Collections Practice Basics 2026

Course Chairs
Sean Gallagher — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Mu Xin — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
Sean Gallagher maintains a diversified commercial litigation and administrative law practice. He focuses on complex corporate and commercial litigation, including contractual disputes, fraud, and shareholder oppression, and on judicial reviews of administrative tribunal decisions.

Sean has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in BC and in the Federal Court of Appeal. In addition, Sean has a track record of successfully obtaining extraordinary relief for his clients including Mareva injunctions (asset freezing) and Norwich Pharmacal orders (pre-litigation third party discovery), particularly in the context of fraud asset recovery.

He represents domestic and international clients, both public and private, across a broad range of industries including mining, natural resources, and banking and financial services.

Outside of his practice, Sean sits as the president of the Vancouver Bar Association and volunteers as a mentor with the BC Branch of the CBA.

Mu Xin has a broad disputes practice, with a focus on commercial litigation and international and domestic commercial arbitration.

She has appeared before all levels of court in BC in complex cases involving defamation, contractual and shareholder disputes, construction, real estate, banking, fraud recovery, and arbitration-related litigation. 

Mu's arbitration experience includes acting on counsel teams in significant commercial arbitration proceedings in Canada and Asia under various institutional sets of rules, including the UNCITRAL Rules, the VanIAC Domestic Arbitration Rules, and the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules.

Mu is fluent in Chinese and conversational in Cantonese. Prior to practicing law, she worked in a global technology company in Shanghai.

Faculty
Justice Carla L. Forth — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Jennifer K. Choi — Bennett Jones LLP, Vancouver
Edward W. Hulshof — Bennett Jones LLP, Vancouver
Ryan Laity — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Ryan R. Lee — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver
Devon A. Luca, MCIArb — Gall Legge Grant Zwack LLP, Vancouver
Hunter Parsons — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
John Douglas Shields — Shields Harney LLP, Vancouver
Rachel Wollenberg — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

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British Columbia Creditors' Remedies—An Annotated Guide

Your British Columbia source on debt recovery and collections

This publication is essential for: lawyers acting for debtors and creditors with collections issues in BC

Current to: July 1, 2022

British Columbia Creditors' Remedies: An Annotated Guide is your one-stop resource for direction on collection-related practice issues in BC. With annotated precedents and step-by-step instructions guiding you through creditors' remedies practice in the BC Supreme Court, this guide covers assessing and managing collections, prejudgment collections, debtor asset assessment, how to effectively use execution proceedings, and tips on acting for the debtor.

With this resource, you will be able to:

• confidently navigate the procedures and court forms involved in debt recovery in BC
  
• capably advise your client regarding the various remedies available for collection
  
• benefit from commentary from experienced counsel on debt recovery best practices and pitfalls to avoid

Buy today and advise more skillfully on debt collection! View a sample from this book!

Highlights of the 2022 Update include:

• developments in the case law, legislation, and practice since 2020, including: 
  • the proposed Commercial Liens Act, which received royal assent on March 31, 2022 (watch for regulation bringing into force)
  • Canada v. Canada North Group Inc., 2021 SCC 30 on the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
  • updated information on conducting searches, including a new section on intellectual property searches
• updated forms and precedents

• developing strategies for identification of claims, remedies, parties, and prospective recoveries
• investigations and searches
• jurisdiction and forum
• pre-claim statutory and contractual considerations
• law practice management

• magical defences
• tricks of the trade
• dealing with judgments
• setting aside garnishment

• business practices and Consumer Protection Act issues: rules for collectors
• pre-litigation demands and related notices
• commencing an action
• pre-judgment garnishment
• forbearance agreements and early settlement
• pleading for default

• enforcement process and considerations for real property
• examinations in aid of executions
• enforcement options/process for personal property
• subpoenas to debtor
• enforcement of foreign judgments in BC
• non-compliance and contempt proceedings

• practice tips for summary proceedings
• effective use of affidavits 
• suitability

• ethical obligations
• strategies for managing costs and the process
• helping the court – it's adversarial, but your adversary may not know the rules of the game 

• relevant statutes
• fraudulent conveyances
• fraudulent preferences
• procedure to obtain a remedy
• tracing

• overview of process
• additional remedies
• restrictions and limitations