Biographical information ( legal profession )

• Remedios & Company since 1990.
• Barrister and Solicitor; a litigator since call to the bar in 1980. See: Projects .
• L.LB. University of British Columbia.
• Member: C.B.A. since 1980; A.B.A. since 1984.
• Over 40 law related Publications
• Peer Rating * Profile Martindale-Hubbell: BV.
• Why this website? See: The Webspinner's Tale

*The Martindale-Hubbell BV Rating indicates high to very high legal ability and very high
ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.

Biographical information ( media)_____

• University of Maryland: B.Sc. Faculty of Commerce in journalism and visual media including photojournalism, film and television. Taught photo workshops as an undergraduate. Recipient, Baltimore Sun journalism scholarship.
• Wall Street Journal editorial department, Washington, D.C. bureau.
• University of Caracas, Venezuela (Peace Corps) instructor in audio visual presentation under the National Institute of Culture and Fine Arts Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes; also made film documentaries.
• Vancouver Province: Editor, film critic and columnist, and later reporter. Reported on a native affairs, prisons and legal matters. With a litigator's ego, he thought he could do better than those he saw, and attended law school. Negotiated in three prison hostage incidents at B.C. Penitentiary, New Westminster, prior to its closure.
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Weekly radio movie column with the Good Morning Radio B.C. regional network. .
• Languages: Spanish, German, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, Italian in descending order of skill.
  Computer languages: Pascal, C+, dBase, and to the extent that he is the webspinner, html. Computer literate since 1973, both Apple and PC since 1983. .

Client projects past & current

We do not disclose client names. High profile clients can be low profile cases.

1. Arbitration of BC Hydro dam excavation
2. Trial of environmental damage (lead products)
3. Trials with respect to domestic and employment issues.
4. Trials and litigation with respect to securities
5. Trial and appeal of construction disputes
6. Product liability defence with U.S. attorneys
7. Criminal trials involving environment, immigration and deportation
8. Litigation with respect to medical/dental partnerships ⁺
9. Claims by and against government or agencies
10. Shopping centre environmental damage
11. Criminal appeals in the Supreme Court of B.C. and Court of Appeal
    
    

Publications and speaking engagements

• Speaker: Annual Loss Prevention Seminar, the Law Society of B.C. Environmental Traps. June, 1993.
• Course co-ordinator: Recent Developments in the Law of Remedies. Author: Rectification: Preserving the Sanctity of the True Contract ( CLE, November, 1994)
• Second Annual Legal Technology Conference, (CLE, June, 1994) Speaker and author: 1984 and all that: Technology, security and privacy.
• Speaker: Public Legal Education Society (April, 1995) "Contracting Your Home."
• 3rd Annual Legal Technology Conference, (CLE, June, 1995) Speaker: CD-Rom: Wheel of Fortune?
• Author: Black Letter Computing: The Dea(r)th of Windows and GUI in the Law office
• Course co-ordinator: Rules Comprehensive, 1995. Author, The Real Rules and the Evidence Act ( CLE, May, 1995)
• Course co-ordinator: Finding Facts Fast, 1996. Author, Finding Facts Fast ( CLE, December, 1996)
• Course co-ordinator: Remedies Update 1998. Author, Top 10 Statutory Remedies RSBC 1996 ( CLE, January, 1998)
• PLTC Civil Trial Advocacy Guest Instructor, March, 1999
• Speaker: Sophisticated Strategies: Rules of Court. Author: Bullet Proof Drafting of Orders ( CLE, May 2000)
• PLTC Civil Trial Advocacy Guest Instructor June, 2000 and June, 2001
  Larger list of publications

Feedback

You are requested to call or e.mail for more specific information. Depending on your security needs, you may not wish to send information related to specific legal problems -- these should be answered in a secure electronic environment. None of these pages provide legal advice, which is given only after a retainer agreement has been made.

The Webspinner's Tale

This website, opened January 15, 2001, is a collection of pages with links, written with Frontpage Express software. The links change with time. (Let me, the webspinner, know if they fail.) I seek to provide a simple tool for B.C. lawyers, 100+ Legal Links, as a quick reference for legal research. You judge whether it is more convenient than the great CLE website. I use both, frequently, but you can't download the CLE material.

Much of my work is the result of referrals from lawyers who feel comfortable acting to the point of trial or discovery. Referrals are invited and when referred I will not seek the client's other business.

Barrister's ode to his referring solicitor

If our client succeeds, we are a team of three:
You, me and the client.
If success is not to be, we are a team of two:
Me and the client.

Note to non-lawyers

All are reminded that use of the links may require legal training to determine what is nonsense, and what is not, on the internet. This website's links are for the convenience of the legal profession and no legal advice is implied in the selection of links. For background on obtaining legal services see: You & Your Lawyer. The reason that lawyer referral will remain important is this: When you look for a surgeon, do you ask your family doctor or look in the yellow pages? Litigation is for urgent or economically important situations, and it requires patience and moral strength. Good advice includes counselling to withstand emotional and other demands of the court process, and reduction of risk through settlement. Advice may involve bad news, telling you:

• Your case is weak.
• Your case is strong but not economic.
• Your case is strong and will require emotional strength.

All litigation has risk. Your corporate or family legal advisor has a good sense of the risk, and which litigator may be appropriate. I also advise on those risks based on 20+ years of litigation., and work with pride on those matters with merit.

© James D. Spears * Updated: February 23, 2004
E.mail: jspears(at)telus.net
Web: http://www.jspears.com