Litigation & Dispute Resolution
The litigators at RBS have significant advocacy experience at all levels of court in British Columbia, in arbitration proceedings, and before administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies. They are skilled negotiators with extensive experience as counsel in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes. Some are also trained mediators and arbitrators.
The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group serves a diverse array of clients drawn from different sectors, including business, real estate, financial and professional services, insurance, pharmaceutical, high tech, university, construction, retail, restaurant, franchising, petroleum, and aviation. It handles all types of contract disputes, such as purchase and sale agreements, business acquisitions, violation of restrictive covenants including non-solicitation or non-competition provisions in business and employment contracts, enforcement of confidentiality clauses, and proprietary rights and restrictions.
The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group has experience in the resolution of commercial disputes among:
- Business competitors
- Commercial landlords and tenants
- Construction contractors, owners, and lien claimants
- Creditors and debtors
- Franchisors and franchisees
- Insurers and insureds
- Lenders and borrowers
- Licensors and licensees
- Partners
- Shareholders
- Vendors and purchasers
The firm also has significant experience in the resolution of personal disputes in employment and human rights, estates, family, and personal injury claims. Its clients include one of the largest Canadian universities, property and casualty insurers, commercial landlords, real estate developers, commercial lenders, financial service providers, banks, credit unions, construction contractors, retail chains, family-owned businesses, and various accounting, engineering, architectural, and other professional services firms.
The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group will look for the most cost-effective, efficient, prompt, and practical solutions to your problem. Litigation is often best viewed as the strategy of last resort, after other dispute resolution processes and negotiation have failed. Whether you are headed for court or the negotiating table, effective communication is the first step in resolving any issue. Therefore, at the outset, its lawyers will gather the necessary background materials and interview all relevant witnesses as the basis for its legal opinion. The firm will include a recommended course of action based on a risk assessment and a cost/benefit analysis. As legal counsel, RBS tries to predict the chances of success or failure in any particular case so that the firm can arm its clients with the advice and information they need to make informed business decisions.
The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group works closely with the solicitors in the real estate, corporate, wealth preservation, intellectual property, and insolvency practice groups to analyze problems and identify the steps required to mitigate the impact of a commercial dispute on its clients or to effectively position its clients in anticipation of engaging in the dispute resolution process. RBS knows from experience that early intervention and advice can minimize the risks and exposure to its clients and put them in the best possible position to salvage a transaction, protect business and proprietary interests, recover substantial damages, or avoid significant losses.
CASE SUMMARY
Over the past 150 years of practicing law, our firm has had a number of notable cases, including this landmark case involving multiple levels of appeal. RBS successfully represented a Vancouver-based energy consulting business against the Government of Ontario for trademark infringement. The decision established that public bodies can also be held liable for trademark infringement when adopting an official mark that may be confused with a prior registered trademark. Read the full case summary here.