Panellist Profile

Class Action Lawsuits, Commercial Law, Construction Law, Corporate Law, Defamation Law, Engineering Law, Government Law, Insurance Law, Product Liability Law, Resource Industry

William Everett, Q.C., Chartered Arbitrator, has over 40 years experience serving as counsel, mediator and arbitrator in complex commercial disputes. Bill practices as an independent Resident Neutral at Vancouver Arbitration Chambers (VAC).

Bill was President of the Law Society of British Columbia from October 2003 to December 2004. He has been in practice with Lawson Lundell LLP since 1972 until 2016.

He is senior counsel with extensive experience in a wide variety of large and complex commercial civil litigation matters, including class actions. He has acted as lead counsel on many complex commercial litigation matters and has coordinated the team of lawyers and paralegals assigned to such files.

Bill practises primarily in the area of complex litigation, with a focus on commercial litigation, construction and engineering, products liability, insurance, and environmental litigation. Bill recently represented the federal government in tobacco litigation across the country.

He has appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada, the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of B.C., as well as on arbitrations, mediations and before regulatory tribunals. He has also chaired and sat on disciplinary hearings for the Law Society of B.C.

Bill is a Chartered Arbitrator and has acted as an Arbitrator and as counsel in arbitrations and mediations.

• Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory: BV Peer Review rated
• Law Society of British Columbia, October 2003 – December 2004, President
• B.C. Justice Review Task Force, Chair
• Canadian Bar Association (B.C. Branch), past Elected Member
• Chartered Arbitrator (Arbitrator’s Institute of Canada)
• British Columbia Courthouse Library Society, Chair

Community Activities

• Vancouver Art Gallery, Trustee
• St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, former Director
• Board of Crofton House School, past Chair
• Teaching
• National Judicial Institute, Evidence and Fact-Finding Workshop, 2003 – 2006;
• Continuing Legal Education Conference, Mastering Evidentiary Issues, 2004;
• Trial Advocacy Program, Experts, 2002 and 2003;
• University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, Adjunct Professor, Construction Law Seminar, 1988 and 1989;
• Professional Legal Training Course, Professional Responsibility, 1998;
• Continuing Legal Education Conference, Working with Experts, 1993;
• Client Seminar, The Law and the Media, 1992;
• Continuing Legal Education Conference, Construction Law, 1990 and 1992;
• Insight Educational Services, Construction Bidding and Tendering, 1990;
• The Canadian Institute, Western Canadian Construction Law, 1988; and
• Continuing Legal Education Conference, Litigation in Complex Cases, 1987

University of Manitoba, B.A., 1968
University of British Columbia, LL.B., 1971