CANADIAN CIVIL LITIGATION
Canada has a federal legal system with appeals from provincial courts resolved by the Canadian Supreme Court. This helps avoid some of the state-specific legal doctrines faced in the United States. Beyond minor procedural variances, the Canadian common law of tort and contract is uniform across the country. Thanks to the National Mobility Agreement, Canada’s progressive pro hac vice rules allow our Canadian team to practice across the country, often without the need for local counsel.
EASY ACCESS
Canada is a big country, with 10 provinces and three territories. Our Detroit, Michigan, office is located 30 minutes from the Canadian border, where the Windsor International Airport provides ready access to all major Canadian centers. One of our cross-border lawyers even lives in Canada and conducts regular day trips to Toronto on firm business. Our Canadian team actively practices throughout Canada, and regularly has boots on the ground defending corporate defendants in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. With the assistance of local counsel, we also manage litigation throughout Quebec (which uses a unique civil law system).
The map shows where we have litigated in Canada
TYPES OF CLIENTS
Our Canadian team advises Fortune 500 companies, including U.S., European and Japanese multinational corporations. Our team is well versed in U.S., Canadian, Japanese and German corporate culture and reporting requirements. We have defended a wide range of industrial, commercial and consumer products in Canada including HVAC equipment, sprinkler systems, automobiles and trucks, all manner of off-road vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, forklifts, medical devices, power tools, kitchen appliances, computer software and more.
TYPES OF CLAIMS
Our lawyers have advised on various types of claims including product manufacturing, warning and design defects, water and fire damage subrogation, construction defects, warranty, personal injury, premises liability and professional liability as well as breach of contract, leasing, franchising and other commercial disputes.
GOING TO TRIAL
As a result of capped non-economic damages, cost implications (Canada employs a loser pays system), and other factors, we are seeing fewer trials in Canada. Our team has had considerable success resolving cases and claims through settlement, voluntary dismissal or summary judgment. When a trial is necessary, however, our extensive experience trying cases in U.S. courtrooms means you have seasoned and forceful advocates on your side.
EFFICIENCY AND VALUE
We work to streamline each client’s Canadian litigation, reducing legal spend, while using our institutional knowledge and expertise to generate positive outcomes for clients. We pride ourselves on early case evaluation and efficient case handling, and we have had considerable success expediting complex cases through the slow moving provincial legal systems (only exacerbated in construction claims).
NAVIGATING U.S. LEGAL WATERS
Canadian clients facing litigation in the United States benefit from our cross-border team’s unique legal background and our firm’s experience in courtrooms in all 50 states. Case procedure, scheduling orders, discovery, and even the pace of litigation, are radically different in the United States — and our team is well equipped to assist experienced Canadian corporate counsel when litigating “south of the border.”