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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 other tribunals for The Vancouver Sun, The Province, other members of the Canwest group, and a variety of other media organizations. They often act on behalf of the media to oppose publication bans and obtain access to legal proceedings. Farris litigators Robert Anderson, Q.C. and Ludmila Herbst have been involved on behalf of The Vancouver Sun and other members of the Canwest group 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., Judy Jansen, Scott Dawson, and Ludmila Herbst belong to the Canadian Association of Media Lawyers.

Two of British Columbia’s best known defamation lawyers, the late Barry Gibson, Q.C. and Peter Butler, Q.C., practised at this firm, and Farris lawyers continue the tradition of acting in libel and slander cases. Farris litigators also provide extensive advice to media outlets, vetting stories prior to publication, and dealing with claims as they arise.

More generally, several Farris solicitors provide corporate and regulatory advice to publishers.

Our representative work includes:

  • 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) 251, 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 the 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.

Our Defamation and Media Litigation Lawyers

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Robert S. Anderson, Q.C. Partner randerson@farris.com 604 661 9372
Donald I. Brenner, Q.C. Senior Counsel dbrenner@farris.com 604 661 9390
Scott A. Dawson Partner sdawson@farris.com 604 661 9354
Ludmila B. Herbst Partner lherbst@farris.com 604 661 1722
George K. Macintosh, Q.C. Partner gmacintosh@farris.com 604 661 9332
Tim A. Dickson Associate tdickson@farris.com 604 661 9341
Sean Hern Partner shern@farris.com 250 405 1982