Watson Goepel is proud to announce that eight of our lawyers have been recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada™ 2025 and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch™ in 2025 for their outstanding achievements in their practice area.
If you follow local media coverage, you will know that changes in the real estate market in the Lower Mainland of B.C., and Vancouver in particular, are having far reaching effects. These effects ripple down to family law cases too. In many situations where people are separating or divorcing and also have to deal with shared real property, the changes in market value of their home, or the new mortgage qualification rules, are making the settlement of property issues more challenging than they may have been in previous years.
Although not always successful, increasingly, plaintiffs in employment cases are making claims for damages over and above notice damages. This article provides a very brief overview of a selection of successful and unsuccessful claims, and demonstrates that there are increasingly unpredictable (sometimes very large) liabilities to employers who do not successfully and fairly conclude employment relationships.
The use of trusts and other vehicles for business and asset protection purposes (amongst other things) is a long-standing practice. If structured appropriately such entities can provide a number of financial, tax and other benefits. However, simply setting up a trust, or purporting to move assets into it, does not necessarily provide creditor protection, particularly where subsequent conduct is inconsistent with the alleged transfer.
A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court (DirectCash ATM Processing Partnership (a firm) v Main Food Stop (a partnership), 2018 BCSC 1851) highlights the importance of reading and understanding a contract before signing it and how not doing so can prove costly.
In July 2016, British Columbia launched the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), an online dispute-resolution tribunal which helps people resolve certain types of small claims disputes up to $5,000 (though this amount will increase in the future), and strata related disputes of any value.
Cannabis lawyer Liam Oster joined a panel of industry experts to speak to entrepreneurs, investors and service providers at the November 29th Invite-Only Cannabis Conference in San Francisco, as well as a sister event held on January 9th in Vancouver, BC.
If you are embarking on a separation or divorce you have a wide selection of Vancouver divorce lawyers and law firms to choose from. Should you employ a family law lawyer at a full-service firm that provides legal guidance in many different practice areas, or at a boutique firm that is dedicated solely to the practice of family law? The answer may surprise you!
During the dark winter months it is important that drivers be extra vigilant when it comes to watching out for pedestrians and cyclists. Poor visibility and wet roads can make it harder to see what’s in your path, and any amount of excessive speed makes drivers less able to stop suddenly if they have to. But what responsibility does the pedestrian have to keep from being struck by a motor vehicle?
Despite Metro Vancouver’s typically mild weather, the winter months can still be unpredictable, and weather conditions can change rapidly, particularly as you head out of town and into the more mountainous regions.
The recent court decision, Sweeney v. British Columbia 2018 BCSC 1832, deals with the physical assault of a member of the public by two sheriffs at the Victoria Registry of the B.C. Supreme Court. This case resulted in an award to the Plaintiff of $70,000 in damages for their pain and suffering.
