Best Lawyers in Canada for Legal Malpractice Law
Practice Area Overview
There is extant litigation making its way through the courts where parties harmed by a lawyer’s tax opinion have sued on a “Hedley v. Byrne” theory where there was no direct retainer with the lawyer. There are other instances where a lawyer may be sued by a plaintiff who has no retainer, but for the vast majority of cases a lawyer will be sued referable to conduct carrying out the terms of a retainer.
“Legal malpractice” occurs when a lawyer conducts herself or himself in a manner referable to the retainer that fails to meet professional standards and such failings cause harm to the client.
A lawyer who fails to meet the accepted standard of practice by failing to exercise the care, skill, and diligence of a prudent member of the legal profession which causes loss to the client will be found to be negligent and in breach of contract and therefore liable to the client.
Since the needs of clients that give rise to legal representation are typically complex, it is necessary to use as an expert witness a lawyer similarly qualified as the lawyer being sued to establish the governing accepted standard of practice.
In the case of lawsuits against litigation lawyers, the entitlement to damages depends upon showing that the client would have succeeded in the underlying case if the lawyer had not breached his or her professional duties. In short, it must be shown that the lawyer’s failings likely resulted in an unfavourable outcome in the underlying action or put another way, a favourable result would have been achieved if the standard of practice was met.
It should also be borne in mind that a lawyer is responsible for the acts or omissions of his or her associates, clerks, and legal assistants.
Legal malpractice claims, as indicated, are typically complex and can be difficult to prosecute. The advice of lawyers skilled in this specialized area of law should be sought at an early stage to determine if a claim has merit and warrants prosecution.
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Province
Geoff is one of Canada’s best-known trial and appellate counsel. The breadth of his experience is virtually unmatched among Canadian litigators. Early on in his career Geoff practiced criminal law where he gained invaluable courtroom experience trying to verdict among other cases, an even dozen murder trials. His practice evolved over a few years into the field of civil litigation where he went on to try to verdict over 250 jury and non jury cases and argue in excess of 100 appeals befo...
For more than 35 years, Bernard Amyot has developed a practice that is primarily focused on civil and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience before the Quebec courts, having represented Canada’s leading financial institutions. He has lectured and written frequently on legal issues of interest to his clients. His professional liability defence work extends to lawyers as well as stockbrokers, insurance brokers, engineers and accountants. He has acted as lead counsel in numerou...
Geoff Cowper, KC is a leading general litigator and a leader of the Firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution group. Geoff has served as counsel in leading private and public cases in Canada and internationally. These have included leading decisions with national and international dimensions respecting commercial law, public law and human rights.
Bruno De Vita, K.C. is a member of the firm’s litigation practice and the former Managing Partner of the firm. He practices in the area of civil litigation with an emphasis on insurance law, governmental liability, class action and personal injury litigation. His clients include major insurance companies, self-insured corporations, local governments, religious institutions and athletic associations. Mr. De Vita’s practice involves the handling of complex insurance coverage cases, ...
Valerie is a senior member of our Litigation Group and is a highly respected member of the litigation bar. In addition to her extensive experience as trial counsel, she has appeared as appellate counsel before both the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. With more than 25 years of experience at the Bar, Valerie has demonstrated established expertise in damages analysis, including business loss claims, business and share valuations, and real property valuations. She has ex...
Ken is an analytical and experienced litigator who has dedicated his career to defending clients in complex commercial and professional liability matters. He is a creative strategist and an effective communicator—qualities that make him a respected advocate in and out of the courtroom. In his commercial litigation practice, Ken has successfully participated in numerous litigation cases involving shareholder disputes, contract interpretation, medical malpractice, directors' liability, em...
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Mr. Halt graduated as the gold medal recipient from the University of Saskatchewan in 1986 and in 1988-89 he had the honour of serving as a law clerk to Madam Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada. Following his clerkship, Mr. Halt relocated to Calgary and has since practised civil litigation, including insurance with an emphasis on professional liability, corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, franchise litigation, insolvency, construc...
Mr. Patrick Henry is a litigator and a Partner in our Insurance Law Group. His practice focuses on insurance law, civil litigation, civil and professional liability and product liability law. Mr. Henry has pleaded before all judicial instances and appeal levels including on four occasions before the Supreme Court of Canada. His fields of practice include insurance law, civil litigation, civil and professional liability and product liability law.
Carsten is a founding member and senior partner of JSS Barristers, the largest civil litigation boutique law firm in western Canada. His practice emphasizes complex and multi-party corporate and commercial litigation, commercial class actions, oil & gas litigation including royalty, environmental and CAPL issues, shareholder disputes, advising creditors and others in insolvency matters and professional negligence claims. During a leave of absence from JSS Barristers, he served as Senior L...
