Best Law Firms in Vancouver, BC for Administrative and Public Law

EKB has a long-standing tradition of professional excellence, reflected in the breadth of our legal services and the depth of experience within our team. The firm was founded in 1965 when Jack T. Edwards and John C. Bouck (both later appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia) formed the partnership of Bouck and Edwards. Four years later, Brenton D. Kenny (later Q.C.) joined the firm and continues to serve as Associate Counsel. Ronald C. Bray and other accomplished lawyers soon followed, contributing to the firm’s reputation for thoughtful, high-quality legal work.

Our lawyers are committed to staying current with legal developments and emerging issues that affect our clients and communities. Many members of the firm regularly present at conferences organized by The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., Insight, EPIC, The Canadian Institute, and other professional organizations.

Our lawyers have also served the legal profession in a variety of roles, including:

• Benchers of The Law Society of British Columbia
• Council members of the Canadian Bar Association and its B.C. Branch
• Executive members of national and provincial sections of the Canadian Bar Association
• Executive members of the Vancouver Bar Association
• Adjunct Professors at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law
• Course Instructors at the Professional Legal Training Course

EKB’s commitment extends beyond the practice of law. Our lawyers and staff value community involvement and contribute time and effort to a wide range of pro bono initiatives, community groups, and charitable organizations.

Farris LLP ("Farris") is a leading Canadian law firm with offices in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The full-service firm represents some of the largest public and private institutions and corporations in the province, and has the proven capacity and experience to carry out complex and multi-dimensional legal projects.

Corporate/Commercial: With more than 30 lawyers, the Corporate/Commercial group at Farris is relied upon by clients to assist with a wide range of matters, across a variety of industries. Unique amongst most large law firms, our corporate lawyers are first trained as generalists before they specialize in any given area of business law. We believe a broad legal knowledge of the key business law issues affecting businesses and industries enables us to help our clients solve their legal problems –big or small–quickly and effectively.

Delivering on our clients’ goals and ambitions means working closely with our clients to develop work plans tailored to their particular needs in terms of scope and budget. Our clients rely upon our advice regarding capital raising, finance strategies, governance issues, succession planning, insourcing, and outsourcing. Our lawyers assist with contract drafting and negotiations, securing regulatory approvals, agreements for joint ventures, and acquiring or selling aspects of a business. We regularly advise on privately negotiated transactions, controlled auctions, plans of arrangement and take-over bids, as well as reorganizations and restructurings for tax optimization.

Advocacy & Litigation: Our litigators are recognized leaders in their field, providing timely, creative and practical representation in a full range of commercial, corporate and constitutional litigation, and have extensive experience conducting hearings, trials and appeals. Our clients are diverse and include major business organizations, public bodies, universities, First Nations, media organizations, family litigants, and public interest groups. We advocate for our clients in every forum and at every level of court, and are engaged in many of the most important cases in the province at any given time. We recognize that advocacy work entails flexibility and a constant evaluation of available options, and that not all matters require a formal hearing. We actively look for opportunities to engage in alternate dispute resolution processes where appropriate.

Labour and Employment: Farris has a full-service labour and employment practice, providing advice, counsel, and representation to our clients in all aspects of workplace law.

We have broad experience representing employers in employment law disputes, including wrongful dismissal matters, disputes relating to restrictive covenants, disability related claims, discrimination and accommodation matters, Human Rights issues, employment and labour standards matters, privacy matters, and workers compensation issues. Our lawyers regularly represent our clients in Court and before administrative tribunals that apply employment-related statutes.

Our lawyers have vast experience in labour relations matters, acting before arbitrators, arbitration boards, and appearing in related judicial reviews and injunction applications before all levels of court and advising employers in a wide range of industries. We regularly act for employers with respect to grievance arbitration and collective agreement administration. Our lawyers conduct Labour Board hearings including applications for certification and decertification, unfair labour practices, variance, common employer and successorship issues. We assist clients with strikes and lockouts and the legal issues that can arise including picketing, ally and replacement workers.

