Michelle has significant experience with highly complex commercial, banking, and corporate litigation and arbitration across a range of industries and legal subject matters.
Her practice includes defence of high-profile provincial, national, and multi-jurisdictional class actions involving credit card insurance products, foreign exchange transaction costs, Ponzi schemes, mutual fund related management fees, alleged defective products, environmental claims, consumer protection claims, privacy breaches, and price-fixing claims. The resulting decisions are well-known precedents, particularly with respect to consumer protection and competition-related claims. She has experience with all aspects of disputes, including complex and voluminous document production, multi-day oral discovery, multi-week trials, appeals and settlements (including class proceedings settlements on the eve of common issues trials).
Michelle also has specialized knowledge in a variety of areas, including:
- competition law, including advertising, price-fixing, and bid-rigging;
- consumer protection law;
- banking law;
- corporate governance and plans of arrangement;
- privacy law, including access to information requests and compliance with privacy and data protection legislation; and
- international evidence collection (including enforcement of letters rogatory).
Michelle has appeared as counsel before the courts of British Columbia, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the BC Privacy Commissioner, the Federal Privacy Commissioner, the Youth Justice (Criminal) Court, and in leave to appeal proceedings before the Supreme Court of Canada. She has also appeared as counsel before both domestic and international arbitration tribunals.
Michelle is a regional lead for BLG’s Appellate Advocacy group and a key contact for BLG’s Class Actions and Arbitration groups. She is the co-chair of BLG’s national disputes training program for associates. She is a leader in technology-assisted and virtual hearings, and in 2012, was one of the first counsel in British Columbia to conduct a trial with electronically presented evidence. She is a member of BLG’s virtual disputes task force. Prior to beginning her articles at BLG, Michelle completed a one-year judicial clerkship at the BC Court of Appeal.
During law school, she completed Osgoode Hall's Intensive Program in Aboriginal Lands, Resources and Government. As part of that program, Michelle spent two months in New Zealand developing a legally focused rehabilitation program for maximum-security prisoners who were about to be released from custody. She also received Osgoode Hall's class prize for constitutional litigation.
Michelle provides legal services through a law corporation.