Jim Lebo finds legal solutions that protect businesses. With his detailed knowledge of the people and the intricacies of the court system, he guides his clients through every step of the litigation process with skill and expertise. Jim handles corporate commercial litigation, appeals, and arbitrations. He has specialized expertise in appeals for complicated regulatory proceedings as well as an interest in constitutional litigation. His clients come to him for help with a range of issues in ma...
Paul's practice includes corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, class proceedings, professional liability, claims against directors and officers, employment litigation and professional liability and regulation. Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by The Law Society of Upper Canada. Bilingual, argues cases in English and French before all levels of Court as well as trib...
Mr. MacInnis, K.C. is a trial and appellate lawyer. Benchmark Canada has listed Mr. MacInnis as a “Litigation Star” in British Columbia since 2012. Mr. MacInnis is recognized in Best Lawyers Canada in the fields of Corporate Commercial Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He regularly appears as counsel in the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. Mr. MacInnis acts for corporations, both private and public, as well as individuals. Mr. MacInnis’ practice is focuse...
Bob Munroe acts as Senior Counsel for Ross & McBride’s Personal Injury Law Group, where he works to help people with serious injuries get fairly compensated for their loss. As an award-winning litigator with a successful track record on trials and appeals at all levels of court, Bob focuses his practice on giving experienced advice to lawyers and second opinions to their clients in high-value disputes. He aims to use his many years of successful legal work and knowledge to help lawy...
Kelly Murray joined Whitelaw Twining in 2017. Prior to joining the firm, Kelly worked for over 17 years with boutique litigation firms in Vancouver and focussed her practice on professional liability claims. Before that she gained early trial experience as an Assistant Crown Attorney in Ontario for four years. She now continues her professional liability practice at Whitelaw Twining defending real estate agents and lawyers against claims made against them in their professional capacity. Kelly...
Paul co-founded Pape Chaudhury LLP with Shantona Chaudhury in 2018. Paul has over 45 years of experience as both trial and appellate counsel and has acted in many cases of significance. Paul’s litigation practice focuses on complex commercial, securities,class action, professional negligence, and administrative matters, with special emphasis on appeals in these and other areas. Paul is a senior and leading member of the Ontario Bar. Paul has been described as an “outstanding appel...
Stacy was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She was the Managing Partner of JSS Barristers from 2015 to early 2018. She joined JSS Barristers as their first associate over 20 years ago after articling with a major Calgary law firm. Stacy's practice focuses on civil, corporate and commercial litigation, including professional negligence. She also has experience in class actions and insolvency. Stacy has appeared at every level of the Alberta courts and has conducted and assisted with numero...
Richard R. Provost is a partner in the Montréal office of Langlois Lawyers. He concentrates his practice in litigation primarily in the areas of insurance law, professional and product liability, construction law and commercial law. He has acted for clients in arbitration committees and at all trial and appellate levels. He has often been called upon to act as senior counsel in several important cases in his field of expertise and built a solid reputation, whether acting for plaintiff ...
Originally from Campbellton, New Brunswick, Chantal A. Thibodeau, K.C. rose from humble beginnings to complete her law degree at the top of her class and to build a successful law practice. She spent the first 22 years of her practice as an insurance defense counsel before deciding to pursue her career representing those who really need it – the injured victims. She has appeared before all levels of court in New Brunswick, as well as before the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2017, she was ...
Executive Summary Gavin Tighe is a senior partner with Gardiner Roberts LLP and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Mr. Tighe is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation and has appeared as lead counsel at all levels of Canadian Courts including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has significant experience successfully representing clients before securities industry tribunals in both Canada and the United States. Mr. Tighe also acts as counse...
A senior partner in our Commercial Real Estate Group, Sidney has a very broad business and commercial law practice. In addition to his traditional real estate law practice involving the purchase, sale and financing of commercial property, he is consulted regularly by industry, title insurers and lawyers for his expertise and his practical and creative approach to real estate problem solving, trouble shooting, and getting deals done. He also serves as counsel to the Lawyers’ Professional...
James A. Woods , senior partner of the firm, practises in litigation and arbitration and pleads at all levels of federal and provincial courts in Ontario and Québec including the Supreme Court of Canada. Once again, named by Lexpert® 2017 as one of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada – Montreal, Corporate and Commercial Litigation. Recognized by the Best Lawyers Directory since 2006 for his expertise in the fields of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Corporat...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.