Professional Memberships & Activities
· Member, Canadian Bar Association
· Member, Ad Idem/Media Defence Lawyers' Association
· Member, Construction Law subsection, CBABC
· Member, Aboriginal Law subsection, CBABC
· Guest Lecturer, Media Law, Masters School of Journalism, University of British Columbia, 2006, 2007
· Guest Speaker, Canadian Institute, Condominium Law Conference, Toronto; and Construction Risks Conference, Edmonton, 2007
· Mentor, CBA Women Lawyers Forum Mentoring Project, 2005, 2006
Professional Recognitions
· LexisNexis - Martindale-Hubbell: BV Peer Review Rated
· The Best Lawyers in Canada - defamation and media law
Heather Maconachie is a civil litigator with a particular focus on media law, construction law and aboriginal rights. She acts for various radio and television stations, and local print media, offering pre-publication advice and representing journalists in court to uphold their freedom of expression rights under the Charter.
In her construction practice, Heather primarily represents developers, often in multi-party, complex litigation. She has provided advice on all aspects of construction disputes, from defective workmanship claims, negligence, breach of contract, delay, acceleration claims, to builders liens and insurance issues. Her representation of developers in British Columbia has included dealing with aboriginal rights issues, such as judicial review applications, injunctions, and aboriginal title claims.
Heather enjoys appearing in court, both for short-fuse media applications, as well as for the more complex litigation that arise in her construction practice. She has appeared at all court levels. Her primary concern is to ensure that her clients' disputes are resolved in a cost efficient way. Often that means using her advocacy skills in alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation, to avoid costly litigation.
Heather has been recognized for her work as a media lawyer. She has been recognized as an "up and coming" media lawyer in LEXPERT, and is listed in "The Best Lawyers in Canada" for defamation and media law. She has a BV rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Heather has authored or co-authored a variety of articles, such as "Defamation Law: Shifting Ground," published in Thomson Carswell's Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2008, "Construction Deficiency Disputes," and "Managing Construction Disputes" for the Canadian Institute in 2007, "Early Dispute Resolution in Complex, Multi-Party Construction Disputes" in 2004 for the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., "Aboriginal Title in Canada" for the Interlawyer, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1999, "Aboriginal Title: The Australian Experience," for the Advocate, Vol. 56, Part 5, 1998 (Vancouver Bar Association).
Outside of the office, Heather is a tennis enthusiast in the summer and a skier in the winter. She remains a media junkie.