Partner

Kevin Smith

Office

Vancouver

Key Practice Area

Advocacy & Litigation

Year of Call

2014

Qualifications

Education

Kevin has a broad litigation practice, and advises clients on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious legal issues. He has successfully represented clients in all levels of court in British Columbia.

Kevin has acted in numerous public law matters, including constitutional, administrative, environmental, aboriginal and human rights cases, as well as in other civil litigation, including estates matters, employment disputes, class actions, and a range of other corporate and commercial disputes. Kevin has a particular focus on issues relating to charities and not-for-profit societies, including religious organizations, and frequently advises on both disputes and governance issues more generally in those contexts. He often takes on public interest matters, and frequently assists clients on a pro bono basis. Outside the office, he is active as a leader in a number of community organizations.

Kevin is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, and prior to returning to Vancouver practiced with a large international firm in London, where alongside general commercial litigation work he developed a particular focus on public law matters, including human rights and civil liberties cases.

  • Force of Nature Society et al v. Surrey (City): Acted for environmentalists in a challenge to a municipality’s proposal to build a highway through Bear Creek Park. Obtained an interlocutory injunction (2021 BCSC 1676) which was upheld on appeal (2021 BCCA 394).
  • Scow v. Canada: Acting for the proposed representative plaintiff in a putative class action seeking to challenge limitation periods in the Income Tax Act as contrary to aboriginal rights enshrined in the Constitution and the Indian Act. Successfully defended an application by the Crown to strike out the claim for lack of jurisdiction (2021 BCSC 1110).
  • Bliss. v Taylor 2018 BCSC 1581: Acted as lead counsel on behalf of two homeowners at trial in their successful claim against a builder.
  • Acted for the head of a public institution in relation to a high-profile workplace inquiry (with Sean Hern).
  • Conducted a review and drafted a comprehensive report on a recent Episcopal Election
  • Ongoing: acting for the Administrators of the Estate of Gang Yuan in a complex intestacy involving nine proceedings for and against the Estate and multiple appeals.
  • April 29, 2023 – Co-presented “Fundamentals of Litigation Management” webinar as part of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s “In-House Counsel Bootcamp” series.
  • “Wearing Sadness On Your Sleeve: Mourning Bands, Weepers, and Public Mourning at Court”, The Advocate, (Vol. 79; Issue 4), July 2021, pp.625-627.
  • Legal panellist and contributor to a new book reviewing the international law applicable to children in armed conflict and which advocates for reforms in this area. Shaheed Fatima Q.C. et al., Protecting Children in Armed Conflict, (London: Hart Publishing, 2018)
  • “Welcome to the Machine? Considering the Ethics of Legal Technology”, The Advocate (Vol. 77; Issue 1), January 2019, pp.43-53
  • “Prepping, Not Coaching: The Ethics of Witness Preparation in Civil Litigation”, The Advocates’ Quarterly, (Vol. 48; Issue 4), August 2018; pp. 496-517
  • Regular contributor of case commentaries on European Court of Human Rights judgements to the European Human Rights Law Review. (2013-2016)
  • Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
  • Member of the Canadian Bar Association
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada (2025)
  • Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under Litigator Canada (2024)
  • Benchmark Canada Litigation Future Star (2024)
  • Vice-Chancellor (Deputy Chief Legal Officer), Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
  • Trustee, Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
  • Admissions Interviewer, Princeton University
  • Past Member of the Board of Directors, 127 Society for Housing