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”….
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…
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,…
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
On December 11, 2009, Lyle was honoured to accept an appointment to Queen’s Counsel. View News Release.
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…
January 29, 2010
Robert Brun is running for VP of the Canadian Bar Association and will be attending the CBA Executive Mid-Winter Conference in Ottawa February 13 & 14
Robert C Brun
Details of Robert’s platform can be reviewed on the firm Blog and he looks forward to discussing the issues with Executive members at the upcoming Mid-Winter Meeting in Ottawa.