Expertise based on Forty Years of practice.

Litigator, Mediator, Problem-solver.

About Ian

Family Law

The most important service a lawyer can provide to the community, and a service many lawyers shy away from.

Separation and Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Whether you’re ending or beginning a relationship, it’s best to be clear on your way forward.

Mediation

The difficult issues are often the ones most suitable for mediation. Ian has been a mediator qualified by the Law Society of B.C. since 1993.

Family Law Proceedings

Most family law disputes can be settled. But when yours is not settling, Ian can help you take the necessary steps to resolve it.

Ian is quite aware of the growing crisis relating to absent fathers and the problems faced by boys and young men who were raised by single mothers alone. He believes strongly that children must have the benefit of parenting by fathers as well as mothers. Having said that, Ian is a zealous defender of mothers and children in abusive relationships and has seen fathers in two recent cases receive restricted parenting time as a result (M. v. M., BCPC Smithers no. 18417; R. v. B., BCPC Houston no. 18913)

Criminal Law

Hopefully you will never need help with this, but if you do, you will find the power of the state is totally against you.

Jury Trials

For the most serious charges. Ian has won acquittals for clients in 8 of the 15 jury trials he has conducted. No, he can’t perform miracles.

Using the Charter of Rights

If you’re charged with a criminal offence, your basic rights are protected and the Charter puts limits on the use of state power against you. Ian makes use of it in nearly every criminal case.

Provincial Court Trials

Ian has long experience in the trenches. One of his cases resulted in dismantling of B.C.’s Drug Recognition regime for impaired driving (R. v. T., 2012 BCPC 215).

Civil Litigation

Ian is a litigator with an interest in difficult cases.

Damages for Sexual Assault

In a recent case, Ian won for his client the largest award in B.C. for a single instance of unconsented intercourse. He has sued teachers for sexual assaults in public schools and in residential schools long before the IRS Settlement.

Suing Police and Government

Ian is not afraid of taking hard cases, and he has years of knocks and bumps to prove it. Ian was counsel to a woman assaulted by a police officer in J. v. M., 2020 BCSC 778.

Personal Injury Cases

It’s surprising how easily you can be hurt by a defendant’s moment of inattention, years of neglect or deliberate act. You’ll need help with that.

Corporate/Commercial Litigation

Debt collection the safe way, without violence. Companies suing other companies. Defending you from the bank.

Wrongful Dismissal

Ian has taken many of these difficult cases, and was an adjudicator with the Employment Standards Tribunal for 9 years.

Administrative Law

Not many lawyers in northern B.C. can help you with workers compensation claims or judicial reviews. Ian can.

Class Actions

The best way to address wrongdoing affecting large numbers of people is a class action.

Flooding in Grand Forks, 2018

Ian is counsel in Flynn v. HMTK et al, SCBC Smithers no. 19315, to obtain compensation for people who suffered huge losses in floods caused by over-harvesting of timber in watersheds.

Harm from Burning of Logging Slash

Ian will shortly be serving a claim to address losses suffered by people throughout B.C. caused by smoke from the burning of logging slash.

Breach of Trust by a School Board

In development is a claim to address harm suffered by students and parents as a result of mismanagement of a school in northern B.C.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty by an Indian Band

In development is a claim to compensate members of a remote community for chronic discrimination by an Indian Band in allocation of resources and expenditure of Band funds.

Wills and Estates

We don’t live forever, so we must plan for the end.

Will Drafting

This does not need to be complicated, and a will should be understandable by everyone. Ian uses plain language wills, so that your intentions are clear.

Applications for Probate/Administration

Like death and taxes, this is an inevitable application that need not be complicated or expensive to make. Everyone will need help with this, and so it is an important service.

Representation Agreements

Decline in our health and capacity as we age is another inevitability. It’s best to plan for that ahead, and make arrangements you can rely on.

The Bad News: Ian’s Fees

Lawyers have priced themselves out of the market for most people and as a result, our courts are flooded with self-represented litigants. Compared with what lawyers of similar experience are charging in the Lower Mainland, Ian’s hourly rate is very reasonable: $350.00/hr plus PST and GST. Ian has proudly taken legal aid cases for more than 30 years (criminal, family and child protection) but stopped taking them in 2021 – after assessing the heavy toll those cases have taken on his emotional health.