Lexpert presents the top corporate and commercial litigation law firms in British Columbia, based on the results of our comprehensive yearly peer survey. You can see the full list of the province’s leading corporate and commercial litigation lawyers and law firms in our practice area rankings list.
Corporate and commercial litigation governs almost every type of dispute in a business context. In our survey, this practice area encompasses the provision of advice and representation, whether by way of negotiation, civil proceedings, alternative dispute resolution, mediation or arbitration. It involves all matters relating to disputes regarding commercial contracts, and purchase and sale of assets, equipment or other lease agreements.
The practice also involves banking and financing litigation, which includes secured and unsecured enforcement and recovery, multi-party creditor disputes, asset recovery and tracing, and disputes regarding various security, financing or trade instruments. It also encompasses business organization disputes resulting from shareholder agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, distribution, agency and other such matters.
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Year established: 2000
Number of lawyers: 20 (commercial litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Brook Greenberg, Gavin Cameron, Tracey M. Cohen, Simon R. Coval, Geoffrey Cowper, Jenny Francis, Jonathan Lim, Andrew I. Nathanson, Mark Pontin
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is a full-service law firm with a more than 700-strong roster of lawyers worldwide. In Canada, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City and Calgary. The firm also has international headquarters in London in the UK, Johannesburg in South Africa and Beijing in China. Fasken specializes in complex business and litigation matters. The firm takes pride in having a diverse and inclusive workplace, and its community involvement, pro bono work and membership in respected legal organizations globally.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year established: 1856
Number of lawyers: 29 (Litigation and dispute resolution)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Sean Boyle, Peter Bychawski, Tony Crossman, Laura Cundari, Michael Howcroft, William C. Kaplan, Alexandra Luchenko, Joanne R. Lysyk, Joe McArthur, Roy Millen, Robin Reinertson, Peter Rubin, James Sullivan
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) is one of Canada’s leading full-service business law firms. It has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Montréal, and international headquarters in New York in the US and London in the UK. The firm provides clients with access to its full spectrum of capabilities in virtually every area of business law. Blakes handles transactions of all sizes and levels of complexity whether an issue is local or multi-jurisdictional, or practice-area specific or interdisciplinary.
Read more about Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP on cannabis sector litigation
FARRIS
Year established: 1903
Number of lawyers: 16 (Corporate & commercial litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Scott Dawson, Ludmila B. Herbst, Sean Hern, Nicholas T. Hooge, Robert J. McDonell, Teresa M. Tomchak, Mike Wagner
British Columbia-based Farris has offices in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria. It is one of Canada’s leading corporate and litigation law firms, representing some of the largest public and private institutions and corporations in the province. Farris’ core practice areas are corporate and commercial law, litigation, labour and employment law, and taxation planning and advice. Over 80% of the firm’s partners are acknowledged as leaders in their respective practice areas while over 25% of the partnership is made up of women, with senior and junior women holding leadership positions. The firm is also committed to providing pro bono services to low income and otherwise disadvantaged groups.
Hunter Litigation Chambers
Year established: 2006
Number of lawyers: 23
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Vancouver-based boutique firm Hunter Litigation Chambers specializes in litigation and dispute resolution. The firm boasts the depth and capability to handle the full range of commercial disputes and class actions, including in the anti-trust and product liability areas. It also has the expertise to handle matters across a broad spectrum encompassing professional negligence, natural resources, labour and employment, defamation, public and constitutional law, Aboriginal law, and criminal and quasi-criminal prosecutions. Hunter Litigation Chambers appears regularly in all levels of court, including the Court of Appeal for British Columbia and the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Year established: 1823
Number of lawyers: 50+ (Corporate and commercial – Disputes)
Number of ranked lawyers: 1
Partners: Leon Beukman, Craig Chiasson, Robert J. C. Deane, Luke Dineley, Jennifer M. Fantini, Allison Foord, Bradley Freedman, Peter Glowacki, Do-Ellen S. Hansen, Lisa Hiebert, Krista M. Johanson, Scott Kerwin, Serge Lakatos, Dirk Laudan, Michelle T. Maniago, Grant H. Mayovsky, Sarah McEachern, Ross McGowan, David Miachika, Blair Rebane, Dionysios Rossi, Michael A. Skene, Matthew G. Swanson, Jeffrey S. Thomas, Graham Walker, Steve Warnett, Rick Williams, Steve M. Winder, Peter A. Wong
Full-service firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) boasts a more than 700-strong pool of lawyers in its offices in Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary. It advises businesses and other institutions on all aspects of business law, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, major disputes, financing, and trademark and patent registration. BLG is a bilingual English/French firm that excels under both the common and civil law systems in Canada. The firm is the largest of the country’s few AmLaw Global 100 firms and also one of the first in North America to implement client service standards. It takes pride in having a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Lawson Lundell LLP
Year established: 1886
Number of lawyers: 35 (Commercial litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 1
Partners: Scott R. Andersen, Laura L. Bevan, Kinji C. Bourchier, Tamela J. Coates, Lauren E. Cook, Michael J. Donaldson, Mark E. Fancourt-Smith, Craig A.B. Ferris, Kelly Hannan, Shannon K. Hayes, Michael B. Morgan, Amy M. Nathanson, Lisa A. Peters, Peter J. Roberts, Jonathan H. Selnes, Marika R. Strobl, Marko Vesely, Grant Vogeli, Shannon L. Wray
Lawson Lundell LLP is one of Canada’s leading commercial law firms. It advises public and private sector clients on a wide range of areas, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, corporate finance, mining, energy, banking, real estate, pensions and employee benefits, technology transactions and taxation. The firm boasts extensive experience regulatory and commercial litigation, including in the areas of Indigenous, environmental, energy, labour and employment law, and insolvency. It has offices in Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Yellowknife. Lawson Lundell is a member of the World Services Group, a global network of professional service firms.
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year established: 1855
Number of lawyers: 10+ (Corporate and commercial litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 2
Partners: Alexandra Cocks, Michael Feder, Scott Griffin, Miranda Lam, Jill Yates
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is one of Canada’s leading full-service law firms, representing both domestic and international clients. It has offices in Vancouver, Montréal, Québec City, Calgary, Toronto, New York in the US and London in the UK. The firm offers integrated business, litigation, tax, real property, and labour and employment services. It boasts industry groups that provide advice in a broad range of industries, including, banking and financial services, energy and infrastructure, private equity and investments, resources and extraction, retail and consumer markets, capital markets, real estate, technology and communications, and healthcare and science. McCarthy Tétrault’s lawyers have acted as counsel at every level of the federal and provincial court systems, and frequently appear before regulatory and administrative tribunals and commercial arbitrations.