The Hot new top issues for injury lawyers in British Columbia, usually involving ICBC and car accidents, are not always what injury claimants are interested in hearing about. Finding the right personal injury lawyer to help you with your ICBC claim or other injury claim on the other hand is a critical and important issue to most claimants. I have posted on how to find a personal injury lawyer and in this post I’ll discuss specialization and preferred areas of practice for lawyers in BC.
Whether the lawyer’s office is in Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby, Port Moody or another area of the Province in British Columbia all lawyers are controlled by the Law Society of BC and the law society does not allow lawyers to use the title “specialist” or any similar designation suggesting a recognized special status or accreditation in any marketing activity. Furthermore, lawyers have to take all reasonable steps to discourage use, in relation to the lawyer by another person, of the title “specialist” or any similar designation suggesting a recognized special status or accreditation. This rule makes it very difficult for people trying to find a lawyer specializing in a particular are of practice. I have posted about the use of the term “specializing ” for personal injury lawyers however which is appropriate.
An injury lawyer in BC is allowed to state a preference for practice in any one or more fields of law if the lawyer regularly practises in each field of law in respect of which the lawyer wishes to state a preference. As a lawyer in BC I am required to complete a practice declaration every year which asks me to declare the area of my legal practice. So the following list is the list of areas of practice I have to choose from:
-Administrative (including labour, immigration, regulatory bodies)
– Civil litigation – plaintiff (including commercial, other non-motor vehicle)
– Civil litigation – defendant (including commercial, other non-motor vehicle)
– Commercial lending transactions – lender (may include a real estate component)
– Commercial lending transactions – borrower (may include a real estate component)
– Commercial – other
– Corporate
– Creditors’ remedies – plaintiff (including builders’ liens, foreclosure, insolvency)
– Creditors’ remedies – defendant (including builders’ liens, foreclosure, insolvency)
– Criminal
– Family (excluding incidental real estate, wills and estates)
– Intellectual property
– Mediation / Arbitration
– Motor vehicle – plaintiff
– Motor vehicle – defendant
– Property Mgmt. – residential or commercial
– Real estate – residential (including lending)
– Real estate – commercial (including development)
– Securities (reporting companies)
– Tax
– Wills and estates
This list is a good guide for anyone looking for a lawyer practicing in a specific area of law. When completing my legal practice declaration I always identify with “Motor vehicle – plaintiff ” and “Civil litigation – plaintiff (including commercial, other non-motor vehicle)”. These are the areas of practice for most personal injury lawyers that represent injury claimants in cases against ICBC, other insurance companies and people at fault for another persons injuries. If you are still confused about what type of lawyer you need for your case give my law firm a call and we’ll freely help steer you in the right direction. Posted by Mr. Renn A. Holness
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