Panellist Profile

Construction Law, General Civil Law, Insurance Law

A principal of Shapiro Hankinson & Knutson Law Corporation, Bill is a highly regarded civil litigator who has conducted many trials and appeals at all levels of British Columbia courts. These cases have involved personal injury, defamation, Family Compensation Act, domestic matters, real estate litigation, professional negligence, insider trading issues, partnership and agency disputes, shareholder disputes, products liability, fire insurance, sale of goods, landlord and tenant, estate litigation, wills variation, builders' lien and construction disputes.
William Knutson, Q.C. has conducted many appeals in the B.C. Court of Appeal involving a broad variety of civil litigation issues.

He represented clients in proceedings before the B.C. Securities Commission and at environmental tribunals as well as at professional disciplinary hearings before the Law Society of British Columbia, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, Architectural Institute of British Columbia, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.

As an arbitrator, William Knutson, Q.C. is a member of the B.C. Panel for Domestic Commercial Arbitrations with the B.C. International Commercial Arbitration Centre

• Served as Arbitrator in dozens of commercials disputes involving issues of insurance, contract interpretation and construction law
• Appeared as counsel in numerous arbitrations and hearings before many administrative tribunals

• Member of Law Society of British Columbia
• Member of Canadian Bar Association
• Member of American Trial Lawyers Association
• Member of Vancouver Bar Association

William Knutson was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2004.

Bill has authored articles for university law journals, continuing legal education publications and trade journals. He is a frequent lecturer and a member of several committees and associations including the Law Society of British Columbia, Canadian Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association and the Vancouver Bar Association

LL.M., London School of Economics, 1978
LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1977