John Trueman featured in The Advocates Society's "Keeping Tabs"

Our associate, John Trueman, was interviewed and featured in The Advocates Society's Spring 2023 edition of "Keeping Tabs," a publication targeted at junior lawyers across the country.

Speaking with fellow SCC clerk Aly Haji, John chronicles his journey to becoming a lawyer which included working on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and starting law school at age 36. Sharing what he’s learned along the way, John highlights what being a lawyer means to him.

You can read the full interview on pages 14-17 in “Keeping Tabs.”

John Trueman wins privacy victory at BC Court of Appeal

The BC Court of Appeal struck down a section of BC’s child protection law that gives social workers unfettered access to personal health information held by public bodies.

In a 3-0 decision, the Court found that section 96(1) of the Child, Family, and Community Service Act was an unconstitutional infringement of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that “everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.”

Along with Paul LeBlanc and Susan E. Ross, Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel associate, John Trueman, represented T.L., a mother of three with a history of trauma and mental health struggles.  When T.L. sought to regain custody of her children, social workers issued demands for her medical records and those of her family to the local hospital and a family services agency from which she had been receiving services.  The requested records dated back years before she had children.  T.L. challenged the constitutionality of the law which, she said, made her less comfortable confiding in doctors and others who sought to help her.

Writing for a unanimous division, Justice DeWitt-Van Oosten held that British Columbians have a high expectation of privacy in their medical records, and that s. 96(1) is not minimally intrusive because it allows the collection of a broad range of medical records without any meaningful oversight.  As such, she declared that the law is “of no force or effect,” but suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months to allow the Legislature to fashion a new law.

AMLC’s John Trueman maintains a broad litigation practice with a focus on appellate and public law litigation.  He has a keen interest in privacy issues.  As the former Vice-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Constitutional and Civil Liberties Section, he collaborates with noteworthy counsel — in this case, family lawyer, Paul LeBlanc and privacy expert, Susan E. Ross — to help take on challenging issues.  This was his first time delivering oral argument in the Court of Appeal.

For more information on Allen/McMillan’s appellate advocacy and public law litigation practices, please contact John at john@amlc.ca. For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCCA 167 and for additional press coverage visit here and here.

AMLC, Greg, and Wes are being recognized in the 12th edition of Benchmark Litigation Canada!

AMLC is proud to announce that it has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to leading litigation law firms and lawyers, as a Recommended Firm for 2023.

Congratulations to both Greg and Wes for being recognized by Benchmark Litigation Canada again! For their 12th edition, Greg has been highlighted as a “Litigation Star” and Wes as a “Future Star” Both have been identified in Benchmark’s research as preeminent litigation practitioners in Canada.

Greg and Wes were recognized as “Future Stars'' in the 11th edition last year, and are honoured to be included once again. The 12th edition of Benchmark Litigation Canada is now available online at www.benchmarklitigation.com. 

Meet Natalie, our new Associate

AMLC is pleased to announce that Natalie Chan has joined the firm as an associate.

Natalie is a 2021 call, and has worked as a civil and commercial litigator since her call to the bar.  After splitting time between Canada and Hong Kong growing up, Natalie completed her law degree at City University of Hong Kong, followed by an LLM at UBC. Natalie speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin.

 We are excited to have Natalie as a member of the team!

Greg Allen and Kaitlyn Meyer Successfully Defend Jurisdiction Application

Greg and Kaitlyn successfully defended an application by two of several defendants to have the claims against them dismissed or stayed on jurisdictional grounds.

The underlying action involves claims of misrepresentation, fraud and breach of contract arising from the plaintiffs’ investment in an energy drink company and a related farming business. The two defendants argued the claims surrounding the farming business were closely tied to Alberta and that a forum selection clause in an agreement between some of the parties favoured the jurisdiction of the Alberta courts. The BC Supreme Court disagreed, finding that the forum selection clause did not confer exclusive jurisdiction on the Alberta courts and that Alberta was not a clearly more appropriate forum for the claims against the two defendants. The Court also declined to order security for costs against the plaintiffs.

For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCSC 219. For more information on Allen / McMillan’s commercial litigation practice, please contact Greg at greg@amlc.ca or Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@amlc.ca.

Greg Allen Speaks on Panel with The Advocates’ Society

On March 31, 2023, Greg spoke on a panel for a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program with The Advocates’ Society. The panel, “Mind the Skills Gap: Lessons in Court Practice and Decorum,” covered the do’s and don’ts of civility and decorum. This program provided practical tips to junior lawyers on how to conduct themselves in court, and improve their advocacy. Greg was joined by Justices Susan A. Griffin, Karen Horsman, and Geoffrey Gomery, as well as Tracey M. Cohen, KC (Fasken), and Abbas Sabur (Kornfeld LLP).