Hunter Litigation Chambers has been consistently recognized as one of the premier firms in British Columbia practicing in the field of dispute resolution. The senior counsel have developed their reputations as leading litigation and arbitration counsel during their respective tenures at some of Canada’s leading corporate/commercial law firms. Randy Kaardal K.C., Bill Smart, K.C., and Claire Hunter, K.C., have consistently been identified in peer-reviewed publications as leading counsel in various litigation-related categories. Bill Smart, K.C. and Claire Hunter, K.C. are both Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Randy Kaardal, K.C. and Claire Hunter, K.C. are both Fellows of the Litigation Counsel of America. Bill Smart, K.C. is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.
The firm’s experience is enhanced by Associate Counsel Martin Taylor, K.C., one of Canada’s leading counsel and adjudicators over the past 40 years.
Hunter Litigation Chambers has the depth and capability to handle the full range of commercial litigation, arbitration, product liability, aboriginal, administrative, labour and employment, public law litigation, and criminal and quasi-criminal matters. In addition to their trial level practice, counsel from the firm appear regularly in the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Canada, and in the federal courts, including the Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada. Our senior lawyers are experienced appellate counsel and often provide specialized appellate services to lawyers whose practices are primarily at the trial level.
The firm embraces a strong commitment to professional and academic excellence with many of its lawyers having clerked for justices of the superior courts of Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Commercial Litigation is a primary practice area for Hunter Litigation Chambers. All of the counsel in the firm practice in this area. In addition to the experience of our senior lawyers, our junior and intermediate counsel are developing strong reputations as competent and creative commercial counsel. The firm is able to assemble a team capable of handling commercial matters of any size and complexity.
Class Actions – Claire Hunter, K.C. has extensive experience in the field.
Products Liability – Counsel from Hunter Litigation Chambers have a history
of handling a variety of complex products liability matters involving failed or allegedly dangerous products. Our cases have involved aircraft components, oil field equipment, machinery, roofing materials and motor vehicles. In addition, we have acted for pharmaceutical companies and handled cases involving allegedly defective medical devices and other allegedly dangerous products including tobacco.
Arbitration – Randy Kaardal, K.C. and Claire Hunter, K.C. have acted as arbitration counsel in several commercial matters and also as litigation counsel in cases arising out of arbitration proceedings, including the leading case on judicial review of arbitral decisions.
Administrative and Public Law – The firm has a diverse public law practice, which includes acting for and against provincial and federal administrative tribunals and ministries in judicial review proceedings, administrative appeals, marketing board proceedings, constitutional challenges, and permit hearings.
Randy Kaardal K.C., has broad experience in administrative and public law disputes and representing public bodies and professional regulatory tribunals. He has extensive experience before administrative tribunals and courts in judicial review proceedings. Claire Hunter, K.C. has an active marketing board practice and has acted in a wide variety of legal challenges to administrative decisions. Randy Kaardal, K.C., and Bill Smart K.C., have experience practicing before professional regulatory tribunals, including representation of both professional associations and their members.
Aboriginal Law – Counsel from Hunter Litigation Chambers have been in the forefront of the development of a body of Aboriginal Law in British Columbia, representing industry and government in responding to claims of Aboriginal rights and title.
Forestry Law – Nicole Gilewicz and Randy Kaardal, K.C. head the forestry law practice at Hunter Litigation Chambers. The Firm regularly represents licensees and other companies and individuals in matters before the Forest Appeals Commission, the British Columbia Supreme Court, and the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
Labour and Employment Law – The firm’s labour and employment practice is headed by Randy Kaardal K.C. who has over 35 years of experience handling labour and employment matters. The labour and employment practice is supported by Paul Heisler, who has over 20 years of experience handling all matters arising in the labour and employment field. Mr. Kaardal and Mr. Heisler, together with a talented group of associates, have been counsel on many of the leading decisions in British Columbia related to employment law, labour law, and human rights law. The firm’s labour and employment practice is broad-based, dealing with the full spectrum of issues arising out of the employment relationship in both union and non-union environments.
Criminal and Regulatory Law – Hunter Litigation Chambers has developed a broad-based criminal law and regulatory practice that includes prosecutions under the Criminal Code as well as various other federal and provincial statutes and regulations. The firm is also retained from time to time by the Crown to act on its behalf. Bill Smart, K.C. has over 35 years of experience appearing in trial courts on criminal law and regulatory cases and has been a member of faculty of the Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program for the last 30 years.
Updated March 2023
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP is a Canadian law firm focused on serving the advocacy, advisory, and transactional needs of the country’s most dynamic business sectors.
Cassels brings a rare depth and breadth of experience to both the negotiating table and the courtroom. We offer recognized expertise in resolving complex legal issues, pride ourselves on developing inventive and effective means of solving problems, and have a reputation for assertive and efficient settlements built on a track record of favorable motion and trials decisions – counsel know that we are ready, willing, and able to go all the way to court.
Our litigators represent clients at all levels of federal and provincial courts including the Alberta, BC, and Ontario Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Cassels also boasts one of the country’s leading class action defence teams - we successfully defended the first-ever class action in Ontario and have maintained our position as a market leader with precedent-setting class action defence work ever since. As your strategic advisors, our approach to litigation focuses on two things – reputation and success.
Cassels offers one of the largest law practices in Canada, advising clients from start-ups to multi-national organizations—across the street and around the world—and we are consistently cited as market leaders by such authorities as Chambers, Lexpert, and Best Lawyers.
We are dedicated to staying on the leading edge of trends in law and business to offer practical and flexible solutions to any legal challenge.
At Cassels, your success is our priority.
Select Key Industries and Areas of Practice:
Updated April 2023
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, Karen L.M. Carteri, Peter R. Senkpiel and Julia K. Lockhart. The firm also boasts a group of associates made up of 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 2022 and was included in the Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Best Law firms in 2021 and 2022. In addition to its work for clients, the firm’s lawyers serve as adjunct professors at the Allard School of Law (UBC); write chapters in texts on Business Torts, Government Liability, and 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’ 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. In Great Canadian Gaming Corporation v. British Columbia Lottery Corporation, the firm represented Great Canadian in a $35 million commercial dispute, achieving settlement on the eve of a nine week trial. NST acted on behalf of the Vancouver Aquarium in Ocean Wise Conservation Association v. Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in a dispute regarding breach of contract and municipal law relating to animals in captivity. NST is also currently acting in two high profile civil forfeiture matters.
In addition, Murray Clemens K.C. actively arbitrates and mediates a wide variety of commercial disputes.
Forestry and Resources: This year, NST has welcomed leading litigator Mark 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. NST recently acted in a matter involving the Mineral Tenure Act, Skeena Resources Ltd. v. Mill, 2022 BCSC 1360 and 2022 BCSC 2032, 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, Peter Senkpiel 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.
Recognition:
Updated March 2023
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 Victoria, 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:
Updated March 2023