Hein Poulus, KC is one of the most senior and experienced business litigators in Vancouver.
Hein has acted on some of the most consequential commercial disputes in the Province, including the successful defence of the Aquilini family against a claim by the Gaglardi and Beedie families that they were the rightful owners of the Vancouver Canucks and the successful defence of the Fuller family against claims by Richard Jaffray that he was entitled to majority ownership of the Cactus Club chain of restaurants. More recently, he was retained as lead counsel to defend TELUS Health against the high-profile attempt by the Medical Services Commission to secure an injunction restraining TELUS from operating its LifePlus preventive healthcare program.
Hein interrupted his legal career for a decade to hold senior management positions with Kaiser Resources, the Denver Broncos and Southeastern Capital Corporation, a U.S. private equity firm. Hein’s approach to the management of business litigation is informed by those experiences. He believes that the task of a business litigator is to optimize the net present value of litigation, recognizing that the costs of litigation are early and certain, while outcomes are late and uncertain.
Hein has been consistently recognized as leading counsel by numerous publications, including Chambers, Lexpert, Best Lawyers and Benchmark in Canada.
Hein has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, the B.C. Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as various regulatory agencies and courts in B.C. and elsewhere.
He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2001 and was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2010. Hein is fluent in Dutch.
Updated April 2024
