Davis LLP - News

Rodney Snow is the New President of the CBA

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:02:00 EDT

Davis LLP is proud to announce that Rodney Snow has become the president of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).

Mr. Snow practises as a corporate and commercial solicitor in Davis' Whitehorse office, with an emphasis on mining, aboriginal and environmental law. He will be the CBA's first president from northern Canada.

"I hope to bring a Northern perspective on national issues such as access to justice and legal aid," says Mr. Snow. "Based on my experience of 17 years in the north and more than 25 years as a partner in a national law firm, I know we can do more to improve access to justice for individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder."

Since opening the Whitehorse office in 1993, Mr. Snow has been a central figure in strengthening Davis' legal services in the North. With offices in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, and with lawyers called to the bar in Nunavut, Davis is the only national law firm serving all three territories from offices North of 60.

Today, Davis is a national firm with offices in the North and across the country, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal, as well as an office in Tokyo, Japan.

To view a Lawyers Weekly article on Mr. Snow regarding his upcoming presidency of the CBA, please see the attached document.

To view Mr. Snow's Globe & Mail announcement, which ran on September 1st, please see the second attached document.

To view the media release issued by the Canadian Bar Association, please click here.

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Davis Helps Inuit Association Halt Seismic-Testing Project in Baffin Bay

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:12:00 EDT

Making headlines across the country, Davis LLP has successfully helped its client, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, stall a German-Canadian seismic testing project in Baffin Bay.

Less than a day before a German research vessel was to begin seismic testing in the area, a Nunuvaut judge granted a temporary injunction against the Eastern Canadian Arctic Seismic Experiment on August 8.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association is represented by Davis lawyers David Crocker, Peter Jervis and Jonathan Davis-Sydor. The team argued that Natural Resources Canada could have resolved the issue by conducting meaningful consultation with people in the five affected High Arctic communities; including carrying out extensive interviews with Inuit to determine marine mammals' calving, feeding and migration patterns and the harvesting areas that Inuit use.

To read the Globe & Mail article, please click the following link:

Nunavut judge blocks seismic testing in Lancaster Sound, Globe & Mail, by Nathan VanderKlippe, August 9, 2010

To read the Nunatsiaq News article, please click the following link:

Ottawa silent on future of Arctic seismic project, Nunatsiaq News, by Gabriel Zarate, August 10, 2010

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Davis Team Advises VisualSonics in Sale to SonoSite

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:50:00 EDT

A team of advisors from Davis LLP was instrumental in the recent sale of VisualSonics Inc., a Toronto-based ultrasound technology company, to U.S. public company SonoSite Inc., with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $80 million.

The Davis team was led by Samuel Schwartz and Nicole Kapos, and included Eric Belli-Bivar, David Foulds, Paul Lailey, Michael Richards, Justin Mooney and Andrew Lord.

VisualSonics has been a client of the firm for seven years, since shortly after the company's inception. As chief external counsel to VisualSonics, the Davis team played a key role in the growth of this company, which offers leading-edge ultrasound technology for medical purposes. Davis' mandate has included coordinating contract work on a international basis, overseeing agreements with hospitals and educational institutions, coordinating work with U.S.-patent counsel, doing licensing agreements, and resolving tax and employment and labour issues that arose.

Davis is pleased to have played a role in the development of this company whose technology is set to make a difference in the medical field.

An article about VisualSonics and its innovative technology appeared in the Toronto Star on July 27th. To read the full article, please see the attached document.

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Justin R. Fogarty and Davis LLP Host International Lawyers Polo Event

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:20:00 EDT

From July 21 - 24, the Third Annual Lawyers Polo Tournament was held in Toronto and area, bringing together lawyers and senior business people from around the world who share a common interest in polo. Working with Polo Canada and the Lawyers Polo Association, Justin R. Fogarty, a partner with Davis LLP, was instrumental in bringing the event to Toronto and Davis was proud to sponsor the event.

The tournament kicked off with a cocktail party at Vertical Restaurant in downtown Toronto. Attended by several Davis partners and numerous clients, this event was also a successful fundraiser in support of the "True Patriot Love" fund in support of Canadian Military Families.

The event then shifted to polo grounds near Alliston, Ontario. It was an excellent weekend of competition, with many spectators taking in the polo games and an Argentine Asado (BBQ).

