and Public Law: Ken McEwan, K.C., Bob Cooper, K.C., and Emily Kirkpatrick have acted for and against a range of administrative bodies in regulatory tribunal hearings, judicial review proceedings, administrative appeals, and constitutional challenges, particularly in the professional regulatory sphere.
Class Actions: Our lawyers have expansive, precedent-setting experience in class actions across a wide range of disputes. Lexpert and Best Lawyers recognize Ken McEwan,
K.C. as a leader in the area of class actions, and Best Lawyers named Ken its class actions lawyer of the year in Vancouver for 2018. Ken, Bob Cooper, K.C. and Emily Kirkpatrick each do both plaintiff and defendant work.
Commercial: Commercial litigation is the core of our practice. In Este v. Esteghamat-Ardakani, Ken McEwan K.C. and Emily Kirkpatrick successfully upheld a ruling obtained at trial that the plaintiff ’s claim amounted to an abuse of process due to the taking of inconsistent positions. Both at trial and on appeal in Maxam Opportunities Fund Limited Partnership v. 729171 Alberta Inc., Bob Cooper, K.C. led a successful defence on behalf of a company against whom it was alleged that there existed an obligation to borrow funds from the plaintiff.
Competition/Antitrust: Ken McEwan, K.C. successfully led the defence of Fortress Paper Ltd. and Fortress Specialty Cellulose Inc. against a claim alleging knowing assistance in breach of trust, breach of confidence, and inducing breach of contract in Sateri (Shanghai) Management Ltd. v. Vinall.
Corporate and Shareholder: Our lawyers have represented shareholders and public and private corporations in a range of matters relating to corporate governance, oppression claims, derivative actions, and challenges to corporate control. In Rogers v. Rogers Communications Inc., Ken McEwan, K.C. and Emily Kirkpatrick successfully represented the authorized representative of the majority shareholder in a dispute as to the validity and effectiveness of a consent resolution to remove and replace five of the company’s board members. Benchmark recognized the case as a 2022 Impact Case. In Arkansas Teachers Retirement System v. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Ken and Emily successfully defeated a shareholder application to bring a derivative action against current and former directors and officers of Lions Gate.
Insolvency and Restructuring: Our lawyers have acted for debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders in both restructuring and collections matters.
Product Liability: Our lawyers have acted in significant product liability cases on behalf of Daimler Chrysler, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M), and Imperial Tobacco, among others. Ken McEwan, K.C. is consistently recognized in this area, having been described by Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability for 2018 as “incredibly skilled” and “a practitioner who consistently impresses clients with his encyclopedic knowledge.”
Real Estate: Our lawyers have acted for developers and owners in a range of property-related disputes. In The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v. Crystal Square Parking Corporation, Ken McEwan, K.C. and Emily Kirkpatrick successfully represented the respondent at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case addressing the test for pre-incorporation contracts and the rights and obligations arising for the covenants in those agreements, as they apply to strata corporations.
Ken, Bob Cooper, K.C., and Emily have similarly acted in cases concerning the interpretation of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (Bison Properties Ltd. (Re)), the priority and charge schemes under the Land Title Act (Bison Properties Ltd. (Re) and Yi Teng Investment Inc. v. Keltic (Brighouse) Development Ltd.), the relief from forfeiture provisions in the Law and Equity Act, in the context of commercial leases (Hudson’s Bay Company ULC v. Pensionfund Investment Ltd.), and the wind-up provisions under the Strata Property Act (Owners, Strata Plan VR2122 v. Bradbury).
Securities: Our lawyers are recognized for their expertise in litigating securities-related disputes. Recently, Ken McEwan, K.C., and Emily Kirkpatrick successfully defended one of two shareholder groups against allegations by the incumbent board that they were unlawfully acting jointly or in concert with others in a take-over bid, among other allegations (DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. (Re)) and represented the successful appellant in a case establishing the requirements for the BC Securities Commission to obtain and maintain freezing orders under the Securities Act (Party A v. BC (Securities Commission)). In Aurizon Mines Ltd. v. Northgate Minerals Corporation, Ken successfully upheld a standstill agreement and enjoined a take-over bid both at summary trial and on appeal. Extraordinarily, the time from the commencement of the action, through trial and appeal, and to the appeal judgment was 28 days.