Blog

September 13, 2012

Robert Brun Becomes Canadian Bar Association National President

Lyle Harris

At the annual meeting held in Vancouver from August 12-14, 2012 our own Robert Brun was appointed President of the national organization of the Canadian Bar Association. The Canadian Bar Association is the largest Canadian legal organization working for the benefit of lawyers (and their clients) and has 37,000 members, including lawyers, law teachers, and law students, across the country. The CBA is dedicated to support for the rule of law, the improvement of the law, and the administration of justice throughout the country. Robert tells us that the independence of the bar, access to justice and leadership in the…

February 6, 2012

Discovering the “Cyberspace Fingerprints” of the Litigant

Lyle Harris

On November 30, 2011, the Vancouver Police Department announced that 25 people face a total of 61 charges for allegedly taking part in the June 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. Crown Counsel approved the charges against the suspected rioters who came from all areas of the lower mainland of British Columbia and Seattle. Vancouver Police told local media that charges were recommended after new technology created a searchable database of 30,000 YouTube videos and Facebook images. This database enabled police to find matching evidence of suspects and crimes. In October of 2011, a similar situation occurred in England, where a…

July 28, 2011

CIVILITY IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW

Lyle Harris

Civility may be defined as each person’s entitlement to be treated with dignity, respect and common sense. It is the glue that holds a democratic society together. Civility is a hallmark of the Bar in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada. Even during the most contested battles, most lawyers on either side of a case refer to each other as “my friend” or “my learned friend”. I believe this is a reflection of the lines from Shakespeare where Tranio advises the fellow suitors for Bianca to “do as adversaries do in law. Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends”….

September 16, 2010

How to Deal with Difficult Counsel

Lyle Harris

In Ontario, a client has sued her former lawyer for the costs awarded against the client in a suit the former lawyer launched against three judges, accusing the judges of conspiracy and fraud.  According to a release from Canadian Legal Newswire May 31, 2010, the action against the three judges was dismissed,  As a consequence of the dismissal, the client and her lawyer were ordered to pay $100,000 in assessed costs:  half to be paid by the client, and half by the lawyer. In our own province, the Court of Appeal recently upheld a trial judge’s ruling that a lawyer…

May 7, 2010

April 2010

Lyle Harris

Welcome to our new website, and the second edition of our firm’s blog. The first edition of our firm’s blog was posted by my partner, Robert Brun, as part of his (successful) campaign for election as Second Vice President of the Canadian Bar Association. Robert will assume his office at the annual convention in Niagara Falls in August 2010, and will accede to the office of First Vice President in 2011, before becoming President of the Canadian Bar Association at the Vancouver convention in August 2012. Congratulations Robert! This edition of the firm blog features another one of our lawyers,…

May 3, 2010

Harris & Brun expands to occupy Randall Building fourth floor

Lyle Harris

Harris & Brun successfully completed its move from a portion of the third floor of the Randall Building, to take over the entire fourth floor of the building. The firm now occupies all of the fourth and all of the fifth floors of the Randall Building, which strategically placed for business in the downtown Georgia Street corridor of Vancouver between Seymour and Richards Streets. The building is a small, older highrise with elegant fixtures in the classical westcoast Art Deco architectural tradition. The building was purchased in the mid 1980’s and extensively renovated by current owners Toni and Franz Cavelti….

March 19, 2010

Robert Brun, Q.C. has been elected Second Vice President of the Canadian Bar Association!

Robert C Brun

To read the CBA press release, click here: http://www.cba.org/News-Media/Press-Releases/2009/Robert-Brun,-Q-C-elected-national-2nd-Vice-Preside Robert Brun, Q.C. will become Second Vice President at the Canadian Legal Conference in Niagara Falls this August—the first step on the way to the presidency of the CBA in 2012, when the conference will be held in Vancouver. Click here to see Robert’s successful speech to the National Council of the CBA: http://www.cba.org/cba/video/2010-02_election_robertbrun.wmv

January 29, 2010

The 2009 edition of Lyle Harris’ book Discovery Practice in BC is now available from CLEBC

Robert C Brun

An essential resource for civil litigators, Lyle’s revision to his classic text, Discovery Practice in British Columbia (Vancouver, CLEBC) is now available through CLEBC. This update incorporates the incoming amendments to the BC Rules of Court and covers developments in the case law over the last year including: The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Juman v. Doucette and the implied undertaking not to use discovered evidence outside an action. Discoverability vs. privacy of documents on social networking websites. Expanded analysis of electronic documents and metadata. New case law on lists of documents, privilege, production of computer hard drives, jurisdiction…

Go to top