Our lawyers have had extensive experience as counsel before all levels of Canadian courts, administrative tribunals and arbitration boards and have been retained for the conduct of litigation across Canada. The firm has assisted its clients in the successful conclusion of major complex commercial litigation, including two of Canada's most significant mining cases: Minera Aquiline Argentina SA v. IMA Explorations Inc. and Inmet Mining Corp. v. Homestake Canada Inc. Other significant areas of experience include: shareholders' disputes, hostile take-over bids and derivative actions, securities matters (including regulatory hearings), class and representative proceedings, pension litigation and actions for professional negligence.OUR LAWYERS
Irwin G. Nathanson, QC: Mr. Nathanson has practised as counsel in the field of civil litigation and administrative law since his call to the Bar of British Columbia in 1969. His practice has included appearances in the Superior Courts of British Columbia and other provinces, the Federal Court (both Trial and Appeal divisions), and the Supreme Court of Canada, and before administrative tribunals and arbitrators. Mr. Nathanson has considerable experience in a broad variety of commercial disputes including: shareholder disputes, professional negligence, class actions, commercial fraud, pension and product liability litigation. He has been consistently recognized by many professional publications as one of the pre-eminent corporate commercial litigation practitioners in Vancouver, including The 2009 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Irwin Nathanson is a top tier talent who is respected by both clients and peers: "He's brilliant, both behind the scenes and in court".
Stephen R. Schachter, QC: Mr. Schachter's practice is confined to civil litigation and administrative law and, in particular, complex commercial litigation matters. He is a past Chair of the Civil Litigation section of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Called to the Bar in 1978, Mr. Schachter was a founding member of Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in 1987. Recognized as a "very intelligent and tough litigator", Stephen Schachter has represented clients before the Superior Courts of British Columbia and other provinces, both levels of the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada in a broad range of commercial disputes including: class actions, professional negligence, commercial fraud, products liability, pension and shareholder litigation.
Murray A. Clemens, QC: Since his call to the Bar in 1976, Mr. Clemens has been involved in commercial litigation at all levels of courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada in matters such as shareholder and partnership disputes, professional negligence claims, real estate employment, securities, banking, insurance and maritime litigation. In addition, he has extensive experience in administrative hearings including proceedings before the Securities Commission and disciplinary and credential Committees of selfgoverning professional associations both as counsel and as legal advisor to the decision maker. Mr. Clemens is also active in alternate dispute resolution accepting appointments as arbitrator or mediator in commercial disputes.
Geoffrey B. Gomery: Mr. Gomery's practice is confined to civil litigation and administrative law, including: class actions; commercial, pension, securities and estate litigation; actions for professional negligence and matters of professional discipline. He has appeared before all levels of courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and various administrative tribunals. His professional activities include: Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia Law School 1985-1987; Member, Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute, 1994-2007; Contributing Author, Probate and Estate Administration Practice Manual and Business Disputes ("Unjust Enrichment" chapter) to be published Summer, 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (1983) and Oxford University (BCL, 2006). He was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1984 and joined the firm in 1990. Named as a leader among Vancouver lawyers in Dispute Resolution (Chambers Global, 2009) Mr. Gomery is praised by clients as "an exceedingly bright lawyer who gets good results."
Ardella A. Thompson: Ms. Thompson's practice is confined to legal research, analysis and preparation of written opinions and arguments in support of the litigation carried out by other members of the firm. She is also the administrative managing partner of the firm. A member of the Legal Research section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, Ardella Thompson was called to the Bar in 1982 and was a founding partner of Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in 1987.
Kevin D. Loo: Mr. Loo joined Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP upon his call to the Bar in 1994. Since then, his practice has mirrored that of the fi rm, involving him as counsel in, among others, commercial litigation, securities litigation, actions for professional negligence and employment litigation. He has appeared before all the courts of British Columbia, the trial division of the Federal Court and various administrative tribunals. Mr. Loo has also contributed to several CLE publications, including The British Columbia Civil Trial Handbook (2005). He is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and, following his graduation, served as a clerk to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
Julia E. Lawn: Ms. Lawn is a graduate of the University of Toronto and a former law clerk at the British Columbia Supreme Court. She was called to the Bar in 1998 and joined Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in 1999. She is the author of several articles in legal publications including two chapters in the recent Canada Law Book text, Government Liability in Law and Practice.
James c. Macinnis: Mr. Macinnis graduated as gold medallist from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in 1997. He is a former law clerk to the late Chief Justice of British Columbia, the Honourable Allan McEachern. Mr. Macinnis was called to the Bar in 1998 and joined Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in 2000. He is a co-author of British Columbia Supreme Court Rules Annotated, published annually by Carswell, as well as a contributing author of The British Columbia Civil Trial Handbook (CLE 2005) and Introducing Evidence at Trial (CLE 2007).
Robert D. Diebolt, QC: Mr. Diebolt joined the fi rm as associate counsel in 2007 after more than 30 years as a faculty member at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, including fi ve years as Associate Dean. Mr. Diebolt's strengths include legal research, analysis and writing. He was an elected Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia for four terms (1996-2004) and was subsequently appointed a "Life Bencher." Mr. Diebolt also has more than 25 years of experience as an arbitrator and continues to accept appointments in labour and commercial arbitrations.
