British Columbia

Firm overview

Bennett Jones is consistently recognized for its expertise in domestic and cross-border litigation. The firm is known for its uncompromising strength in the areas of competition and antitrust, securities, class actions, energy, commercial, intellectual property, fraud, construction, restructuring/insolvency, employment, health, and professional negligence litigation and has prominent practitioners in alternate dispute resolution, including international commercial arbitration. We are committed to working with our clients to develop an effective and cost-efficient strategy to identify and achieve their unique goals in the prosecution and defense of business disputes.

With more than 100 lawyers practicing commercial litigation nationally, Bennett Jones litigators have significant experience in all aspects of dispute resolution, and have leading reputations before courts and tribunals. We represent some of Canada's largest corporations, including energy producers, and technology and telecommunications companies, and are skilled in conducting commercial arbitrations, including those involving issues in the oil and gas, mining and construction industries. Our litigation practice is supported by the considerable strength of our appellate advocacy and judicial review practice which provides clients and referring counsel with specialized and strategic advice on all aspects of cases on appeal or under judicial review.

We are frequently retained by major domestic and international corporations in the defense of class actions. Representing parties at every stage of the lawsuit, from pre-certification motions and applications through to trial, we bring to each phase coordinated strategies and effective communications to streamline the litigation process. We also advise clients on mitigating their class action risk and proactively monitor trends in prospective class action developments.

Recognizing that many disputes are settled prior to trial, our commercial and technical expertise provides another valuable set of skills to the negotiation and settlement of litigation. Our team approach ensures that we provide the most timely, effective and innovative support to our clients. Our lawyers' reputations, contributions to Canadian case law, and distinguished history of service have resulted in top rankings in all major legal directories for many of our litigators, in a multitude of litigation practice areas.

Firm Culture:

Bennett Jones reflects the integrity and professional excellence of the firm’s Founding Partners. After more than 100 years of service, the firm has produced some of Canada’s most accomplished legal and business leaders, fostering values that established it as one of Canada’s most successful business law firms. The firm prides itself on offering clients innovative, strategic and forward-thinking approaches to their most complex legal and regulatory challenges and opportunities. Bennett Jones promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment where mutual respect and independent thought lead client and colleague interactions. Bennett Jones is proud to have been recognized for 23 consecutive years as one of Canada’s Best Employers.

Firm overview

Farris is a high performance law firm, with the proven capacity and experience to execute and close complex and diverse transactions. The firm’s clients include some of the most significant public institutions, listed companies and private corporations in British Columbia. Farris balances a strong regional and national presence with an expanding international practice that includes US, European, and Asia-Pacific based clients.

Many of our lawyers are recognized as leaders in their field. Most of our Partners are named as industry leading experts and 85% of the Partners are independently ranked among the best.

The firm practices nationally from its office in Vancouver, and has offices in Kelowna and Victoria. Farris has over 100 professionals who collectively offer a full range of legal services and tax planning and advice.

Awards:

• 28 Farris lawyers ranked in The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory.
• 61 Farris Lawyers Recognized in the Best Lawyers in Canada Directory
• 13 Farris partners ranked in Benchmark Litigation Canada
• 7 Farris Lawyers named in Chambers Canada Guide
• Farris Named Top Western Firm

Firm overview

The Firm:

Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s leading litigation and dispute resolution firms.

Established to provide trial, appellate, and alternative dispute resolution advocacy at the highest level to clients facing complex disputes, NST has carefully expanded its team which includes leading counsel at all levels, including five King’s Counsel and the next generation of top-ranked partners: James C. MacInnis, K.C., Mark S. Oulton, K.C., Karen L.M. Carteri, and Julia K. Lockhart. In 2024, we added Heather Doi and Kayla Strong to the partnership, and in 2025 Emily Hansen and James Parker also joined the partnership. The firm also boasts a group of associates including former clerks and gold medalists.

NST’s partners are ranked as leading practitioners in Lexpert, Best Lawyers, Chambers and Partners, and Benchmark. NST was again selected as one of Canada’s Top 10 Civil Litigation Boutiques by Canadian Lawyer in 2024-2025 and has been included in the Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Best Law firms annually since its inception. In addition to its work for clients, the firm’s lawyers serve as adjunct professors at the Allard School of Law (UBC) teaching classes on restitution, legal ethics and advanced contract law; write chapters on civil procedure and evidence in the Annual Review of Law and Practice; frequently speak at continuing legal education events; and co-author the annual British Columbia Supreme Court Rules Annotated and The Civil Appeal Handbook.