For more information about the Lawyers Polo Association, please contact Justin R. Fogarty at 416.369.5255 or jfogarty@davis.ca.

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Michiko Hara leads JETRO/Shokokai Employment & Labour Seminar

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:55:00 EDT

Michiko Hara discussed workplace harassment in Japanese in the July 15 seminar held at Davis Toronto office. It was organized by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) and Toronto Japanese Association of Commerce and Industry (Shokokai).

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Colin Lipsett discusses the growing problem of contaminated gas stations in the province of Alberta

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:08:00 EDT

Davis Associate Colin Lipsett appeared on Alberta Primtime to discuss the growing problem of contaminated gas stations in the province of Alberta.

At present, hundreds of derelict gas station sites scar the Alberta landscape as many land owners have traditionally been able to avoid or delay responsibility for remediation of these sites by simply paying the annual property taxes.

Edmonton city councillor and chair of Edmonton's contaminated gas stations task force, Ben Henderson, and board member for the Environmental Services Association of Alberta, Jeff Dirks, joined Colin to discuss such issues as: Why these sites have remained contaminated for so long? Who should be responsible for cleaning up the sites? And what might a more environmentally-aware society demand of governments and businesses in the future?

To view the video from Alberta Primetime, please click here.

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Robert White Named Most Influential by Alberta Venture Magazine

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:12:00 EDT

Congratulations to Davis partner Robert White, Q.C., who has recently been named one of the 50 most influential people in Alberta by the province's Venture magazine, July 2010 issue.. Referred to in the article as Syncrude's "White knight," he is noted for having a knack for "extremely complex cases."

Mr. White has represented some of the country's biggest corporate clients, such as oil companies, chartered banks and insurance companies. As well, he has provided pro bono legal services to families and individuals in need, including a family without funds in the first case in Canada in which a court ordered a school board to make accommodation for a physically challenged child, and a hospital orderly charged with the murder of two patients.

To read this article please click the link below.

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Mike Richard to participate in upcoming employment & labour webcast

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:09:00 EDT

Davis partner Mike Richards will be participating in an upcoming webcast to discuss the legal issues surrounding Bill 168 and to outline employers' obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act with respect to workplace violence and workplace harassment.

Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Time: 12:00PM to 1:00PM ET

Price: FREE

For more information and to register for this webcast, please click here

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Brian Tsuji Joins Davis LLP

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:17:00 EDT

Robert Seidel, Q.C., National Managing Partner of Davis LLP, is pleased to announce that Brian Tsuji has joined Davis' Vancouver office as associate counsel. Mr. Tsuji will be returning to Davis where he originally started his legal career as an articling student.

With almost 30 years of experience, Mr. Tsuji is a highly experienced immigration lawyer with a strong immigration law practice. He has extensive experience with work visas, provincial nominee program applications, immigration visas, investor visas and business immigration matters, including representing individuals as well as local, national and international corporations and organizations.

Mr. Tsuji speaks Japanese and English and has worked in Tokyo, Toronto and Vancouver. He has represented clients from more than 50 countries including Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, the USA, Mexico, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, the UAE, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Nigeria.

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Montreal Office to Argue Unprecedented Case before the Supreme Court of Canada

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:43:00 EDT

A team of Davis lawyers, led by Hubert Sibre and Annie Claude Beauchemin of the Montreal office, will argue an unprecedented consumer law case before the Supreme Court of Canada.

In the case of Richard vs. Time Inc., Davis client, Mr. Jean-Marc Richard, pursued legal action against Time Inc. in light of the content of a Sweepstakes confirmation he received through the mail. The documents received from Time indicated that Mr. Richard was the winner of a substantial amount. It was argued before the court that either the documents confirmed that Mr. Richard was the winner and thus entitled him to receive the winning price or that it was voluntarily drafted to give the strong impression that he was the winner in order to influence the consumer to do business with Time. The Superior Court of Quebec issued a judgment awarding $100,000 of punitive damages against Time. However, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the initial ruling and reversed the first instance of the decision. In its decision, the Court of Appeal of Quebec did change the definition of the average consumer necessary to interpret the documents of Time in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act.

The case will be heard before the Supreme Court of Canada in January 2011 with the following issues to be debated: (1) definition of the "average" consumer upon which is based the analysis of the document, (2) whether or not the document from Time was misleading, and (3) what would be the criteria to establish a proper amount of punitive damages in similar situations.

