Since completing his articles with Davis LLP in 2004, Jeffrey Horswill's practice has focussed on the resolution of complex disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration or litigation as necessary. He has acted as counsel in a wide variety of forums including all levels of British Columbia and Canadian Federal Courts, formal and informal mediations, and ad hoc arbitrations conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules.
Mr. Horswill acts regularly in the areas of international law, shareholder and society disputes, contract law, product liability, and litigation with governments. The cases and disputes in which Mr. Horswill acts often involve novel legal elements, complex facts, and difficulties created by the dynamics of the parties themselves. In any case, Mr. Horswill works to understand his client's position, and the elements of the dispute at its core to create the means for a resolution - negotiated if the differences between the parties are reconcilable on a practical and reasonable basis, and litigated if they are not.
Professional Experience
Commercial
· Co-counsel to major Asian Banks pursuing the proceeds of fraud in Canada.
· Counsel to a manufacturer of pipe and plumbing products in British columbia litigation, including product liability and construction cases.
· Member of counsel team conducting defences to product liability cases brought in relation to plane and helicopter accidents.
· Junior counsel for defendant in case in which the plaintiff sought a constructive trust over a large silver resource in a South American country because of an alleged breach of confidence.
· Junior counsel representing the defendants in several cases in which a wood products producer alleged breach of contract against a major forestry company because of price changes under long term supply agreements.
· Counsel in a dispute over intellectual property, product quality and contract terms in relation to a biotechnology licence enabling the manufacture of rapidly administered medical tests.
· Counsel in complex shareholder disputes being resolved in court and through a managed dispute resolution conducted by counsel.
· Junior counsel in contaminated property litigation centering on historical contamination of indeterminate origin.
· Co-counsel in dispute over rights of access to leased aerodrome facilities.
· Member of the counsel team in the currently ongoing British Columbia tobacco litigation.
· Counsel acting for a Canadian specialty wood product producer seeking indemnity from a larger softwood lumber producer for legal fees and penalties in a prosecution brought by United States customs in relation to an importation scheme under the previous Softwood Lumber Agreement.
Disputes with Government
· Counsel for women ski jumpers seeking inclusion in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games through an action against VANOC under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
· Counsel to a group of citizens seeking equitable access to a Greater Vancouver park facility.
· Counsel to an American client resistng the imposition of charges by the Canadian government.
· Counsel to forestry firm in an appeal to the BC Forest Appeals Commission regarding tenure rates.
· Junior counsel in appeals of environmental permit before the BC Environmental Appeal Board.
· Counsel to English investor before Investment Canada, seeking approval for its investment in a BC PPP project. Mr. Horswill assisted in securing the first Investment Canada approval for a PPP investment.
· Member of counsel team in several matters before the Competition Bureau, including in price fixing defences and contested merger cases.
International Law and Trade
· Member of counsel team that regularly advises companies on their investment treaty rights and strategies for effectively using these rights.
· Junior counsel to two Canadian forestry companies taking action against the Government of the United States of America under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement in relation to the United State's conduct of the softwood lumber dispute. This was the first Chapter 11 case to go through the Article 1126 consolidation procedures, and the first case to test the relationship between the Treaty's AD-CVD and investment chapter.
· Junior counsel to an American courier company in its arbitration against the Government of Canada under NAFTA's Chapter 11, alleging that advantages provided to the courier owned by Canada Post were discriminating.
· Counsel and junior counsel in a number of matters, actions and motions regarding private international law including issues related to jurisdiction, extraterritoriality and Canadian interpretive presumptions regarding compliance with international law.
· Counsel advising on NAFTA, WTO and arbitration provisions in numerous transactions including the implications of the WTO and NAFTA procurement provisions on PPP project investments.
· Member of counsel team advising a client with respect to its rights under the international treaties governing water flow in the Kootenay and Columbia River systems.
Recognition
· Recipient of the Lexpert Zenith Platinum Award 2010 - Gender Change Agent
Directorships, Memberships & Professional Activities
· Chair of the International Law Subsection of the CBA BC Branch.
· Member of the Executive of the National CBA International Law Section
· Member of the Steering Group for the National CBA International Dispute Resolution Committee
Volunteer Work
· Pro-bono representation of clients through the Multiple Sclerosis Society
· Participant in the Pro-Bono BC chambers duty counsel project.
Other Activities
· Member, Canadian Bar Association
· Member, CBA Trade and Investment Committee
· Member, CBA-BC Subsection on Consitutional Law
· Member, Law Society of British Columbia
· Member, Vancouver Bar Association
Publications
Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Officers Relating to Corporate Opportunities