The firm acts regularly in some of British Columbia and Canada’s most significant cases across the full range of commercial matters, including contract disputes, shareholders’ and partnership disputes, securities and oppression claims, real estate development and property disputes, hostile take-over bids and derivative actions, administrative proceedings, actions for professional negligence, defamation actions and employment disputes, class actions and representative proceedings, forestry, resources and mining claims. NST’s clients include successful private and public companies, many of whom are referred to us by leading Canadian and international law firms.

Representative Work: A few of the firm’s practice areas and representative cases include:

Recent Commercial/Civil Disputes: In Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. v. Oei, the firm successfully defended a claim in excess of $350 million brought by Concord Pacific against the three named defendants, including renowned Singaporean businessman, Hong Leong Oei. In Wastech Ltd. v. GVS&DD, 2021 SCC 7, NST partners Irwin Nathanson K.C. and Julia Lockhart acted for Metro Vancouver in a case with important implications for all contracts that provide one party with discretionary powers, building on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Bhasin. NST has in depth experience acting in major civil forfeiture proceedings involving allegations of white collar crime. NST also regularly acts in private complex commercial arbitration matters.

In addition, Murray Clemens K.C. actively arbitrates and mediates a wide variety of commercial disputes.

Forestry and Resources: NST recently welcomed leading litigator Mark S. Oulton to the partnership. Mark has extensive experience at trial, on appeal, and before administrative tribunals in a range of commercial litigation and administrative law matters, with a particular focus on forestry and commercial disputes. Mark is recognized as a leading practitioner of forestry law in British Columbia and nationally, by Lexpert and Chambers Canada, as well as being recognized by Best Lawyers in the area of natural resources law, including as Lawyer of the Year in this area for 2025. NST acts in an ongoing matter involving the Mineral Tenure Act, Skeena Resources Ltd. v. Mill, 2022 BCSC 1360, 2022 BCSC 2032 and 2024 BCCA 249, which contributes to the limited jurisprudence on the issue of title to mine tailings under the province’s Mineral Tenure Act, and addresses the proper scope of participation by both public interest interveners and administrative decision-makers.

Insolvency and Restructuring: NST also has an active bankruptcy and insolvency practice headed by Peter Reardon. Peter has been twice recognized by Best Lawyers Canada as Lawyer of the Year for Insolvency and Restructuring in Vancouver, including for 2020 and regularly acts for trustees, receivers, financial institutions and other creditors as well as for debtors and other stakeholders in restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy matters.

Human Rights Law: In 2020 and 2021, Karen Carteri acted pro bono for a group of families seeking visitation rights for loved ones in long term care during the pandemic. In 2019, the firm acted for an intervenor, the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health, before the BCCA in A.B. v. C.D.

Property Disputes: NST regularly acts for major property developers in development and project and land interest disputes, and in other property related claims and disputes. In a recent arbitration, the firm successfully acted for a partner in a dispute relating to partnership interests in and valuation of a property development involving lands worth over $100 million, and is acting in several other ongoing major property development disputes involving British Columbia’s largest developers in projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Recognition: Benchmark Canada regularly lists many of the firm’s lawyers as “Litigation Stars”, including: Irwin Nathanson K.C., Stephen Schachter K.C., Murray Clemens K.C., James MacInnis K.C., Mark S. Oulton, Karen Carteri, and Julia Lockhart. This year, partners Heather Doi and Kayla Strong are recognized as Future Stars. Irwin Nathanson and Stephen Schachter continue to be recognized as two of Canada’s Top 50 Trial Lawyers.

Chambers and Partners Canada ranks NST in its top category of B.C. commercial litigation firms, with several partners highly ranked in general commercial litigation. Mark Oulton is top ranked counsel Canada-wide in Agribusiness: Forestry.

Lexpert has ranked the firm in its top tier of litigation specialty firms in Vancouver since the inception of that publication. It ranks partners Irwin Nathanson K.C., Stephen Schachter K.C., Murray Clemens K.C., Mark Oulton and James MacInnis K.C. as leading commercial litigators in Vancouver and associate counsel Peter Reardon as a leader in insolvency litigation. Mark Oulton is also ranked in Forestry Law.

Best Lawyers consistently ranks members of the firm as leading lawyers in a variety of categories, including Bet-the-Company Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Director and Officer Liability, Natural Resources Law, Labour and Employment, and Securities Law.

Firm overview