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Farris LLP: Vancouver's Law Firm

Defamation and Media Litigation

Farris has a strong media and communications practice with extensive experience handling a wide variety of legal issues for its newspaper, publishing, broadcasting, and telecommunications clients. 

This area of practice overlaps many other areas of expertise in the firm including intellectual property, technology and information law, constitutional, criminal, regulatory and corporate law.  Farris litigators regularly appear in the courts and before tribunals for The Vancouver Sun and a large variety of other media organizations.  They act on behalf of the media in providing pre-publication and other media-related advice related to both traditional and internet forms of publication, to oppose publication bans, to obtain access to legal proceedings and to defend defamation actions.  Farris litigators Robert Anderson, Q.C. and Ludmila Herbst have been in several of the leading cases in the Supreme Court of Canada on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.  Farris partners Robert Anderson, Q.C., Scott Dawson and Ludmila Herbst belong to the Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association.

Our representative work includes:

  • Obtaining media access to the Pickton trial materials on behalf of a large group of media clients
  • Obtaining summary judgment dismissing a defamation claim in Leaman v. Ziebarth (12 July 2010) Penticton Registry No. 31791 (B.C.S.C.)
  • Defeating a defamation claim in Kerr v. Ladner, 2009 BCSC 321
  • Having a defamation claim against an American law firm struck out on the basis of absolute privilege in Hamouth v. Smart Video Technologies Inc. (2005), 39 B.C.L.R. (4th) 25, 2005 BCCA 172
  • Successfully appealing a ruling on access to investigative hearings under the Anti-terrorism Act in Re Vancouver Sun, [2004] 2 S.C.R. 332, 2004 SCC 43
  • Intervening on behalf of The Vancouver Sun, The Province and The National Post in Re Application under S. 83.28 of the Criminal Code, [2004] 2 S.C.R. 248, 2004 SCC 42
  • Successfully appealing a publication ban in R. v. E. (O.N.), [2001] 3 S.C.R. 478, 2001
    SCC 77
  • Obtaining a ruling on unconstitutionality of third party spending limits and required publication of certain opinion poll information under the British Columbia Election Act in Pacific Press v. British Columbia (Attorney General) (2000), 73 B.C.L.R. (3d) 264, 2000 BCSC 248
  • Representing The Vancouver Sun in its successful application for access to both the Search Warrant and the Information to Obtain the Search Warrant related to the search of the home of former Premier Glen Clark
  • Representing The Vancouver Sun in its successful application to quash the search warrant issued against it relating to photographs taken during the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots.

Our Lawyers

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George K. Macintosh, Q.C. Partner gmacintosh@farris.com 604 661 9332
Robert S. Anderson, Q.C. Partner randerson@farris.com 604 661 9372
Scott A. Dawson Partner sdawson@farris.com 604 661 9354
Tim A. Dickson Partner tdickson@farris.com 604 661 9341
Ludmila B. Herbst Partner lherbst@farris.com 604 661 1722
Sean Hern Partner shern@farris.com 250 405 1982
Mike J. Wagner Partner mwagner@farris.com 604 661 9388