Biography
Mary Margaret has acted as a mediator for over 10 years. She has a very busy practice which has her travelling to the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and all over British Columbia. She mediates personal injury and property disputes , and has considerable experience in medical malpractice claims and sexual abuse litigation. She has mediated complicated public interest mediations and estate claims on behalf of charities and government entities.
Mary Margaret also acts for schools and school boards – both defending claims and providing workshops and advice on areas of risk management.
Mary Margaret has also been defence counsel for numerous municipalities for over thirty years. She also acts as defence counsel in complex multi-party aviation litigation. She appears regularly as counsel in the British Columbia Supreme Court and British Columbia Court of Appeal.
For over thirty years, Mary Margaret has acted as counsel in court and at mediation . Since 2015, she has acted as a mediator in more than 100 matters in BC and the Yukon. She is on the litigation panel at Mediate BC and a member of the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre.
- Counsel for the Plaintiffs in a complex multi-party lawsuit involving the collapse of a large financial institution.
- Counsel for a number of religious institutions in a large number of sexual abuse claims including extensive experience in residential school claims.
- Counsel for various municipalities in person injury and property damage claims. Defence of a number of aviation insurers in British Columbia involving product liability and personal injury claims.
- Provides advice on employment matters to a number of corporate clients.
- Appears frequently in the Court of Appeal for this firm and on referral from other firms.
Education
- 1984 — 1985 Gonville & Caius College University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England LL.M.
- 1981 — 1984 University of Victoria Faculty of Law LL.B.
- 1980 — 1981 Universite de Perpignan, Perpignan, France Diplome des Etudes Francaises
- 1978 — 1980 University of British Columbia Faculty of Arts B.A.
- 2017 Northwestern University, Mediation Skills Training (40 hours)
- 2016 Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University – Mediating the Litigated Case (40 hours)
- University of Chicago advanced institute certificate in mediation
- Harvard University advanced course on mediation
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Law Society of British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and appears in Nunavut
- Member, Canadian Bar Association – Past President, Insurance Law Section Past Executive Committee Vancouver Bar Association
- Past Member – Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council – B.C. Bar Association
- Lecturer – CLE, PLTC, Canadian Institute
- Mediator, British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre
- Mediator, MediateBC