We also assist our clients in drafting and reviewing employment agreements that cover all aspects of the employment relationship, including compensation and benefits, stock options and other incentive plans, severance provisions, restrictive covenants, intellectual property matters, hours of work, and alternative dispute resolution; as well as drafting Employee Handbooks that provide for various rules and regulations that apply in the workplace.

Taxation: Farris lawyers work together with our clients and their accountants to provide timely, innovative and practical tax advice. Representing a broad range of domestic, international, public and private-sector corporate clients across many industries, we provide guidance in areas of expertise such as mergers & acquisitions, real estate, structuring corporate groups and partnerships, fund formation and executive compensation. Our lawyers also have vast experience in advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, cross-border debt and equity offerings, structuring and financing of inbound investments into Canada and outbound investments from Canada, foreign affiliate reorganizations, profit repatriation, intellectual property migration strategies, electronic commerce, transfer pricing and tax treaty issues. For our private clients, we offer advice in owner-manager tax planning, estate and trust planning, private equity and venture capital investments.

If and when audits or disputes with the tax authorities arise, our lawyers have the experience and expertise to support you at every step. Our tax litigators represent clients in all types of CRA audits and disputes, assisting with proposals, voluntary disclosures, objections to CRA findings and appeals.

Recognition:

• 61 Farris partners ranked in Best Lawyers in Canada.
• Farris rated one of Vancouver’s leading corporate and litigation law firms for over a decade by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.
• Farris Repeatedly Recognized as One of Canada's Best Law Firms
• 28 Farris partners ranked in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

Languages: English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi and Spanish.

Gowling WLG is an international law firm built on the belief that the best way to serve you is to be in tune with your world, aligned with your opportunity and ambitious for your success. With more than 1,500 legal professionals around the world, we provide our clients with in-depth knowledge in key global sectors and a suite of legal services at home and abroad. We see the world through our clients' eyes, and collaborate across countries, offices, service areas and sectors to help them succeed, no matter how challenging the circumstances.

Brief History

With roots tracing back to 1887, Gowling WLG grew to become one of the largest and most respected law firms in Canada, with a reputation for innovation in client-focused service delivery.

Building on its early strength in intellectual property, Gowling WLG diversified to offer a full suite of business law, litigation and intellectual property services in all of Canada’s key industries, including energy, mining, financial services, government, infrastructure, manufacturing, life sciences and technology.

Founded in 2009, JFK Law is Canada’s preeminent law firm that provides a full range of creative and innovative legal services to Indigenous peoples across Canada. We are widely recognized as the leaders in litigation and regulatory proceedings, consultation and negotiations, and in corporate and governance practice.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Our lawyers have significant trial and appellate experience, including over 40 appearances at the Supreme Court of Canada. We have been lead counsel on landmark cases including Gitxaala Nation v Canada (FCA), Mikisew Cree First Nation v Canada (SCC), Taseko Mines Limited v Tsilhqot’in National Government (BCCA), Anderson v Alberta (Attorney General) (SCC) and Grassy Narrows First Nation v Ontario

(Natural Resources) (SCC), and Behn v Moulton Contracting (SCC). We represented interveners on major cases such as Southwind v Canada (SCC), 2022’s reference re the federal Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families (SCC), Ahousaht Indian Band v. Canada (Attorney General) (BCCA), and Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) (SCC). Our strength in Aboriginal law builds on experience in other areas of litigation, including administrative and constitutional law.

Consultation, Accommodation and Regulatory Review

We advise our clients on the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate. This includes consultation on specific projects and assisting clients to establish their own consultation processes. We develop methodology for assessing and mitigating impacts to rights. Our litigation team reinforces our advisory work, as we have a demonstrated success challenging decisions where the Crown fails to live up to its duties.