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Davis Client, Southern Pacific, raised $108 Million to complete the Equity Funding Portion for its STP-McKay Thermal Project

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:06:00 EDT

We are pleased to announce that the firm's client, Southern Pacific Resource Corp., raised $108,360,000 through a bought deal prospectus offering with a syndicate of underwriters, including the underwriters' partial exercise of their over-allotment option. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to complete the equity funding portion for Southern Pacific's second steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project, the STP-McKay Thermal Project. Southern Pacific is engaged in the exploration and development of oil sands in the Athabasca region of Alberta and the thermal production of approximately 4,500 barrels per day of heavy oil in Senlac, Saskatchewan.

The Davis team that represented Southern Pacific was led by Trevor Wong-Chor, and included Campbell Fitch, Derrick Auch, Michael Coburn, Michael Der and Graham Norris.

Please see the attached document to view the media release distributed by Southern Pacific.

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Davis Client, Canacol, raised $57.5 Million to fund its Oil & Gas Exploration Activities in Colombia

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EDT

We are pleased to announce that the firm's client, Canacol Energy Ltd., raised $57,500,288 through a bought deal prospectus offering with a syndicate of underwriters, including the underwriters' exercise of their over-allotment option. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund seismic acquisition and drilling of exploration wells, the acquisition of new exploration blocks in Colombia and the repayment of debt. Canacol is a Canadian-based international oil and gas corporation with operations in Colombia, Brazil and Guyana.

The Davis team that represented Canacol was led by Trevor Wong-Chor and Robert Black, and included Derrick Auch, Michael Coburn, Jonathan Brown and Graham Norris.

Please see the attached document to view the media release distributed by Canacol.

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Allen Soltan Appointed to Prestigious Sauder School Advisory Board

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:36:00 EDT

Davis LLP congratulates partner Allen Soltan on his appointment to the Advisory Board of UBC's internationally renowned Sauder School of Business.

Mr. Soltan is himself an honours graduate of Sauder, and holds a masters degree in law from Columbia University in New York. He began his career with Davis in 1983, and with his extensive experience in regulatory compliance, corporate governance and dispute resolution, he leads several of the firm's practice groups.

Mr. Soltan also publishes and lectures extensively and is a Director of the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

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Davis LLP Supports the Calgary Stampede Royalty Program

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:10:00 EDT

Davis LLP is proud to be a sponsor of the Calgary Stampede Royalty Program, a sponsorship that supports the activities of the Stampede Queen and Princesses.

The Royalty Program holds a competition each Fall that selects three young women who are proud of Canada's Western heritage, confident equestrians, and want to share their love of the Stampede with the world. The current Queen is Katie Rochon, and the Princesses are Janelle Phillips and Kirstie Rougeau.

For the year following their success in the Royalty competition, these young women devote significant time to public appearances, spending much of the year travelling throughout the community and visiting locations such as sporting events, rodeos, parades, seniors homes, hospitals and schools, representing the Stampede to the world.

Davis' support is crucial to supporting these community visits. As well, the sponsorship supports educational scholarships for the Royalty trio and youth development programs for the women who enter the competition, such as public speaking and leadership courses.

This year's Calgary Stampede kicks off on July 9th and runs through July 18th in Calgary. During that ten-day period, Katie, Janelle and Kirstie will make over 380 public appearances. If you are visiting Calgary during the Stampede, be sure to look for these confident young women who Davis is proud to support during their tenure as Stampede Royalty.

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Shelley Fitzpatrick Appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:08:00 EDT

Robert Seidel, Q.C., National Managing Partner of Davis LLP, is pleased to announce that Shelley C. Fitzpatrick, of the firm's Vancouver office, has been appointed judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

"We are very proud of our colleague for her incredible accomplishment," says Seidel. "Shelley has a wealth of integrity and a keen sense of justice that will serve the bench and the citizens of British Columbia well."

Madam Justice Fitzpatrick joined Davis as a partner in 2001 and specialized in insolvency and restructuring law. She was a member of the firm's executive committee and co-chair of the firm's Business Solutions and Restructuring group. Until her appointment to the bench, Madam Justice Fitzpatrick was Director, Vice President and member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada.

