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December 2014

We are very pleased to announce that Randy Kaardal, Q.C. has been appointed Queen’s Counsel. In announcing the appointment, the Attorney General stated that “The Queen’s Counsel designation is given to lawyers who demonstrate professional integrity, good character and excellence in the practice of law.”

Claire Hunter has been appointed to the Law Society of British Columbia’s Access to Legal Services Advisory Committee for 2015. This Committee advises the Benchers on priority planning with respect to access to legal services. Claire is past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s national Pro Bono Committee and is currently Vice-President of Access Pro Bono.

Bill Smart, Q.C. has published a chapter in the recent publication, Tough Crimes: True Cases by Top Canadian Criminal Lawyers. Bill wrote the chapter, “The Rest of the Story” about the murder trial of William Henry Terrico and its aftermath.

Gib van Ert spoke at the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC's 2014 Residential Real Estate Conference and presented a paper on Oil Tanks and Residential Conveyancing.

November 2014

Randy Kaardal presented a paper as part of the plenary session of the Canadian Bar Association's 15th Annual Administrative, Labour and Employment law Conference on Nov. 29th. The topic of the session was "Judicial Review of Reasoned Decisions: Attacking and Defending the Record"

Claire Hunter was quoted in the press recently in relation to the firm’s representation of former VANOC CEO John Furlong:

Claire Hunter was on a panel entitled “Making Use of Pro Bono Counsel” at the Law Foundation Systemic Advocacy Workshop on December 11, 2014

Randy Kaardal and Claire Hunter were counsel on one of the first applications for leave to appeal from an arbitral award heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court following the Supreme Court of Canada’s release of Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Molly Corp., 2014 SCC 53. Read More

On November 7, 2014, Ken McEwan, Q.C. spoke to the Advocates Society at their Fall Convention in Cancun, Mexico on the anticipated impact of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Hryiniak v Mauldin on summary procedure. Later in the month, Ken chaired a panel which included Hinkson CJSC, on Civil Litigation and Culture Change at the Continuing Legal Education's civil litigation symposium.

Law Society Award At the annual Bench and Bar dinner, John Hunter, Q.C. received the Law Society Award, which is awarded based on the criteria of integrity, professional achievement, service and law reform. The award is a sculpture of BC’s first Chief Justice, dispensing justice in the Cariboo on horseback. John is the fourteenth recipient of the Law Society award since its inception in 1986.

October 2014

John Hunter, Q.C. was quoted in the Financial Post commenting on a matter in which the firm is representing Taseko Mines Ltd.

Claire Hunter was on the faculty at the Infonex Professional Regulation and Discipline Conference on October 22, 2014. Claire gave a presentation entitled “Best Practices for Managing Evidence: Did You Get Everything You Need?”

Claire Hunter and Rebecca Robb successfully obtained an order varying spousal support in favour of our firm’s client: http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2014/2014bcsc2037/2014bcsc2037.pdf

We are pleased to welcome Katie Webber as the newest associate to our firm. Katie is a graduate of McGill Law School and most recently served as law clerk to Justice Marshall Rothstein of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In October, John Hunter, Q.C. gave two presentations on the constitutional implications of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision concerning the aboriginal title of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation, one at the annual Constitutional Law Symposium of the University of Alberta Law School’s Centre for Constitutional Studies and one at a conference hosted by the Pacific Business and Law Institute.

On October 10th, Ken McEwan, Q.C. spoke at a Continuing Legal Education course on a Panel with Willcock J.A. and Andrew Morrison on use of affidavits in the Court of Appeal.

September 2014

Gib van Ert has been elected to the board of the International Commission of Jurists (Canada Section). The ICJ was established in 1952 to ensure the progressive development and effective implementation of international human rights and international humanitarian law, to secure the realization of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, to safeguard the separation of powers and to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and legal profession.

Claire Hunter has been elected to the Provincial Council of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch (CBABC) for the County of Vancouver. The purpose of Provincial Council is to carry on the work of the CBABC and advance its objects.

A new book on The Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada has been published (New Federation House, 2014) which includes a chapter written by John Hunter, Q.C. on Chief Justice Francis Anglin, the 9th Chief Justice of Canada.

