Laura Cundari

Major Projects Litigation and Arbitration

• Acting for Suncor Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Limited, Husky Oil Operations Limited, Cenovus Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Limited in a successful ruling at the Supreme Court of Canada against B.C. blocking the Trans Mountain expansion project

• Acting as arbitration counsel to a major utility corporation in a dispute involving delay and disruption claims in connection with the construction of significant energy infrastructure

• Acting as arbitration counsel in a LCIA arbitration involving the sale of mining assets in Mongolia

• Advising clients in the finance, retail, mining and aerospace industries on arbitration procedures and drafting arbitration clauses for inclusion in transactional and consumer contracts

• Acting as arbitration counsel to Carillion Canada with respect to claims relating to the construction of a high-voltage transmission line in the context of its CCAA restructuring

• Assisting clients to efficiently resolve urgent issues such as lien claims, project disruptions and bond claims

Complex Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

• Trial counsel on the leading case in British Columbia on economic impacts and force majeure arising out of the 2008 financial crisis

• Successfully defending a claim brought against a vendor corporation for a C$17-million brokerage fee arising from the sale of a business following a 43-day trial

• Successfully defending class actions brought against major retailers and financial industry participants, including dismissal at the certification stage

• Acting as litigation and arbitration counsel in a wide range of shareholder disputes

Laura has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2020 (Corporate/Commercial Litigation – Leading Lawyers to Watch)

• The Best Lawyers in Canada 2020 (Corporate and Commercial Litigation)

• Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys - 2020, 2019 & 2018 Editions (Future Litigation Star - Litigation & Dispute Resolution)

• Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under Hotlist – Canada, 2020, 2019 & 2018

Laura is part of the legal team that has been recognized as “Arbitration Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation in 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Laura is a director of both the Canada Branch and the Vancouver Chapter of the Canadian Branch of the CIArb as well as the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre. She is an invited member of the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society (WCCAS) and a director of the inaugural board of CanArbWeek. Laura is also a member of the Advocates’ Society’s British Columbia Regional Advisory Committee.

Laura volunteers her time with a number of charitable organizations and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team (BC – Yukon Region) for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of BC. She sat on the board of directors of Touchstone Theatre Society for several years, including as President of the board.

• Co-author: Supreme Court of Canada Finds Arbitration Clause to Be "Uber" Unconscionable
  Blakes Bulletin on Arbitration, June 29, 2020.
• Co-author: Construction Lien Periods During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  Blakes Bulletin on Construction Dispute Resolution, April 14, 2020.
• Co-author: Resolution of Commercial Disputes in the Age of COVID-19 Closures: The Arbitration Advantage
  Blakes Bulletin on Arbitration, March 20, 2020.
• Co-author: Changes Coming to Domestic Arbitrations in British Columbia
  Blakes Bulletin on Arbitration, February 24, 2020.
• Author: Examination in chief and Re-examination
  The Law of Objections in Canada: A Handbook, LexisNexis Canada, Published November 30, 2019.
• Co-author: Canada: International Arbitration
  The Legal 500 & The In-House Lawyer Comparative Legal Guide, (4th ed.), November 2019.
• Co-author: What Law is it Anyways? An Overview of the Systems of Law in Arbitration
  Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review, (2019) 8:3, 29 August 1, 2019.
• Co-author: Court of Appeal Unanimously Rules Against B.C. Blocking Trans Mountain Pipeline
  Blakes Bulletin on Litigation & Dispute Resolution, May 28, 2019.
• Co-author: B.C. Supreme Court Extends Arbitration Agreement to Non-Signatories
  Blakes Bulletin on Arbitration, November 29, 2017.
• Co-author: Supreme Court Rejects First Nation's Spiritual Objection to Ski Resort
  Blakes Bulletin on Aboriginal Law, November 3, 2017.

• Panellist: Dispute Resolution in a Virtual World
  Conference on Construction in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Pacific Business & Law Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, July 28, 2020.
• Panellist: Virtual Reality: Experiences of Remote Arbitration
  Blakes Business Class Webinar, June 25, 2020.
• Chair: Prompt Payment and Adjudication Symposium
  Presented by CIQS and RICS, Calgary, Alberta, February 27, 2020.
• Co-chair: Direct Examination Skills Workshop
  The Advocates' Society, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 13, 2019.
• Panellist: Tour d’horizon: New Developments in International Arbitration
  ICC Canada International Arbitration Conference, Banff, Alberta, October 18, 2019.
• Panellist: From Plan to Action: Building Successful ADR Counsel and Neutral Practices
  The 2019 ADR BC Symposium - The Differences that Unite Us!, ADR Institute of BC, Vancouver, British Columbia, June 11, 2019.
• Co-panellist: The Art of Arbitration
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 21, 2017.
• Co-chair and Speaker: Aboriginal and Environmental Law 2017: Legal Reforms and Nation to Nation Consultants
  Pacific Business and Law Institute, Vancouver, B.C., October 10-11, 2017.

Admitted to the British Columbia Bar - 2008
J.D., University of Victoria - 2007
B.A. (Class 1 Distinction), University of British Columbia - 2004