British Columbia

Firm overview

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., Claire Hunter, K.C., John Hunter, K.C. and the Hon. Russell Brown are 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. and John Hunter, K.C. are Fellows of the International Society of Barristers.

The firm’s experience is enhanced by two retired judges as Associate Counsel: the Hon. Russell Brown, recently retired from the Supreme Court of Canada and one of the firm’s founders, the Hon. John Hunter, K.C. after his retirement from the BC Court of Appeal.

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, acting for defendants from both industry and government.

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. The Hon. Russell Brown is an in-demand arbitrator for domestic and international arbitration matters.

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. acts regularly for the Province of British Columbia in significant constitutional matters, 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. The Hon. John Hunter KC and the Hon. Russell Brown are active in advising and providing opinions on significant public law matters across Canada.

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 45 years of experience appearing in trial courts on criminal law and regulatory cases and a member of faculty of the Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program for over 30 years.

Firm overview

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.

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

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:

• Commercial contracts 
• Class actions 
• Constitutional challenges
• Employment and human rights 
• Real property disputes
• Environmental 
• Tax
• Antitrust
• Tort law
• Civil or extra contractual liability 
• Construction contracts, liens, claims
• Patent and trademark infringement
• Insolvency
• Professional liability claims
• Products liability claims 
• Defamation
• Injunctions
• Interim orders and other relief sought on an urgent basis
• Shareholder disputes
• Securities
• Regulatory
• Disciplinary
• Penal and criminal
• Directors’ and officers’ liability
• Breach of fiduciary obligations
• Health
• Medical Malpractice