The Vancouver area  in British Columbia is where to find most lawyers in the Province, and has some of the top legal resources for your personal injury lawyer. When finding a personal injury lawyer it is important to understand that unless otherwise authorized by the Legal Profession Act, the Rules, or the Law Society of BC a lawyer must not use the title “specialist” or any similar designation suggesting a recognized special status or accreditation in any marketing activity, and must take all reasonable steps to discourage use of the title “specialist”.
So how can you best choose a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver with these restrictions?  I have written about where to find personal injury lawyers and, in this article I will give three practical suggestions on understanding lawyer designations.
First,  all lawyers in British Columbia are Barristers as well as Solicitors. Practically speaking this means your personal injury lawyer can represent you before and after your claim is filed in the court. Historically, Solicitors were only certified to give legal advice about pre-trial matters and Barristers were entrusted with prosecuting the injury claim in court on instructions by a solicitor.
Second, lawyers in British Columbia are entitled to restrict their law practice to only personal injury. Furthermore, as I do, lawyers can refuse to represent insurance companies like ICBC and only agree to work for legitimate people that are injured.  I would suggest looking for a law firm that does not represent ICBC  if you have a bad faith claim against the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as these ICBC  law firms  have signed agreements with ICBC preventing the law firm from taking bad faith claims against ICBC.
Lastly, a  lawyer must not list a person not entitled to practise law in British Columbia on any letterhead or in any other marketing activity without making it clear that the person is not entitled to practise law in British Columbia. This includes, a retired member, a non-practising member, a deceased member, an articled student, a legal assistant or paralegal, a patent agent, if registered as such under the Patent Act, a trademark agent, if registered as such under the Trade-marks Act, a practitioner of foreign law, if that person holds a valid permit issued under Law Society Rule 2-18, or a qualified member of another profession, trade or occupation.
Clearly, Vancouver personal injury lawyers are well positioned to represent claimants  from any region of the Province. Understanding the lawyer designations, or lack thereof, will help protect you from hiring a person that is unsuitable or unqualified for your personal injury lawsuit.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer  Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.

3 Comments

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