Rebecca Robb was in the news recently, having been interviewed by Lexpert Magazine for their article on Articling Alternatives.

Claire Hunter attended the 2014 National Pro Bono Conference in Regina on September 25-26, 2014. Claire spoke about some of the pro bono initiatives the firm is involved in on panels entitled “Taking it National” and “Working Outside the Box”

Claire Hunter successfully defeated two applications for security for costs brought against our client in a shareholder oppression proceeding: Ocean Pastures Corporation v. Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, 2014 BCSC 1788.

July 2014

Gib van Ert has published an article entitled “Three Obstacles to a Successful Cost Recovery Action in Residential Oil Tank Cases” in the July 2014 edition of The Advocate. The article can be viewed here.

On July 30, John Hunter, Q.C. was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in London.

June 2014

The 2014 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory has been published and counsel from our firm are again well represented in the listing of leading practitioners in British Columbia in Corporate-Commercial Litigation (Ken McEwan, Q.C. and John Hunter, Q.C., both in the “most frequently recommended” category), Product Liability Litigation (Ken and Bill Berardino, Employment Law – Management and Labour (Randy Kaardal), Securities Litigation (Ken), Aboriginal Law (John), Class Actions (Ken) and Forestry Litigation (John).

John Hunter, Q.C. and Claire Hunter, with the assistance of Ken Leung, were successful in the Court of Appeal in defending dismissal of an action against our firm’s client on the basis that it was an abuse of process. The Court of Appeal’s Reasons for Judgment in Sutherland v. Reeves, 2014 BCCA 222, are available here.

May 2014

We are pleased to welcome Caily DiPuma back to the firm. Caily practised as an associate with us from 2010 to 2013 before taking a hiatus from her practice for a year to serve as counsel to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, where she worked on a variety of human rights and constitutional cases, including complex strategic litigation in the areas of privacy and free expression. Caily now serves on the Board of Directors of the BCCLA.

The Canadian Lawyer magazine has once again published its list of the “Top 10 Litigation Boutiques in Canada” and Hunter Litigation Chambers has been recognized as one of the top 10 boutiques, one of three litigation firms in Western Canada to be so acknowledged.

On May 15, Claire Hunter co-chaired a webinar on “Civility in the Courtroom: Essentials for Trial Lawyers, sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch. Claire presented the lawyer’s perspective, with Mr. Justice Frits Verhoeven of the Supreme Court of British Columbia offering the perspective of the judge.

John Hunter, Q.C. gave a presentation on “Amicus Curiae: Everything you need to know” for the Advocates Society’s Spring Symposium in Toronto.

Claire Hunter and Heather Cochran were counsel in an appeal that raised important issues about the interaction between foreign and domestic child support orders and the impact of a parent’s non-compliance with British Columbia court orders and the right of her child to support. The Reasons for Judgment are available here.

John Hunter, Q.C. and Claire Hunter were successful in defending against an application brought by the Bank of Nova Scotia and ING Bank of Canada seeking to strike out an application brought by our clients RSP Generation Limited Partnership and RSP Generation Corp. relating to the right to use the name “Tangerine”. The Reasons for Judgment are here.

April 2014

We are pleased to welcome Rebecca Robb as a new associate with the firm. Rebecca is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University where she completed the joint Common Law and Master of Arts program. After receiving her law degree, Rebecca interned with the Pre-Trial Division of the International Criminal Court and clerked with the British Columbia Supreme Court. She then articled with our firm and joined us upon her call to the bar.

On April 11, Ken McEwan, Q.C. co-chaired a conference in Vancouver for the Advocates Society on the topic “Managing the Difficult Witness”. The conference was a part of the Advocates Society’s Bench and Bar Series.

In April, Euromoney published their “Expert Guide to the World’s Finest Lawyers” in Litigation and Product Liability. Bill Berardino, and John Hunter, Q.C. were recognized in Litigation, and Bill was also cited for his expertise in product Liability.

Claire Hunter has been appointed a director of the Access Pro Bono Society of British Columbia.

