NEWS:
Rod Urquhart is elected President of the UBC Law Alumni Association.

At Steele Urquhart, our focus -- and our strength -- is litigation. We apply our advocacy skills in every area of law and at all levels of courts. We also represent our clients in alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, arbitration and creative settlement solutions.

We have a solid reputation as litigation counsel, and most of our work comes from referrals by other law firms and our clients.
Our client base is diverse - it includes government agencies, commercial enterprises, professionals and their associations, societies, and individuals.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

	Administrative Law		Environmental Law
	Alternative Dispute Resolution		Family and Matrimonial
	Commercial and Contractual Disputes		Bankruptcy Insolvency and Foreclosure
	Construction and Engineering		Professional Negligence
			Insurance Claims
	Directors' and Officers' Liability		International Law
	Employment Law		Personal Injury
	Estate Litigation		Real Estate Litigation

First U.S. Law Student to Win Steele Prize

Our Success Stories

Steele Urquhart has represented hundreds of individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries. In doing so, we have been successful in obtaining awards through settlements and trials that have resulted in payments to many of our in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and in some cases in excess of $1 million.

We have represented foreign governments in legal proceedings brought in Canada.

The lawyers of Steele Urquhart have acted as counsel in cases before the British Columbia Court of Appeal, which established that notice provisions in employment contracts that do not meet the minimum standards set out in the Employment Standards Act of British Columbia are of no force and effect.

The employers had argued that the test should be whether in the particular circumstances of the case, the notice provided by the contract was less than that due under the Act, however the Court of Appeal held that the fact that the notice provision in the contract might produce such a result was sufficient to render the provision void.

Melissa Hunt has received the 2008 Gregory Steele Prize from the Canadian Centre for Elder Law, becoming the first U.S. law student to win the international honour. Hunt joined fellow students Allison Crandall and Alicia Jaworski and Professor Kimberley Dayton, director of the Centre for Elder Justice & Policy, to present papers at the Fourth Annual Canadian Conference on Elder Law in Vancouver, BC, Nov. 13 through 15.

