Partner
Michael H. Korbin
Office
Vancouver
Key Practice Area
Labour & Employment Law, Human Rights
Year of Call
1995
Qualifications
British Columbia Bar (1995)
Education
University of Victoria (LL.B., 1994)
Trent University (B.A., 1990)
Michael practises labour and employment law. He represents employers in all aspects of labour and employment law disputes, including arbitrations, labour board hearings, human rights matters, workers compensation matters, employment standards matters, and wrongful dismissal actions. Michael has acted as counsel for employers in several industries and sectors, including post-secondary institutions; newspapers; supermarkets; transportation companies; printing companies; beverage companies; telecommunications companies; biotech companies; occupational health and safety employers; real estate agencies; and retail and service sector employers.
Michael knows more about hockey than anyone else in the firm, especially Jeff Kay.
- Starbucks Coffee Canada, Inc. (April 30, 2024 British Columbia Labour Relations Board Decision). Unfair Labour Practice Complaint dismissed. Employer entitled to pay non-union employees more than union employees.
- University of British Columbia (September 22, 2022 British Columbia Court of Appeal Decision). Court affirmed decision of the Human Rights Tribunal that Human Rights Complaint should be dismissed as there was no reasonable prospect the Complaint would succeed.
- University of British Columbia, 2025 BCLRB 85. The Labour Relations Board agreed with our argument that certain Graduate Students at the University of British Columbia were not “employees” and therefore could not unionize under the BC Labour Relations Code.
- Annable v. Devencore Company Ltd., 2024 BCSC 1503 (affirmed 2025 BCCA 389). We successfully defended a commercial real estate company in a commission claim brought by a former agent. The Court dismissed all aspects of the plaintiff’s claim and ordered the plaintiff to pay double costs to the defendant.
- Simon Fraser University Faculty Association v Simon Fraser University, 2025 CanLii 139571. Successfully argued that the Union’s application for expedited arbitration must be dismissed as a result of not filing the application within the required timelines in the Labour Relations Code.
- Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
- Member of the Canadian Bar Association
- The Best Lawyers in Canada (2027)
- Benchmark Canada Litigation Star (2025-2026)
- Lexpert Leading Lawyers in Canada (2026)
- Chambers Canada Ranked Lawyer (2026)
- Martindale-Hubbell Ranking (BV)