On April 29, John Hunter, Q.C. was called to the bar of the Yukon Territory. John has been retained by the Yukon Government to defend several lawsuits brought by First Nations in the Yukon.

Brent Olthuis was in the news recently in connection with his representation of three B.C. voters who have been challenging the federal voter identification rules. Read more

March 2014

Ken McEwan, Q.C. has been elected a member of the Board of Governors of the International Society of Barristers for a second term. The ISOB is an American-based organization comprised of leading litigation counsel from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its goals include improving advocacy under an adversary system, encouraging and demanding ethical conduct by all involved in litigation and protecting the rights of citizens, the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the Bar.

The annual Chambers Global Guide for 2014 has been published and once again Hunter Litigation Chambers has been listed in the top rank of dispute resolution firms in British Columbia. Bill Berardino, John Hunter, Q.C., Ken McEwan, Q.C. and Mike Stephens are individually ranked by Chambers.

Mike Stephens and Mark Oulton successfully defended the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in an action brought by a member of BCLC's Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program in Ross v. British Columbia Lottery Corporation, 2014 BCSC 320. The decision is the first of its kind in Canada to consider whether a casino operator owes a duty of care to a member of a voluntary self-exclusion program. In its decision the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that there was no negligence in BCLC's operation of the voluntary self-exclusion program, and also dismissed claims brought against BCLC on grounds of unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty. Brent Olthuis and Shannon Ramsay also participated in the trial resulting in the judgment.

John Hunter, Q.C. and Ken McEwan, Q.C. were panellists on the Continuing Legal Education’s Civil Litigation Conference 2014 on March 27. Ken spoke on Recent Developments in Class proceedings and John was on a panel with the Chief Justice of British Columbia to discuss standards of review in appellate proceedings.

Claire Hunter represented the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association at the Court of Appeal in a constitutional challenge to the province’s automatic roadside prohibition regime: Sivia v. British Columbia (Superintendant of Motor Vehicles), 2014 BCCA 79.

Ken McEwan, Q.C. and Claire Hunter were counsel for Capital One Bank (Canada Branch) in an application to certify a class action against the credit card industry in Canada heard over 12 day in 2013. The Reasons for Judgment in Watson v. Bank of America Corporation, et al, 2014 BCSC 532, have been released and are available here.

February 2014

For the second year in a row, Ken McEwan, Q.C. has been recognized as “British Columbia Litigator of the Year” for 2014 by Benchmark Canada, the only major third party guide to focus exclusively on litigation lawyers and firms. Ken was also shortlisted by Benchmark for Class Action Lawyer of the Year and Competition Lawyer of the Year. A case in which he was counsel, Sun-Rype Products Ltd. v. Archer Daniels Midland Company, 2013 SCC 58, was awarded the National Impact Case of the Year by Benchmark. Hunter Litigation Chambers was shortlisted by Benchmark for British Columbia Firm of the Year and Class Action Firm of the Year.

Claire Hunter has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Access Pro Bono, British Columbia’s leading pro bono organization with the objective of delivering a full spectrum of pro bono services for low-income clients.

Ken McEwan, Q.C. has been admitted as a Member of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is a not-for-profit, UK registered organization with a global membership of around 12,000 arbitrators and mediators who have professional training in private dispute resolution.

Ken McEwan, Q.C. and Heather Cochran successfully obtained the enforcement of a “Sunset Clause” in a plan of arrangement: Sturm v. Sprott Resource Lending Corporation, 2014 BCSC 190.

January 2014

Lexpert Canada has released its top ten litigation cases of 2013 and Hunter Litigation Chambers counsel appeared in three of them. John Hunter represented the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in Canadian National Railway Co. v. McKercher LLP in the Supreme Court of Canada and also acted as counsel for the Federation in the British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in Federation of Law Societies of Canada v Canada (Attorney General), the top two cases on Lexpert’s list. Ken McEwan, Q.C. represented Cargill in the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Sun-Rype Products Ltd. v. Archer Daniels Midland Company, 2013 SCC 58.

Claire Hunter successfully obtained dismissal of a claim against our firm’s client on an application to strike: I.J. v. J.A.M., 2014 BCSC 89