Michael Ng

B.Comm. (UBC), LL.B. (UBC), LL.M. (Queen's)

Telephone: 604.331.1155
michael@ngariss.com 

Michael is the Director of Written Advocacy at the firm. His practice focuses on assessing cases, providing legal opinions, formulating strategies, designing arguments, supervising and conducting research, and crafting submissions and factums.

Michael's litigation work has been trusted for use before administrative tribunals, arbitrators, and courts, including the BC Supreme Court, the BC Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He also works in the regulatory context to provide advice, and draft legal documents and written materials such as bylaws, policies, registration materials, and prosecutorial documents for use by regulatory bodies.

Michael was called to the bar in BC in 1994, and has an extensive background in complex commercial litigation.Michael provides consulting services to clients which include boutique law firms in Vancouver, Toronto and the Bahamas. Michael has consulted in many high-value, complex cases for senior counsel. His written advocacy practice focuses on civil litigation, professional regulation and professional discipline.

In relation to professionals, Michael has written winning arguments for such ground-breaking cases as Newman v. Halstead, 2006 BCSC 65, which addressed an Internet-based campaign of defamation against teaching professionals, and for precedent-setting cases like Stuart v. British Columbia College of Teachers, 2005 BCSC 645 which confirmed the need for mental culpability in cases of professional misconduct in BC, and British Columbia College of Teachers v. Mitchell, 2005 BCCA 76, concerning the reasonableness of regulatory decisions on penalty and name publication.

Michael's work is respected for its clarity, concision and depth.

Depth of knowledge: Michael has worked on an array of cases and legal issues, including the following sampling:

  • Administrative tribunals (standards of review, bias, natural justice, intervenors, professional regulation, professional discipline, competence, publication and anonymity)
  • Company and Securities (shareholders' remedies, directors' liabilities, brokerage regulations, public disclosure obligations, penalties)
  • Constitutional and Human Rights (Charter rights and freedoms, sections 1, 2, 7, 8, 15, 35 and remedies, human rights discrimination and remedies, intervenors)
  • Construction (pure economic loss, professional negligence, condominium law, construction tenders)
  • Contracts (formation, breach, variation, remedies)
  • Environmental (environmental assessment, ministerial discretion, water reserve, water licenses)
  • Equity (injunctions, fiduciaries, trusts, confidentiality, subrogation, tracing, specific performance)
  • Family law (support and property division)
  • Insurance (subrogation, good faith, duty to defend, coverage exclusion)
  • Land and Realty (commercial leases, easements, First Nations, realtor's negligence, occupier's liability)
  • Labour and Employment (collective agreements, union and management obligations, union executive and member obligations, dismissal, discipline, pensions, trusts)
  • Practice (territorial competence and convenient forum, court rules, discovery, evidence, costs, appeal process and factums)
  • Restitution (unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, payments under mistake, or under invalid contracts)
  • Torts (nuisance, conspiracy, fraud, misrepresentation, pure economic loss, abuse of public office, professional negligence)
  • Trademarks (commercial use, confusion, internet domain names)
Publications: Michael is the author of Fiduciary Duties: Duties of Loyalty and Faithfulness, published by Canada Law Book, and is currently working on its third update.

Educational background: LL.M. (Queen's University, 1995); LL.B. (UBC, 1993); B.Com. [Urban Land Economics] (UBC, 1990)

Academic Awards: Queen's University Fellowship (1994); Law Foundation Scholarship (1991); Russell & DuMoulin Scholarship (1991); Thomas Francis Hurley Prize (Criminal Law, 1991); Rank of 4th out of 234 (First Year Law, 1991); Dean's Honour Roll (Commerce, 1987, 1988, 1990); Annie B. Jamieson Scholarship (Commerce); Porte Realty Scholarship (Commerce)

Personal interests: Michael's interests include yoga, computers, writing, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His travel destinations have included England, France, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya.