Civil Litigation in BC Symposium: Rules, Culture and Change 2014


Course Date: November 19, 2014

Total: 3h 21min

Welcome and Introduction

Peter C.P. Behie, QC — Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, Nanaimo
Brook Greenberg — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Civil Litigation under the Current Rules

  • what has worked
  • what has not worked
  • why—the role of culture in achieving change

Peter C.P. Behie, QC — Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, Nanaimo
Brook Greenberg — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Geoffrey B. Gomery, QC — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver

Civil Litigation and ADR

  • are fewer rules better?
  • is more and earlier case management better?
  • litigation versus arbitration

Daniel R. Bennett, QC — Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP, Vancouver
Murray A. Clemens, QC — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
Barbara Cornish — Singleton Urquhart LLP, Vancouver

Networking Break

Civil Litigation and Other Jurisdictions

  • the Alberta experience
  • the Ontario experience
  • the Canadian experience generally
  • are the issues in our systems universal or particular?
  • are there lessons that can be drawn from other jurisdictions?

The Honourable Mr. Justice John J. Gill — Court of Queen's Bench, Edmonton
Peter C.P. Behie, QC — Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, Nanaimo
Craig P. Dennis — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

Lunch with Featured Speaker: "Why is Civil Justice so Hard to Fix?"

The Honourable Mr. Justice Thomas A. Cromwell — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa

Civil Litigation and Culture Change

  • professionalism
  • role of the profession in effecting change
  • death of the trial?

The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher E. Hinkson — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
The Honourable Mr. Justice Nathan H. Smith — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
D. Geoffrey Cowper, QC — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
J. Kenneth McEwan, QC — Hunter Litigation Chambers, Vancouver

Networking Break

The Future of Civil Litigation in BC

  • technology
  • online dispute resolution
  • more arbitration
  • more specialized panels
  • implications for litigation counsel

Brook Greenberg — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Darin Thompson — Ministry of Justice - Justice Services, Victoria

Concluding Remarks

Peter C.P. Behie, QC — Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, Nanaimo
Brook Greenberg — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver