CLE Online

Welcome and Introduction

David A. Crerar — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Michael A. Skene — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Practical Tips for Representing a Plaintiff

• initial evaluation and investigation: seven helpful habits
• discovery of the defendant: excavating falsehoods, half-truths, omissions, distortion, and calculated ambiguities
• trial: top ten techniques to vindicate reputation

Peter A. Downard — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto

Practical Tips for Representing a Defendant

• immediate considerations when retained
• mapping out the case: why the first 30 days of a brief may be as important as the time spent at trial
• obtaining useful discovery from the plaintiff 

Scott Dawson — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver

Shareholders and Defamation

• takeover bid press releases
• disclosure statements
• special damages considerations for corporations

Debbie Asirvatham — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
David A. Crerar — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Networking Break

Overview of Defamation Defences

• new developments from appellate courts
• avoiding technical pitfalls
• emerging defences

Marko Vesely — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

Cutting Edge Developments in Cyber Internet Defamation

• jurisdictional issues
• obtaining information on anonymous Internet defamers
• practical advice for responding to cyber-attacks

Mark E. Fancourt-Smith — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

Insurance Coverage for Defamation Claims

• how broad is coverage for defamation and related claims?
• can an insured defendant retail control of the defence?
• strategic considerations for plaintiffs 

Richard J. Berrow — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

What Can You Say? Media and Defamation Issues in Reporting on Major News Stories

• publication bans
• avoiding pitfalls and contempt
• practical advice for advising clients

  Michael A. Skene — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

The Defence of Fair Comment: Mainstream Canada v. Staniford, 2013 BCCA 341

• fair comment requirements of the BCCA decision
• need there be more than an indication of the subject matter on which the comment is based?
• recent expansion of the defence does not mean there are no limits

Gavin Cameron — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
David F. Sutherland — David F. Sutherland & Associates, Vancouver
David Wotherspoon — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Networking Break

Pleadings, Peculiarities, and Particulars in a Defamation Claim

• necessary particulars
• avoiding pitfalls
• strategic drafting

Ludmila B. Herbst — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver

Shop Talk: Communications Issues in the Workplace

• attacks on the employer and co-workers
• freedom of expression, whistle-Blowing, and jurisdictional issues
• strategies for effective responses

Geoffrey J. Litherland — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver

Crystal Ball Gazing—Future Developments in Defamation Law: Panel

• how will the law of defamation develop in the Internet age?
• litigation crises and opportunities
• general questions, answers, and comments from the day

Chair:
Robert S. Anderson, QC — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver
Faculty:
David A. Crerar — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver 
Peter A. Downard — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto
Michael A. Skene — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Concluding Remarks

David A. Crerar — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Michael A. Skene — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver