Burchells LLP - Nova Scotia Law Firm, Nova Scotia Lawyer

On January 28, 2010 the provincial cabinet announced its appointments for the designation of Queen's Counsel, a distinction reserved for the most "exceptional" Nova Scotia lawyers. Bruce Clarke was one of them. The "Q.C." identifies lawyers of exceptional skill and leadership, who make a difference in the community. We've always known Bruce demonstrated "professional integrity, good character and outstanding contributions to the practice of law," but it's surely gratifying to have our partner recognized for those virtues. Congratulations Bruce -- you had it coming.

Burchells lawyer Naiomi Metallic contributed an article to the most recent edition of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society magazine, the Society Record. Invoking her work on the Society's Race Relations Committee, and with Aboriginal lawyers group Eastern Door, Naiomi writes on issues surrounding judicial appointments and minority lawyers.

We are pleased to tell you all that Jennifer and Andrew were successful in an appeal they recently argued on behalf of Royal & SunAlliance. You can see the decision here:

http://www.courts.ns.ca/decisions_recent/documents/2009nsca110.pdf

In a nutshell, Royal had been sued as a Section D insurer to provide coverage to a personal injury claimant. The plaintiff had been injured by a driver who was at fault for the accident, and who was driving a vehicle belonged to someone else. The insurer of the at-fault vehicle denied coverage on the basis that the driver was driving without permission. This left Royal to pay the claim of their insured.

At the trial level, Justice Stewart found that the at-fault driver did have consent to drive the vehicle. This ought to have resulted in a finding that the company who insured the at-fault vehicle was responsible to respond to the plaintiff's claim. Instead, she found that despite the consent, there was still no insurance coverage because the driver wasn't carrying out some purpose in favour of the owner, and Royal was still responsible to respond to the plaintiff's claim.

The claim wasn't huge, but the principle was. The outcome of the trial simply didn't make sense and was very significant to insurers in general. On appeal, it was found that once Justice Stewart found there had been consent, the at-fault insurer was obliged to provide coverage, and Royal is off the hook.

This is a decision that will be used as a precedent on this issue for years to come. Congrats to Jennifer and Andrew for ensuring that justice prevailed.

On October 22, 2009 litigation partners Brian Awad, David Hutt, and legal assistant Theo MacIntosh, celebrated the 40th anniversary of Woodstock with a performance in the March of Dimes' annual "Rock for Dimes" battle of the corporate bands. Burchells' entry, Flower Cannon , also benefited from the talents of articled clerk Donna Davis' husband Robert Currie, as well as Jonathan Langlois-Sadubin and Jude Hall. A crowd in excess of 500 souls attended the show, making this year's event an unprecedented success for this great cause. Flower Cannon didn't win, nor did it deserve to. But we had more fun than anybody.

Cheryl Canning and Cory Withrow were in Banff, AB from October 22-25, 2009 to take part in a CBA Civil Litigation and Insurance Law Conference. The weekend also included meetings of the CBA National Insurance Section and the CBA National Civil Litigation section. Cheryl and Cory are the provincial branch chairs of these respective sections. Their involvement included roundtable discussions and planning regarding important developments in these two areas of law.

Burchells litigation-group partners, Brian Awad and Jennifer Ross will be presenters at Insight's 2nd Annual E-Discovery and E-Documents conference to be held at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax on September 30 and October 1, 2009.

Derek Simon has recently published an article in The Halifax Chamber of Commerce bulletin. Derek has written many articles for the Chamber and this article has made it to the front page of their Eco-News Bulletin. The article is entitled "Green Leasing: deepening the landlord/tenant relationship." The article discusses how commercial landlords and tenants can use green leasing to achieve common environmental goals, save money, and strengthen their relationship.

Despite our warnings, thrill-seeker, adventurer and Burchells controller René LeBlanc decided to leave for lunch the hard way today. What, elevators too good for you?! On September 18, 2009 René worked up the nerve to rappell 22-storeys down the side of 1801 Hollis & Duke in support of Easter Seals , as part of its Drop Zone fundraiser . We congratulate René for raising over $2,000 for this great cause, and for not backing down from a double-dog-dare. The yellow helmet suits you!

The partners at Burchells are pleased to welcome our newest associate, Derek A. Simon.

Derek's experience with another of Halifax 's major firms makes him a great addition to our transaction group. He has experience advising a wide range of clients, including businesses large and small, co-operatives and Aboriginal governments. Derek also dedicates volunteer time to several community organizations and a number of boards, while still finding time to see his articles on business law published in various publications throughout the region. He enjoys cycling, hockey, ultimate, and the outdoors.

Derek's practice at Burchells focuses on real estate, corporate and commercial transactions and aboriginal law.