Caitlin Ohama-Darcus

Caitlin Ohama-Darcus is a dedicated lawyer focused on representing plaintiffs in class proceedings and civil sexual misconduct claims, including civil sexual assault. The common thread driving her commitment in these areas is the pursuit of access to justice.

She approaches her role as a litigator with a profound understanding that behind every court judgment and legal brief is a significant human story. She employs a trauma-informed approach to helping her clients without re-victimizing them. Her strategy and advocacy on behalf of clients is grounded in an awareness that what happens during the legal process and in legal venues can have a profound impact on the lives of her clients and their families.

Caitlin is driven by an unwavering belief in the potential of Canada's legal systems to effect positive social change and to ensure that individuals and groups, including marginalized and underrepresented people, are seen and heard. This role is vital in preventing the loss or oversight of historical narratives, ultimately fostering accountability, equitable outcomes, and, where necessary, the healing process.

Caitlin clerked at the Court of Appeal of British Columbia and her practice experience includes representing clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, appearances before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada on matters involving leave to appeal.

In addition to being listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada for corporate and commercial litigation (since 2023), she has also been recognized as a Rising Star in the Legal 500 for Dispute Resolution: British Columbia.

Caitlin is also an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Law, teaching a course on Advanced Contract Law.

Caitlin's commercial and civil litigation experience includes appellate work and the resolution of complex commercial disputes. She has sharp analytical skills and a talent for distilling complex questions and communicating clearly and persuasively.

Representative Cases:

• Hirschfield v. His Majesty the King, 2023 FC 900. Caitlin was co-counsel with Angela Bespflug in obtaining an order for certification in a class action against Canada on behalf of veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and their spouses, common law partners, dependents, survivors and orphans alleging the improper claw back of disability pension benefits under the Pension Act.
• Mequinis-Martin v. His Majesty the King, 2023 FC 771. Caitlin was part of a team of lawyers from Murphy Battista LLP and Cooper Regel who were successful in obtaining an order for certification in this class action against Canada on behalf of Indigenous persons who allege that, at any time between May 14, 1953 and the present, they were physically or sexually assaulted by members of the RCMP during arrest, detainment, or while being held in custody, and who were alive as of July 20, 2018.
• Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. v. Oei, 2019 BCSC 1190. Caitlin was junior counsel to Irwin G. Nathanson, K.C. and Stephen R. Schachter, K.C. The case involved a claim in excess of $350 million brought by Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. against three defendants, including renowned Singaporean businessman, Hong Leong Oei. At the heart of the dispute was a purported transaction to develop a significant piece of waterfront land owned indirectly by Mr. Oei, described in the trial court’s reasons as a “multi-year billion-dollar development.” The trial took place before the British Columbia Supreme Court over 48 days in 2018 and 2019 and NST counsel were successful.
• Ocean Wise Conservation Association v. Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, 2018 BCSC 196, 2019 BCCA 58. Together with R. J. Randall Hordo, K.C., Caitlin served as counsel for the Vancouver Aquarium in its challenge to a Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation bylaw that banned cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) within all city parks, including Stanley Park where the Vancouver Aquarium is based. NST was successful in the Aquarium’s application for judicial review in the British Columbia Supreme Court and the litigation led to a re-negotiation and extension of the license agreement between the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and the Aquarium.
• Klassen obo White Rock Pride Society v. Star of the Sea Parish, 2020 BCHRT 120. Caitlin was co-counsel for the White Rock Pride Society (WRPS) in a discrimination complaint brought against a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. The basis of the complaint was that the Star of the Sea Parish had refused to allow WRPS to hold it's "Love is Love" fundraising gala in its hall. As counsel for the White Rock Pride Society, Caitlin successfully defended an application to dismiss the complaint. The proceedings prompted a series of meetings between the society and the church culminating in the Archdiocese apologizing to the WRPS and the WRPS withdrawing the complaint.
• British Columbia (Director of Civil Forfeiture) v. PacNet Services Ltd. et al. Caitlin was Part of a legal team, led by R.J. Randall Hordo, K.C. and Karen L.M. Carteri representing PacNet Services Ltd. and other defendants in civil forfeiture proceedings brought by the Director of Civil Forfeiture. Those proceedings are ongoing before the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
• Caitlin was counsel for ACME Education Services Inc. and one of its founders, William Yu, in an action brought by another Vancouver education consulting company, BL Education Consulting Ltd. (SCBC Vancouver Registry No. S-194876). Together with Karen L.M. Carteri, Caitlin was pro bono counsel for a group of clients concerned with the COVID-19 visitor restrictions in place in licensed long-term care (“LTC”) and assisted living facilities throughout British Columbia.