Course Chairs
Andrew P. Morrison — Shields Harney, Vancouver
John Douglas Shields — Shields Harney, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Andrew Morrison is an experienced commercial litigator who has provided candid and effective advice to clients of all sizes for more than 20 years.
Andrew has a varied practice. Andrew appears in many courts and tribunals including the BC Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is well-known for litigating disputes concerning real estate and commercial contracts, and has substantial experience handling matters involving shareholder rights, partnerships, commercial leases, employment relationships, the collection of judgment debts, conflicts of interest, fee disputes between lawyers and clients, and civil procedure.
Andrew is also an experienced mediator. He facilitates the resolution of disputes that involve modest to millions of dollars. He has also acted as arbitrator.
Andrew is a regular speaker at CLEBC and CBA events and has been a guest speaker to law students at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC.
John Douglas Shields is a consummate barrister having more than three decades of experience litigating commercial matters, including disputes involving partnership issues, banking, contracts, wrongful dismissal, non-solicitation and non-competition covenants, injunctions, arbitrations, professional discipline, and appeals. The more complicated, the better.
He has appeared before the Supreme Court of BC, the Court of Appeal for BC, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, the Supreme Court of Canada; in arbitrations in BC, Nevada and New York; and before the BC Securities Commission, the former Real Estate Council, the Financial Services Tribunal, and the BC Financial Services Authority.
He has travelled to Hong Kong, Guernsey, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, England, Scotland, and throughout Canada and the US on cases, interviewing witnesses and tracking down evidence.
He has acted for one of Canada's largest banks for 30 years. His new clients are usually referred to him by other counsel. He accepts some engagements on a contingency fee basis.
He has developed, led or taught CLE courses on Affidavits, Chambers Practice, Ethics, and Mastering Civil Evidence.
He is a contributing author to CLEBC's Creditors Remedies text and was, for many years, a contributor to CLEBC's Annual Review of Law & Practice.
He has contributed to articles on Appealing Decisions of Masters and Examinations for Discovery to the Advocate, a magazine published by the CBA.
His textbook on Affidavits, the first in Canada, is to be published in September 2022 and he has commenced work for a textbook on Examinations for Discovery.
He likes nothing more than cross-examination—convincing witnesses to say things they ought not to say—and eviscerating affidavits and pleadings proffered by an opponent.
In his off-time, he enjoys mountain biking in Utah, Japan, California, Nevada, and BC. One of his favourite places to mountain bike is France, where he has a 400-year-old home in Burgundy.
Faculty
The Honourable Madam Justice Wendy A. Baker — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Elizabeth Allan — Sugden, McFee & Roos LLP, Vancouver
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