Recognized as a leader in her field, Madam Justice Fitzpatrick is listed in all of the noteworthy legal directories, including Chambers Global, Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert Legal Directory. She has also lectured extensively in the legal education field in British Columbia and authored numerous papers and articles on insolvency matters.

"I know I speak for everyone at the firm when I say we feel honoured to have worked with Shelley and wish her all the best in the future," adds Seidel.

To view the announcement from the Department of Justice, please click here.

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Shane Onufrechuk Writes on Tax Traps and Tips

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:29:00 EDT

This month, an article written by one of Davis' senior tax advisors, Shane Onufrechuk, C.A., "Tax Traps & Tips: Why It Pays to Stay "Connected,'" appeared in the Chartered Accountants of BC magazine, Beyond Numbers.

"The Income Tax Act (ITA) contains a myriad of terms that describe and define the nature of relationships between taxpayers for income tax purposes. Taxpayers can be "connected," "associated," "affiliated," "related," and/or "not deal[ing] at arm's-length." For many accountants, it can be difficult to remember the distinctions between these terms. Unfortunately, failing to remember these distinctions-particularly with regard to the definition of "connected corporations"-can prove costly. As this article will demonstrate, concluding that two corporations are connected when, in fact, they are not, can result in material adverse income tax consequences. "

Please click here to view the article

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Don Campbell Attends the Asia Society Global Forum in Washington, D.C.

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:25:00 EDT

This week, the firm's Senior Strategy Advisor, Donald W. Campbell, is in Washington, D.C., at the Asia Society Global Forum for a two-day session (June 9th and 10th) on US-Asia relations. The forum will host 90 participants from around the globe and focus on the increasing importance of Asian powers on the global stage.

Mr. Campbell will be joined by a number of American senators (including John D. Rockefeller, John Kerry, Jim Webb and Dianne Feinstein) and CEOs of leading corporations.

The Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia.

For more information about the Asia Society, please visit their website by clicking here.

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Davis lawyers and practice areas recognized in the 2010 edition of Lexpert

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:50:00 EDT

Once again Davis LLP is well represented in the annual Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. Published since 1997, Lexpert identifies leading lawyers across Canada in 64 practice areas through an extensive peer evaluation process. Lexpert has become a resource of choice for Canadian corporate counsel and Canadian law firms as well as for US corporate counsel and law firms in need of Canadian legal expertise.

The following Davis lawyers are recognized in the 2010 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory:

* Paul R. Albi, Repeatedly Recommended - Family Law

* Peter Archibald, Consistently Recommended - Labour Relations - Management

* Doug Buchanan, Q.C., Most Frequently Recommended - Banking & Financial Institutions and Corporate Commercial Law; Consistently Recommended - Project Finance; Repeatedly Recommended - Corporate Mid-Market, Mergers & Acquisitions

* Terence Dalgleish, Most Frequently Recommended - Energy Electricity

* Rhys Davies, Repeatedly Recommended - Estate & Personal Tax Planning - Estate Litigation

* W. Ross Ellison, Q.C., Repeatedly Recommended - Employment Law - Management

* Shelley C. Fitzpatrick, Repeatedly Recommended - Insolvency & Financial Restructuring

* Jean-Yves Fortin, Repeatedly Recommended - Insolvency & Financial Restructuring, Insolvency & Financial Restructuring - Insolvency Litigation

* Mary B. Hamilton, Consistently Recommended - Estate & Personal Tax Planning - Estate & Tax Planning

* Brian Hiebert, Repeatedly Recommended - Forestry Law

* Peter Jervis, Repeatedly Recommended - Litigation - Securities, Litigation - Class Actions

* Howard Kellough, Most Frequently Recommended - Corporate Tax; Repeatedly Recommended - Estate & Personal Tax Planning - Estate Litigation

* P. John Landry, Repeatedly Recommended - International Trade Regulation

* Roger Lee, Repeatedly Recommended - Estate & Personal Tax Planning - Estate Litigation

* Garry Mancell, Most Frequently Recommended - Forestry Law

* David Nathanson, Most Frequently Recommended - Litigation - Corporate Tax

* Richard Nixon, Repeatedly Recommended - Employment Law - Management

* Catherine A. Pawluch, Most Frequently Recommended - Transportation (Road & Rail)

