Richard Attisha chairs the Commercial Litigation and Estate Litigation practice groups at Harper Grey. He also co-chairs our Environmental Law Practice Group. Richard has a busy commercial litigation practice which includes intellectual property disputes, creditor/debtor issues, employment law matters, estate litigation and commercial arbitration and mediation. He has a particular focus on contaminated site disputes, Environmental Management Act issues and environmental offences. 

Richard regularly appears before the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Court of Appeal.

Representative Client Work

Environmental:

• Acted for property owners, oil companies and various industries in proceedings brought under the BC Environmental Management Act (the “EMA”), the Contaminated Site Regulations and under the common law
• Successfully defended a developer in one of BC’s leading cases interpreting  BC's former Waste Management Act (the “WMA”).  The decision lead to changes in contaminated site legislation in the Province of BC, and the repeal of the WMA
• Successfully defended engineering firms and property owners charged with environmental offences under the Fisheries Act and the EMA
• Represented logging contractors in proceedings under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulations

Commercial Litigation:

• Successfully defended a Canadian supplier of educational products in copyright infringement, breach of confidence and passing off action
• Successfully defended, before the Supreme Court of BC and the BC Court of Appeal, a number of affiliated companies and their directors and officers in a multimillion dollar contractual dispute with an inventor
• Represented plaintiffs in a multimillion dollar misappropriation of intellectual property and fraud case before the BC Supreme Court, BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada
• Successfully defended major commercial tenants in lease disputes before the BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal
• Mediated substantial settlement for one of BC’s largest strata corporations in an action against a developer
• Acted for commercial landlords and tenants in lease default actions
• Provides advice on employment matters including wrongful dismisal, restraint of trade, breach of restrictive covenants, non-solicitation and non competition and the interpretation and enforceability of employment agreements

Creditor/Debtor:

• Acted for the liquidator of the Bank of Credit and Commerce Canada and the Christian Brothers of Ireland
• Obtained and set aside Mareva Injunctions in BC, including the recovery for a Plaintiff of over US $1 Million in a California action
• Represented major creditors in Companies' Creditor Arrangement Act proceedings with respect to Westar Mining Ltd., Woodward Stores Ltd., 360 Networks Inc., Doman Industries Ltd., Skeena Cellulose Inc. and Pope & Talbot Ltd. 
• Successfully obtained and defended security for cost applications
• Acted for clients, law firms and lawyers in assessments pursuant to the Legal Professions Act 

Estate Litigation:

• Represented beneficiaries in undue influence claims and testementary capacity issues
• Represented various parties in Wills Variation Act actions
• Acted for administrators and executors/executrixes of estates in passing of accounts

Speaking Engagements

• Richard has presented seminars on changes to contaminated site legislation, preparation of experts in environmental matters, and the law of costs in British Columbia.

Professional & Civic Activities

• Advisory Board Member of TAGLaw - an international legal network of 140 law firms in 90 countries
• Member, Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch - Alternate Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation, Environmental Law, and Insolvency Law subsections
• Director, St. George's School, Vancouver - an award-winning independent day and boarding school for boys in Grades 1 to 12
• Member, Education, Bursary and Scholarship Committee, St. George's School, Vancouver
• Coach of minor hockey, rugby, soccer and Little League baseball

Publications

• CCAA Primer: Preserving your rights to collect from distressed companies
• Employment Law: What's Old? What's New?
• Canadian National Railway v. ABC Recycling
• "U.S. Court may Violate International Law in Finding Cross-Border Polluter Liable"
• "New Law is Coming to BC --What’s Old is New Again", Environmental Law Bulletin Harper Grey LLP

Background

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Richard is a former national rugby player who lives in Vancouver with his wife, Melisa, a chartered accountant, and their four children.