Sharon E. White, K.C.

OVERVIEW

Sharon White, K.C., is a partner at Richards Buell Sutton and advises a diverse client base in matters of strategic and economic importance to them.

Sharon is the chair of the firm’s Real Estate Development Group, and past chair of the firm’s Securities and Corporate Finance Group.

In her law practice, Sharon advises a mix of clients, both public institutions and for profit corporations, including publicly traded companies and those who are thinking of going public. Matters include commercial real estate, business acquisitions, financing, and other business related matters. She also advises commercial clients on a variety of special projects undertaken by them. These projects have involved a number of parties in unique collaborations, each with their own unique challenges. Sharon is readily available and accessible to her clients to help them identify and manage their risks and negotiate and structure their transactions to a successful conclusion. Given her broad range of experience, she is able to bring a strategic and innovative approach, and provide targeted tactics and solutions, to assist clients in achieving their goals and objectives.

Her practice areas involve a broad range of real estate and commercial matters. Her work focuses on the creation of sustainable neighbourhoods and communities: from acquisitions, structuring, long term leasing, financing and development of major multi-use development projects. Real estate projects include 99 year ground leases, strata properties, strata leaseholds, hotels, office and institutional uses.

Sharon is the past chair of the Securities Section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and also a former member of the Securities Advisory Council of the B.C. Securities Commission. She is a former director of Partnerships B.C., a company owned by the Province of B.C. which is responsible for bringing together ministries, agencies and the private sector to develop projects through public private partnerships. Sharon was also a former director of Farm Credit Canada, a federal Crown Corporation with assets under management in excess of $28 billion.

Sharon was named a King’s Counsel in 2011. Under the King’s Counsel Act, the appointment is made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by letters patent under the Great Seal for those members of the Bar of British Columbia “learned in the law for the Province of British Columbia”.

She is also currently ranked as one of the top real estate lawyers in B.C. by Chambers and Partners, an international authority on global legal rankings which has been referred to as “one of the legal industry’s most prestigious rankings” by The National Law Review.

Sharon has been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the area of Real Estate Law since 2018.

In 2014, she was named to the Power 50 list of the most influential figures in Vancouver published by Vancouver Magazine. She was also selected to the Worldwide Who’s Who for Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs in 2014 and named a Top Female Executive, Professional and Entrepreneur. In 2015, Sharon was named as one of The Most Influential Women in British Columbia by B.C. Business Magazine.

Sharon provides legal services through Sharon E. White Law Corporation.

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENT WORK

• Acting for developer in the creation of a new master-planned beachside community based on agriculture urbanism, with approximately 950 homes including estate cottages, townhomes, cottages framing common courtyards, country flats, and row homes
• Acting for developer in the structuring, planning and development of a major master-planned mixed-use project of rental housing, strata properties, commercial areas with retail space and restaurants, and urban agriculture in the City of Surrey
• Acting for a developer in the creation of a new master-planned waterfront community with a planned 2,850 homes including single-family houses, townhomes, and apartments, along with commercial buildings with retail and restaurant spaces
• Acting for a party in obtaining a lease of the waterfront for a proposed new ferry Service
• Acting for an institution in the restructuring of its interest in a particle accelerator facility located on its lands
• Institutional real estate – Long term ground leases for rental housing and leasehold strata property projects
• Institutional real estate – subdivision of land to transform a neighbourhood within the City of Vancouver
• Acting for developer of major real estate mixed-use project: hotel, retail, office, strata property
• Acting for borrowers in financings for income properties and strata property developments
• Acting for vendor in sale of an interest in a significant portfolio of seniors homes Merger of two real estate marketing companies
• Acting for proponent pursuant to an RFP for accommodation facilities of an oil sands project
• Advising party on decision making process with respect to a Metro Vancouver bylaw
• Sale of a junior exploration mining company through a plan of arrangement to a major mining company with concurrent spin-out of a new publicly listed company
• Formation of capital pool companies through to qualifying transaction
• Going private transaction to an international technology company
• Reserve takeout to acquire international mineral interests with concurrent Financings
• Creation of limited partnerships and concurrent offerings to acquire real estate, oil and gas, and investment interests

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• Former President, B.C. Liberal Party
• Former First Vice-Chair and Director, Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of B.C.
• Former Chair, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Vancouver
• Former Director, B.C. Association of Child Development and Rehabilitation
• Former Member, Red Door Housing Society
• Former Past Member, B.C. Breast Cancer Foundation Awareness Day Committee

HONOURS & AWARDS

• Sharon was appointed a King’s Counsel in 2011.
• Ranked as one of the top real estate lawyers in B.C. by Chambers and Partners
• Recognized by Best Lawyers® in the area of Real Estate Law for the 2018 to 2024 editions. Inclusion in this publication is based entirely on peer-review

DIRECTORSHIPS

• Former Director, Partnerships B.C., which provides project management to the Province of B.C. and is responsible for developing projects for public private partnerships
• Former Director, and Chair, Corporate Governance Committee, Farm Credit Canada, Canada’s largest provider of business and financial services to primary producers and agribusiness operators, with a portfolio in excess of $28 billion and over 100 offices located across Canada
• Former Director, FreshXtend Technologies Corp., a former TSX Venture Exchange listed company involved in development and commercialization of life extension technologies for the fresh produce and flower industries
• Former Chair, Securities Section, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch Former Director and Secretary, Vancouver Enterprise Forum, which promotes emerging and developing technologies through monthly forums
• Former Officer, Mount Dakota Energy Corp., a TSX Venture Exchange listed company, involved in the development of oil and natural gas properties
• Former Director, Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd., a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company, involved in the research, design and manufacture of video – surveillance equipment

PUBLIC SERVICE

• Former Member, Public Service Commission, Province of British Columbia
• Former Member, Court of Revision, Court #1, School District #39, City of Vancouver

EVENTS

June 19, 2023
Real Estate Group Sponsors the 24th Annual Century Group Delta Hospital Golf Tournament

November 9, 2022
Advanced Education Group Host Annual Half-Day Seminar for B.C. University Counsel

June 23, 2021
RBS Sponsors Delta Health Classic Golf Fundraiser to Support Delta Hospital

May 13, 2021
RBS Lawyers Show Support of Surrey Food Bank Through Virtual Attendance at “Breakfast With the Bank”

October 17, 2020
RBS a Gold Sponsor of May’s Place Hospice 30th Anniversary Virtual Event

May 16, 2019
RBS Tees Up for 20th Annual Century Group Delta Health Classic Golf Tournament

May 15, 2019
RBS continues our support of the Association of Corporate Growth

May 6, 2019
RBS is a Platinum Sponsor of the Canadian Association of University Solicitors (CAUS) Conference

May 24, 2018
RED Talks Coming to Vancouver on May 31st

March 6, 2018
Celebrating Female Leaders on International Women’s Day

June 11, 2015
2015 University Counsel CLE Seminar

PUBLICATIONS

When you are ready, make your move, July 6, 2017

A Mining Issuer’s Guide to the Galaxy: Four Roads to the TSX Venture Exchange, March 1, 2010, Spring 2010