Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s leading litigation and dispute resolution firms.
Established to provide trial, appellate, and alternative dispute resolution advocacy at the highest level to clients facing complex disputes, NST has carefully expanded its team which includes leading counsel at all levels, with six King’s Counsel and the next generation of top-ranked partners: James C. MacInnis, KC, Mark S. Oulton, KC, Karen L.M. Carteri, KC, Julia K. Lockhart, Heather Doi and Kayla Strong. In 2025 Emily Hansen and James Parker joined the partnership. The firm also boasts a group of associates including several former Supreme Court of Canada clerks.
The firm acts regularly in some of British Columbia and Canada’s largest and most significant cases across the full range of civil and commercial matters, including real estate development and property disputes for BC’s largest developers, forestry and mining disputes, complex contract disputes, contentious and sensitive matters involving professional negligence, high stakes shareholder and partnership disputes, oppression/derivative actions, securities, administrative proceedings (including for the Law Society of British Columbia), defamation claims, employment disputes, and class and representative proceedings. NST’s clients include major and successful private and public companies, many of whom are referred to us by leading Canadian and international law firms.
Recent Commercial/Civil Disputes: In Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. v. Oei, the firm successfully defended a claim in excess of $350 million brought by Concord Pacific against the three named defendants. In Wastech Ltd. v. GVS&DD, 2021 SCC 7, Irwin Nathanson K.C. and Julia Lockhart acted for Metro Vancouver in a case with important implications for all contracts that provide one party with discretionary powers, building on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Bhasin. NST has considerable experience acting in major civil forfeiture proceedings involving allegations of white collar crime. NST also regularly acts in private complex commercial arbitration matters.
Forestry and Resources: Mark S. Oulton, KC, has extensive experience at trial, on appeal, and before administrative tribunals in a range of commercial and administrative law matters, with a particular focus on forestry and resource related disputes. NST acts in an ongoing matter involving the Mineral Tenure Act, Skeena Resources Ltd. v. Mill, 2022 BCSC 1360, 2022 BCSC 2032, and 2024 BCCA 249, which contributes to the limited jurisprudence on the issue of title to mine tailings under the province’s Mineral Tenure Act, and addresses the proper scope of participation by both public interest interveners and administrative decision-makers.
Insolvency and Restructuring: NST has an active bankruptcy and insolvency practice headed by Peter Reardon. NST regularly acts for trustees, receivers, financial institutions and other creditors as well as for debtors and other stakeholders in restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy matters.
Property Disputes: NST regularly acts for major property developers in development, project and land interest disputes, and in other property related claims and disputes. In a recent arbitration, the firm successfully acted for a partner in a dispute relating to partnership interests in and valuation of a property development involving lands worth over $100 million. NST acts in several other ongoing retainers involving major property development disputes involving projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
