British Columbia

Firm overview

Firm overview

As a leading business law firm, McMillan LLP serves public, private and not-for-profit clients across key industries in Canada, the United States and internationally. With recognized expertise and acknowledged leadership in major business sectors, we provide solutions-oriented legal advice through our offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal.

To help organizations stay ahead, we provide exceptional industry insights in transportation, technology and technology transactions, infrastructure and construction, and natural resources and energy. Whether it’s a cross-border transaction, a complicated private equity deal, complex real estate financing, or a bet-the-company lawsuit or regulatory dispute, by fostering a supportive workplace culture, McMillan’s 300+ lawyers serve clients with excellence and responsiveness, delivering the real-time solutions they need.

Our firm values - respect, teamwork, commitment, client service and professional excellence - are at the heart of McMillan’s commitment to serve our clients, our local communities and the legal profession. Among other industry and professional accolades, we are proud to be named Canada’s Top 100 Employers 2024, one of only two law firms recognized in this prestigious competition.

About our Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group

With an impressive track record in domestic and cross-border litigation, McMillan’s lawyers are recognized for their creativity and effectiveness in bringing disputes to satisfactory conclusions, both inside and outside the courts. And with specialists in key areas such as competition, intellectual property, real estate, securities and others, our litigators always strive to deliver a complete solution—no matter the nature of your corporate or commercial disputes.

As experienced litigators, we always assess risk and opportunities before advising clients on the likelihood of success and helping them weigh their options. We also understand that litigation is not always the preferred option, and help clients pursue a full range of resolution avenues including early negotiated settlements and alternative dispute resolution methods. If we proceed to court, however, we are recognized for our ability to tenaciously advance our clients’ commercial interests.

Firm overview

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:

• Abuse litigation
• Bodily Injury
• Cannabis
• Class Action
• Commercial Litigation
• Construction
• Coverage
• Cyber Liability
• Defamation
• Employment
• Energy Litigation
• Environmental Disputes
• Health & Disability
• Hospitality & Liquor Liability
• Indigenous Law
• Injury & ICBC Claims
• Insurance
• Local Government
• Multi-Jurisdictional Disputes
• Northern Canada
• Product Liability
• Professional Liability
• Regulatory & Insurance Policy Group
• Restructuring & Insolvency
• Retail Risks
• Road Maintenance
• Sports Liability
• Subrogation & Recovery
• Surety
• Transportation

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.