Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer specializes in corporate and commercial dispute resolution and strategic advice, particularly in the following areas:

We advise and represent shareholders, brokers, firms and others in respect of all forms of proceedings arising in the field of securities law and regulation, both federal and provincial. While the majority of our work is limited to Canada, we also collaborate with international counsel, particularly in the US, in respect of security and regulatory matters involving or affecting Canadians.
Our securities litigation practice encompasses:

• Regulatory investigations
• Regulatory hearings
• Proxy disputes
• Negotiated settlements
• Dissent remedy litigation

Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer principally represents Canadian and international mining companies in disputes with industry participants, typically in connection with ownership rights, royalty interests and all forms of third-party claims.

Real property litigation encompasses all forms of disputes regarding the purchase and sale, ownership, management, and operation of lands and leased properties, principally located in British Columbia (but also elsewhere in Canada).

Our real property litigation practice encompasses:

• Expropriations
• Ownership disputes
• Commercial leasing disputes
• Land development disputes
• Purchase and sale disputes
• Property evaluation disputes
• Interim preservation orders
• Liens, caveats and securitization

We advise clients of their rights and obligations under both common law and under federal and provincial statutes concerned with their matrimonial status and assets. We also represent individual clients in the negotiation of separation agreements and divorce proceedings. Our focus is on cases involving the division of business interests, trusts and other issues concerning businesspeople.

We advise individual and corporate clients regarding their rights, duties and obligations under both federal and provincial environmental laws, all dealings and interactions with regulatory authorities, and in connection with the recovery of remediation costs. The scale of projects ranges from the removal of residential oil tanks to the remediation of historic industrial operations.

Our environmental law services includes:

• Regulatory guidance
• Environmental Appeals
• Remediation Cost Recovery Claims

Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer advises senior officers and directors of both public and private companies regarding their statutory and common law governance obligations and practices. Our practice runs the breadth of advising individual directors in respect of intra-board issues and potential disputes to advising full boards regarding proper procedure, compliance and response to shareholder activism.

ADR continues to be a rapidly growing area that offers viable alternatives to conventional litigation processes. In addition to advising clients regarding ADR options and/or clauses for inclusion in agreements, the firm’s lawyers regularly represent clients in both voluntary and mandatory mediations, and in both domestic and international arbitrations. Howard Shapray and Stephen Fitterman have completed mediation training at the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation.

Clients who have been through the experience of complex and costly litigation often seek to position themselves advantageously in the event of possible future disputes. To that end, we advise clients regarding various means available for structuring their transactions and on the content of transactional documents prepared by corporate or commercial counsel. We likewise advise individuals entering into business arrangements for the first time on the benefits of proper documentation and agreements tailored to their needs and objectives.

Our transaction advisory services include:

• Pre-contractual analysis and advice
• Agreement vetting

We assess the quality of both private and public statements that have the potential for constituting libel or slander, and advises clients on their rights and obligations. We ask: Is the statement capable of sustaining a claim before the law? And what remedies are available? If merited, we proceed with a claim seeking damages for the defamatory statement.

Our services principally encompass advising and representing clients in relation to builders’ compliance with contractual specifications and performance standards, negligence claims resulting from faulty or negligent design/construction, construction holdbacks and construction financing disputes.

Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer represents individuals, principally in the music and film industries, in respect of both their personal and business contracts and disputes.

We provide clients with advice and representation regarding compliance with federal and provincial privacy laws, including the sufficiency of measures to protect the confidentiality of private data and the response that may be required in the event of a failure to maintain privacy law obligations or conversely, a person’s recourse in the event of a breach of his or her privacy rights.

We also advise and represent clients in connection with matters arising in the area of Canadian competition/antitrust law, advertising compliance and regulation, cartels and monopolies.

We assess whether professionals such as accountants, lawyers, architects and engineers have complied with their professional duties and obligations. We seek the appropriate remedy through both legal processes and available administrative procedures for harm arising from professional negligence.

Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer advises companies and individuals regarding their employment rights, duties and obligations, including the content of employment, confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements.

We advise and represent both employers and employees in disputes arising in connection with compliance during employment through the termination of employment, whether voluntary or for breach of employment and related agreements. We likewise advise and represent clients in connection with post-termination compliance issues and disputes

We also provide advice and direction regarding privacy law and competition law issues that can arise in the employment law context.

Shapray Cramer Fitterman Lamer advises and represents clients regarding claims or disputes arising in respect of the unauthorized copying or misuse of original material (patent and copyright), the protection of trade secrets and other matters related to the protection of intellectual property.