Since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic in May 2020 and the virus’ effects have spread through British Columbia, the effects of closures, layoffs, and cancelations are being felt by businesses who need to know what their obligations are. Perhaps you hired a company to renovate your office, or you hired a catering company...Read More

Anyone with email has found recently that their inbox has been heavy with emails from companies and organizations asking for permission to keep in touch via email. The reason for this barrage of email is, ironically, because of the federal government’s desire to help the public decrease the amount of unwanted email received. Canada’s new...Read More

Introduction As long as I have been involved with asset recovery for victim employers, it has been an uphill battle trying to convince employers to go after rogue employees. Employees take millions of dollars from employers, yet there is a reluctance to be aggressive and recover what was theirs. Canadian and moral law demands for...Read More

Many of our local and international clients are interested in building their own homes to live in or for investment. In BC, we have the Builders Lien Act . This is a key piece of legislation when building or renovating a residential or commercial property in BC. Too Easy and Too Costly This Act is...Read More

A while back we wrote about the importance of written employment contracts and we referred to various key clauses that an employer should include or should at least consider including in a post-employment restrictive covenant, otherwise known as a non-solicitation/non-competition clause. Such clauses are optional. You will never be legally wrong for not including such...Read More

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be…but if you must be a lender, exceed not the rate of interest that is criminal.” Polonius (if he had been a lawyer) There is in Canada a criminal rate of interest – exceed it, even accidentally, and there are consequences. The law is found in s. 347 of...Read More

If you have a trust set up or are the beneficiary of a trust, then this article probably isn’t for you. If, however, you aren’t entirely certain what a trust is, or why people have them or if you need one, then read on. A trust is essentially a legal arrangement where a person (called...Read More

If you have decided to incorporate a new company, one of the first decisions you will have to make is whether you will incorporate under British Columbia or federal legislation. British Columbia companies are governed by the British Columbia Business Corporations Act (“BC Act”) and federal companies under the Canada Business Corporations Act (“CBCA”). There...Read More

You had that great business idea and you wisely incorporated your company, and now with the pesky formalities out of the way you are busy making your business grow and prosper and profitable. That’s great that you have taken these initial steps and are off to the races business-wise, but the procedure of being a...Read More

Certificates of independent legal advice come up from time to time when you are signing agreements or borrowing money. They seem simple enough – in fact they seem so straightforward that often people forget what the purpose of a certificate of independent legal advice (an “ILA”) is and treat its execution as a mere formality....Read More

Chances are that if you are a professional person, at some point you will be asked to sit on the board of directors of a company.  You may already be a director.  In practical terms, many board members take on a passive role: attending sporadic meetings, reviewing financial statements, and signing off on “routine” resolutions. ...Read More

You have a great idea. You are going to cast off the shackles of employment and strike out on your own. You have a sound business in mind: you are going to start a consulting firm or a software design venture or a home-based hair salon. Whatever the business, the first question you will need...Read More