* Larry Robinson, Consistently Recommended - Insolvency & Financial Restructuring, Insolvency & Financial Restructuring - Insolvency Litigation

* Kathleen A. Ryan, Repeatedly Recommended - Personal Injury

* Laura Safran, Repeatedly Recommended - Aviation (Regulation and Liability)

* Rodney A. Snow, Repeatedly Recommended - Aboriginal Law

* Max Weder, Repeatedly Recommended - Litigation - Corporate Tax

* Robert White, Repeatedly Recommended - Litigation - Corporate Commercial

* J. Kevin Wright, Consistently Recommended - Competition Law

Furthermore, Davis was recognized in the 2010 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for the following practice areas:

* Competition Law, Repeatedly Recommended - Vancouver

* Corporate Commercial Law, Repeatedly Recommended - Vancouver

* Forestry Law, Consistently Recommended - Vancouver

* Labour Relations, Repeatedly Recommended - Full Service Firm - Vancouver

* Property Development, Repeatedly Recommended - Toronto - Land Use Planning Work

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Davis Wins Important Case Regarding Administrative Law

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:51:00 EDT

A team of Davis lawyers, led by Greg Heinrichs, Q.C., was recently successful in the Alberta Court of Appeal - Mitten v College of Psychologists case.

The decision is an important administrative law decision because it confirms that when dealing with public complaints that are made against members of self-regulating professions, the governing body of the profession, must give procedural fairness to the complainants.

The background:

Our client, Ida Mitten, had made complaints to the College of Alberta Psychologists accusing her psychologist of unethical behaviour towards her.

The registrar of the college retrieved responses to the complaints from the accused psychologist but refused to provide the complainant with copies of those responses. The registrar dismissed the complaint without identifying for the complainant what material was relied upon for the decision.

The legislation gives the complainant a right of appeal to the discipline committee of the college and she exercised her right of appeal. We represented the complainant at the appeal.

Before and at the appeal, the complainant objected to an assortment of procedures that the appeal panel chose to follow. The objections included (among other things) that the appeal panel considered the responses of the accused psychologist without providing copies of same to the complainant.

The complainant's appeal was dismissed.

On behalf of the complainant, we applied for judicial review of the decision of the appeal panel. We alleged that the appeal panel had failed to provide a reasonable degree of natural justice and procedural fairness to the complainant when dealing with the appeal.

The College applied to strike the application for judicial review alleging that the Alberta Court of Appeal decision in Old Man River v Appegga conclusively determined that complainants are never entitled to judicial review of a dismissal of a complaint.

The Court of Queens Bench accepted this argument and this interpretation of the Old Man River decision and struck out the application for judicial review with costs in favour of the College.

On appeal, the Alberta Court of Appeal reinstated the most important aspects of the application for judicial review and specifically stated that complainants such as Ida Mitten are entitled to a degree of natural justice and procedural fairness in the way that their complaints are dealt with by the College of Psychologists.

The decision will impact the way that all self-regulating professions in Alberta deal with members of the public who make complaints to the regulating authority about the members of each profession.

Mr. Heinrichs was assisted by Priscilla Kennedy and Deborah Szatylo.

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The Firm Welcomes David Nathanson, Q.C., and Adrienne Woodyard

Wed, 12 May 2010 13:32:00 EDT

Robert Seidel, Q.C., National Managing Partner of Davis LLP, is pleased to announce that David C. Nathanson, Q.C., and Adrienne K. Woodyard have joined the firm's Toronto office.

"We are very happy David and Adrienne will add their exceptional tax law expertise to our Toronto office," says Mr. Seidel. "David is one of the foremost tax litigators and specialists in the country, and Adrienne has developed a noteworthy tax practice. Both will add strength to the firm's already well-established national tax group."

Mr. Nathanson has extensive experience with tax planning, real estate, tax litigation and resolution of tax disputes. He advises clients on all manner of tax and related issues and his roster of clients includes large multinational corporations as well as owner-operated enterprises.

Called to the Ontario bar in 2000, Ms. Woodyard has considerable experience with income tax, HST, RST and customs matters. She advises clients on all aspects of tax litigation and planning, and has represented litigants in the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal.

To contact Mr. Nathanson or Ms. Woodyard, please click on their names to view their biographies.

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