Representing the Interests of Your Business
What We Do
Our Commercial Litigation Group serves a diverse array of clients drawn from sectors including: business, real estate, financial and professional services, insurance, pharmaceutical, high tech, construction, retail, restaurant, franchising, petroleum and university communities.
We handle all types of contract disputes ranging from the purchase and sale of specified property or a business, violation of restrictive covenants or non-solicitation or non-compete clauses in business contracts, to the enforcement of confidentiality clauses and proprietary rights and restrictions.
We represent clients in all levels of court, in ADR such as mediation and arbitration proceedings, and in hearings before administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies.
Our clients include one of the largest Canadian universities, the largest petroleum company, property and casualty insurers, commercial landlords, real estate developers, commercial lenders, financial service providers, banks, credit unions, construction contractors, retail chains, family owned businesses and various accounting, engineering and architectural service firms.
What You Can Expect from Us
We will look for the most cost effective, efficient, prompt and practical solutions to a client’s problem. Litigation is often best viewed as the strategy of last resort, after other dispute resolution processes and negotiation have failed. Whether you are headed for court or the negotiating table, effective communication is the first step in resolving any issue. Therefore, at the outset we gather the necessary background materials and interview all relevant witnesses as the basis for our legal opinion. We will include a recommended course of action based on a risk assessment and a cost/ benefit analysis. As legal counsel, we try to predict the chances of success or failure in any particular case so that we can arm our clients with the advice and information they need to make informed business decisions.
Our commercial litigators work closely with the solicitors in our real estate, corporate, wealth preservation and intellectual property / high tech practice groups to analyze problems and identify steps required to mitigate the impact of a commercial dispute on our clients or to position our clients effectively in anticipation of engaging in a dispute resolution process. We know from experience that early intervention and advice can minimize the risks and exposure to our clients and put them in the best possible position to salvage a transaction, protect business and proprietary interests, recover substantial damages or avoid significant losses.
Typically we bill our clients monthly, on a “pay as you go” basis which is closely tied to hourly rates. Occasionally we are asked to consider contingency fees where our lawyers are paid a percentage of the amount recovered on behalf of our clients.
Legal Services
Our lawyers have significant advocacy experience at all levels of court in British Columbia and in arbitration proceedings. Our litigators are all skilled negotiators with extensive experience as counsel in mediation and other dispute resolution processes. In addition, some of our litigators are trained mediators.
Our lawyers handle all types of commercial disputes related to the breach of a contract including disputes among:
- Shareholders
- Partners
- Business competitors
- Construction contractors
- Insurers and insureds
- Employers and employees
- Vendors and purchasers
- Lenders and borrowers
- Creditors and debtors
- Commercial landlords and tenants
For assistance please contact one of our commercial litigation lawyers:
- James D. Vilvang, Q.C.
- Colin A. Millar
- H. Scott MacDonald
- Mark R. Davies
- David W. Hay
- D. Scott Lamb
- Alex L. Eged*
- Peter W. Lightbody
- Mark C. Baron
- C. Nicole Mangan
- R. Amos Comeau
- Genevieve Y. Chang
*Law Corporation