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Blair Shaw

Blair Shaw

Partner
About

Blair is a senior member of the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group with a broad range of corporate and commercial litigation experience including construction disputes, building design and construction deficiencies, infrastructure and heavy machinery design negligence, builders liens, product deficiencies and liability, real estate transactions claims, commercial leasing disputes, contract disputes, professional negligence, and health and pension benefits litigation.

Blair has represented clients before the B.C. Provincial Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Alberta Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal, the Yukon Territorial and Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan, the Federal Court Trial Division, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

He has also appeared as counsel before commercial arbitrators and mediators and administrative tribunals, including WorkSafe B.C. the Residential Tenancies Branch, the Employment Standards Branch, the Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Blair has been delivering solutions and successful outcomes to his clients for over 36 years by providing practical and timely advice that is clearly communicated, and through his dedication to hard work and thorough preparation.

Bar admissionsBritish Columbia, 1987Yukon, 2009

EXPERIENCE

  • Assisted property owners and construction contractors with construction delay, acceleration, design and deficiency claims. 
  • Counsel in numerous proceedings involving the design and construction of bulk commodity ship loading or storage and handling facilities, including silos, ship loaders, stacker-reclaimers, conveyors, rail car dumpers, and related equipment. 
  • Counsel in a lengthy trial and related appeals over the design and supply of coated steel pipes to the Greater Vancouver Regional District involving international experts on steel pipe coatings and cathodic protection of subsurface infrastructure.
  • Counsel to a major Alberta construction contractor in respect of the interpretation of dispute resolution and arbitration provisions in a design-build contract involving multiple Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal proceedings, and a leave application to the Supreme Court of Canada. 
  • Counsel to property owners related to agreements of purchase and sale, property development claims, leasing disputes, including common area costs and tax disputes, tenant evictions, rent collections, and realtor negligence.
  • Counsel to a Yukon power supplier in respect of claims and counterclaims related to the design and construction of power transmission lines.
  • Acted in numerous cases for suppliers or owners in respect of the design or construction of industrial pressure vessels and boilers, pulp dryers, steel culverts, and hydro generation turbines and plants.
  • Represented a variety of mining clients in matters related to mine safety, construction and operation, the purchase or sale of mine equipment, and the conflict between municipal regulation and mineral and mining rights.   
  • Counsel on a forensic accounting case challenging the allocation of expenses between companies, requiring 50 days of examination for discovery, and a 34 day trial, to prove inflated and unauthorized expenses.
  • Co-counsel in an actuarial negligence action in respect of a pension plan in Regina, Saskatchewan, spanning over five years of litigation, 128 days of examination for discovery, in excess of 100,000 documents, 20 years of history and evidence, and a claim in excess of $40 million.
Languages
  • English
Education
  • LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1986

Awards

  • Litigation Star, Benchmark Canada (General Commercial), 2016-2019, 2023
  • Martindale-Hubbell, Distinguished® Peer Review Rated

Publications

  • Co-author, "Dispute Resolution Provisions: Avoiding the Limitations Act Trap", Construction Business, May/June 2014
  • Co-author, "Contract Dispute Resolution Provisions and the Limitations Act: A View from Alberta",
    Construction Law Letter, September/October 2014
  • Author, "Liens Against Oil and Gas Interests in British Columbia" Lien Law Kit, Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, (Chapter 1) 

News Overview

Media Mentions

Other Activities

  • Guest speaker, Municipal Law Subsection of the Canadian Bar Association
  • Guest speaker, Mining and Municipal Law subsections of the Yukon Bar Association

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Construction and Civil Litigation Subsections of the B.C. Branch, Canadian Bar Association

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