Background

Jeffrey Thomas is a partner in our Vancouver office. Jeffrey was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1990. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Masters of Laws in 1989, after graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University with a Bachelor of Laws in 1988.

Jeffrey is the National Leader of the Firm's International Trade Law Practice Group and Japan Practice Group. He is also the Vancouver Regional Leader for the firm's Business Immigration Practice Group and the Government Relations Practice Group.

Areas of Practice

• Jeffrey primarily practises in the areas of competition law and international trade law (including state-to-state negotiations and dispute settlement, trade policy, domestic trade laws and economic and trade sanctions). As well, he practises in the areas of international sales of goods, services and technology, in-bound and out-bound foreign investment, Japan-related business transactions, international employee transfers, government relations and general corporate/commercial law.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Recognized in the 2009 edition of Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers (International Trade/WTO)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV Peer Review Rating
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (International Trade Regulation)
• Recognized in The Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading International Trade Lawyers

Professional Experience

• Extensive experience in advising clients engaged in or affected by international and domestic trade negotiations, including NAFTA , the WTO, the AIT and TILMA.
• Significant involvement in state-to-state trade disputes, including those under NAFTA, the WTO, the AIT and TILMA.
• Experience in all areas of Canadian domestic law applicable to the trade of goods, services and technology, including trade remedies, customs laws, and economic and trade sanctions.
• Experience providing trade policy advice to governmental clients respecting their international and domestic obligations.
• Extensive experience in the areas of foreign investment into Canada including advice relating to the Investment Canada Act, and all manner of international law concerning foreign investment.
• Extensive experience in providing advice in all areas of Canada's Competition Act, including, in particular, merger clearance and pre-merger notification.
• Actively involved in all immigration-related aspects of international employee movements.
• Active in all manner of government relations-related activities at the provincial and federal levels.

Professional and Community Activities

• Member: Law Society of British Columbia.
• Member: Vancouver Bar Association.
• Member: Canadian Bar Association.
• Member: American Bar Association.
• Former member: Department of Foreign Affairs Ad Hoc Experts Group on NAFTA Chapter Eleven.
• Member: Roster of Dispute Settlement Panellists under the Agreement on Internal Trade .
• Member: Roster of Dispute Settlement Panellists under the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.
• Member: International Advisory Committee, Chile Pacific Foundation.
• Former adjunct Professor: University of British Columbia Law School.
• Honorary Fellow of the Association of Fellows and Legal Scholars of the Centre For International Legal Studies.
• Author or co-author of numerous publications on trade, competition, foreign investment and international legal issues, including texts on Canadian trade law (International Trade & Investment Law in Canada) and the WTO (The New Rules of Global Trade: A Guide to the World Trade Organization).
• Chair of the British Columbia Wine Authority (an independent regulatory authority which regulates certain aspects of the British Columbia wine industry).