Partner

Matthew W. Pierce

Office

Vancouver

Key Practice Area

Advocacy & Litigation

Year of Call

2006

Qualifications

Education

Matt Pierce is a partner with a broad litigation and dispute resolution practice. Matt advises and represents clients across a wide range of civil and commercial disputes including complex contract disputes, shareholder disputes, construction and real estate disputes, corporate and securities law matters, employment law matters, class actions, insolvency matters, regulatory matters, and judicial review of administrative action.

Matt appears regularly before the British Columbia Supreme Court and the British Columbia Court of Appeal, and has also represented clients in numerous commercial arbitration matters and in matters before the Federal Court of Canada, the British Columbia Securities Commission, and the British Columbia Utilities Commission.

Matt joined Farris in 2013 following six years of practice in Alberta and Nova Scotia, where he appeared before all levels of provincial trial and appeal courts. Prior to beginning practice in 2006, Matt clerked for the Alberta Court of Appeal and Court of Queen’s Bench.

  • Representing clients in complex commercial arbitration proceedings relating to delay claims and monetary disputes on large industrial construction projects.
  • Representing and advising both corporate and individual clients with respect to shareholder disputes in the context of pre-litigation advice, arbitrations, mediations and court proceedings, including claims of minority shareholder oppression, corporate governance disputes, and disputes over the enforceability of buyout provisions.
  • Defending a claim by the provincial government, at both the trial and appeal levels, regarding the interpretation of an option agreement in connection with the province’s first development using a public-private partnership: British Columbia (Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services) v Columbus Real Estate Inc., 2017 BCSC 940; 2018 BCCA 340.
  • Overturning a trial decision on appeal regarding the proper principles for assessing damages resulting from the termination of an employee without notice: Pakozdi v. B & B Heavy Civil Construction Ltd., 2018 BCCA 23.
  • Seeking and obtaining court orders for the return of two trust funds established to generate income to support the operations of a charitable organization: Doukhobor Heritage Retreat Society #1999 v Vancouver Foundation, 2019 BCSC 54; Doukhobor Heritage Retreat Society #1999 v Community Foundation of the South Okanagan, 2017 BCSC 1379.
  • Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
  • Member of the Canadian Bar Association and served on the Access to Justice Committee of the Canadian Bar Association (BC branch) from 2014-2018
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada (2025)
  • Benchmark Canada Litigation Future Star (2024)