WEBDESIGN BY RAINBRIDGE

Ministry of Attorney General QUEEN'S COUNSEL APPOINTMENTS These are the lawyers named QC, listed in order of their call to the bar: Thomas H. Hara practises criminal and labour law in Vancouver. He is also active in minor league sports and is a director of the Japanese Canadian Citizenship Association. Hara, who was called to the bar in June 1962, was the first Japanese Canadian to open a law office in B.C. Anthony P. Serka has practised law in B.C. for more than 30 years. He has concentrated on criminal law and was counsel on two landmark Supreme Court of Canada cases,R. v. HuttandR. v. Smith. Thomas D. A. Fletcher has been practising law in Vernon since 1972 and has a wide range of experience at all levels of court. He has served as director with the United Way, Big Brothers and the Vernon Winter Carnival. Kenneth R. Steidl is a member of the Kootenay bar. He has been in private practice since 1972 in the areas of family law, criminal law and real estate. He is active in curling and minor hockey in his hometown of Cranbrook. Moncrief J. Carstairs is a senior Crown counsel, responsible for commercial crime prosecution in B.C. A Vancouver resident, he is co-chair of the Law Week committee. He was called to the bar in May 1974. Stephen J. Mulhall is a senior litigation partner with Borden Ladner Gervais of Vancouver. He has extensive experience in commercial disputes and is a recognized authority in securities and shareholders litigation. He was called to the bar in June 1974. David A. Zacks is a Vancouver solicitor who has been practising since 1975. A founding member of the banking law section of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association, he is also a bencher who serves on the Law Society�s audit and ethics committees. Arne H. Silvermanpractises in the areas of personal injury litigation and criminal law. The Richmond lawyer has a master of law from the London School of Economics and was called to the bar in September 1975. Gordon N. Turriff, who was called to the bar in 1975, is a senior counsel with the Vancouver office of Stikeman Elliot. He is also a bencher of the Law Society of B.C., and a founding member and director of the British Columbia Law Institute. Karl-Erik J. Gustafson is a partner at the Vancouver firm of Lang Michener. He is active in the Canadian Bar Association and the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., and has served as director and legal counsel for B.C.�s Chamber of Commerce. He was called to the bar in May 1976. Michael J. Slater is a partner in the Vancouver firm of Slater Vecchio. A leader in personal injury law, he has published widely on head and brain injuries. A lawyer for more than 25 years, Slater also volunteers as a children�s baseball and soccer coach. Peter Gall completed his master�s of law degree at Harvard Law School in 1975 and was called to the bar the following year. A former professor at the University of British Columbia�s law school, he specializes in labour law with the Vancouver office of Heenan Blaikie. Lyle R. Backman has been with the Kamloops firm of Fulton & Company since being called to the bar in July 1977. He practises in the area of civil litigation and has appeared at all levels of court. He is on the board of governors of the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. Ronald B. Caryer of New Westminster has been a provincial Crown counsel since 1979. He has served on the executive of the New Westminster Bar Association and is a member of the Law Society criminal justice law reform committee. Peder D. Gulbransen of New Westminster has been a Crown counsel since 1981 and regional Crown counsel for the Fraser region since 1997. He has led seminars for the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. and is the author of numerous papers. He was called to the bar in May 1978. Dale B. Pope, a partner in Davis & Company in Vancouver, was called to the bar in 1979. He has appeared at all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1995, he was appointed standing agent of the Attorney General of Canada for prosecutions. Albert E. King is a partner in King Sutton in Nanaimo. A criminal defence counsel, he has also served on an ad hoc basis as Crown counsel. An active member of the community, he was called to the bar in May 1979. Gregory K. Steele is a founding member and chair of the B.C. Law Institute. A partner in the Vancouver firm of Steel Urquhart Payne, he was on the executive of the uniform law conference of Canada and the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He was called to the bar in May 1980. Elliott M. Myers is with Bull Housser & Tupper in Vancouver. Specializing in commercial law, he has a broad range of litigation experience at the trial and appellate levels. A graduate of Oxford University, he was called to the bar in 1980. S. Bradley Armstrong is managing partner of Lawson Lundell in Vancouver. He is a former chair of the administrative and constitutional law sections of the Canadian Bar Association, and an elected member of the B.C. branch of the association. He was called to the bar in September 1981. Brian A. Daley is a partner in the Fort St. John firm of Daley Earmme and has worked in that city since being called to the bar in July 1982. Daley is active in community organizations and was named citizen of the year by the Fort St. John Chamber of Commerce in 2002. Susan I. Forbes of Vancouver is director of insurance for the Law Society of B.C.�s Lawyers Insurance Fund. She is a frequent public speaker for the American Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the Vancouver Association of Legal Administrators. Robin N. McFee is a partner in Vancouver�s Sudgen McFee & Roos. An executive with the Trial Lawyers Association, he has served as a lecturer for the Inns of Court, the UBC advocacy course and the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. He was called to the bar in 1982. Robert G. W. Lapper, assistant deputy attorney general of British Columbia, was called to the bar in 1983. Before joining the Attorney General Ministry in 1994, Lapper was managing partner of McKimm & Lott in Victoria. J. Christopher Thomas is a partner in Thomas & Partners in Vancouver. An authority in international law, he has advised the government of Mexico in its North American Free Trade Agreement legal disputes. He was called to the bar in 1983. Bhapinder K. Cheema is a Crown counsel who also has a private practice in Victoria. A former chair of the Legal Services Society, she was part of the committee that produced the law society�s 1992 report, Gender Equality in the Justice System. Carman J. Overholt is a partner in the Vancouver office of Fraser Milner Casgrain. A litigation lawyer who specializes in employment law, he is past president of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association. -30-