Complex Negotiations

Our reconciliation-focused negotiations include various Indigenous groups negotiating modern day treaties in both urban and remote areas, including leading tables in the BC Treaty Process such as the Te’mexw Treaty Association. We also advise clients involved in multi-party negotiations in areas of common interest and have secured incremental agreements to deliver early benefits to nations involved in otherwise lengthy processes. Our team has a growing practice in both specific claims and treaty land entitlement.

We also advise clients on accommodation and impact benefit agreements, particularly related to major resource projects such as in the oil sands region of Northern Alberta. This ranges from project-specific environmental monitoring to comprehensive arrangements where nations become partners in major industrial projects or secure revenue sharing agreements with project proponents.

Economic Development and Governance

Recognizing increased opportunities for our clients’ economic development, we have intentionally grown our solicitor’s practice to serve this need. Our solicitors support clients in real estate and commercial transactions, including land assembly, development, leasing on and off-reserve, and servicing agreements. We assist clients developing businesses in various industries, including hotel and tourism, fishing, environmental, cannabis, and software development.

Our solicitors also support our clients to develop governance and administrative structures. We assist our clients in developing their own laws and bylaws under the Indian Act, the First Nations Land Management Act, the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, self-government agreements and treaties, and their inherent jurisdiction. In this context, we support implementation of laws and treaties, including by ensuring staff and leadership have clear policies for decision-making based on administrative fairness principles. We also advise clients on government-to-government relationships with all levels of government and other First Nations.

NST is recognized as one of British Columbia's leading dispute resolution firms. Its lawyers have built their reputations trying tough cases and arguing complex appeals.

The firm has been described as “a household name in the Vancouver market” and has been recognized as one of Canada’s top litigation boutiques. Legal publications rate NST’s lawyers as leading practitioners in commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Devoted to civil and business litigation and arbitration, the firm has litigated many of British Columbia’s largest and most complicated commercial lawsuits, including two of Canada’s most significant mining claims, as well as important securities and shareholder disputes.

Known for its intellectual rigour, high quality advocacy, responsiveness to clients' needs, and flexibility in procedural matters, the firm has experience arguing and defending certification motions, judicial reviews, summary trials, trials, and appeals. The firm utilizes its expertise to provide strategic advice and to seek practical solutions out of court. When that is not possible, NST’s lawyers have the courtroom experience to see a matter through to judgment.

NST’s clients include successful private and public companies, many of whom are referred to us by leading Canadian and international law firms. NST regularly acts in the full range of commercial disputes, including contract disputes, shareholders’ disputes, securities and oppression claims, hostile take-over bids and derivative actions, class actions and representative proceedings, mining claims, pension litigation, actions for professional negligence, administrative proceedings, defamation actions and employment disputes.

Irwin Nathanson, Stephen Schachter and Ardella Thompson created the firm with one purpose in mind—to focus on trying difficult cases and arguing complicated appeals. Over the years, the firm has carefully added lawyers, and now boasts six King’s Counsel and several former law clerks, including two former clerks to the Chief Justice of British Columbia. However, the firm’s goal has never been growth for its own sake. It maintains Irwin Nathanson’s vision of a select group of lawyers with the depth of talent and breadth of expertise to efficiently and effectively handle commercial disputes of all sizes and kinds.

In addition to its work for clients, the firm’s lawyers regularly contribute to legal scholarship, including: serving as adjunct professors at UBC Law School; writing chapters in texts on Business Torts, Government Liability, and the Annual Review of Law and Practice; frequently speaking at continuing legal education events on civil litigation law and practice; and authoring one of the province’s main litigation texts, the annual British Columbia Supreme Court Rules Annotated.

Olthuis van Ert is a leading barristers’ practice with a focus on commercial litigation and public law. Based in Vancouver and Ottawa, our firm provides expert advice and representation to clients across all levels of provincial and federal courts, as well as various tribunals.