Policies

APPEALS AND INTERVENTIONS | TLABC EQUALITY STATEMENTS | TLABC LOGO/NAME/INITIALS USE POLICY

Appeals and Interventions

TLABC’s Litigation Committee is chaired by Robin McFee QC. Committee members including Richard Parsons, Aseem Dosanjh, Frank Scordo, Keri Grenier, Krista Simon, Larry Kancs, Megan Ellis QC, Nick Peterson, Robert Holmes QC, and Shawn Mitchell (staff liaison).

The Litigation Committee was formed in May 2003 as a means of helping decide which matters of public importance would receive particular attention and assistance by our association. The committee created criteria to help assess whether TLABC should help fund certain cases, appeals and intervener actions.

Under this framework, proceedings must involve matters of importance to TLABC, with an emphasis on issues pertaining to the protection of the rights of individuals, especially where such rights are under threat by policies and actions of governments, insurance companies or other large corporations.

Other considerations include:

Matters where a person's access to the courts is diminished
Instances whereby the independence of either the Bar or the Judiciary is threatened
Situations that unjustifiably limit a person’s ability to recover damages from those who wronged them

The committee gives priority to requests arising from proceedings in British Columbia. TLABC funding is to be considered a last resort. As such, applicants for funding must have explored and exhausted all other sources. Also, the committee recommends that applicants be required to repay TLABC a proportionate share of increased awards in the event of a successful appeal, as well as a proportionate share of any costs awarded to the applicant in the appeal or leave-to-appeal application.

As for representative counsel, the committee asserts that there should be a consensus between the applicant and TLABC as to who will be retained for the proceedings that follow.

View the Litigation Committee Funding Criteria.

TLABC members are invited to forward suggestions and requests for the committee’s consideration. Requests should be sent to TLABC’s executive director and CEO Shawn Mitchell. He, in turn, will forward them to the committee. This committee has its own listserv for optimum communication by e-mail. The committee members discuss each request and make recommendations for TLABC’s Executive Committee and Board of Governors to consider.

TLABC Equality Statements

That Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia adopt a statement of principle that the membership of all internal committees and special projects should strive to have representation which adheres to the Association’s Bylaw 5.01.
That Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia take more pro-active measures to broaden the pool of representatives on our Executive Committee, Board of Governors and Standing Committees, including publicizing available positions and the creation of lists of women, ethnically diverse and newly called lawyers interested in becoming more actively involved in the TLABC.

TLABC Logo/Name/Initials Use Policy
TLABC's Executive and Board has approved a Logo/Name/Initials use policy as a result of requests from membership to use one or all on printed and online materials. View the TLABC Logo/Name/Initials Use Policy.