John Shields
Contact (Vancouver)
Direct: (604) 891-1338
jshields@shieldsharney.com
Paralegal: Elena Bennett (604) 891-1339
ebennett@shieldsharney.com
A born negotiator and advocate, John has spent decades perfecting arguments whether for Court or at home, having more success in Court!
John is a consummate barrister having more than three decades of experience litigating commercial matters, including disputes involving partnership issues, banking, contracts, wrongful dismissal, non-solicitation and non-competition covenants, injunctions, arbitrations, professional discipline, and appeals. The more complicated, the better.
He has appeared before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, the Supreme Court of Canada; in arbitrations in British Columbia, Nevada and New York; and before the British Columbia Securities Commission, the former Real Estate Council, the Financial Services Tribunal, and the British Columbia Financial Services Authority.
He has travelled to Hong Kong, Guernsey, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, England, Scotland, and throughout Canada and the United States on cases, interviewing witnesses and tracking down evidence.
He has acted for one of Canada’s largest banks for 30 years. His new clients are usually referred to him by other counsel. He accepts some engagements on a contingency fee basis.
He has developed, led or taught Continuing Legal Education courses on Affidavits, Chambers Practice, Ethics, and Mastering Civil Evidence.
He is a contributing author to CLE BC’s Creditors Remedies text and was, for many years, a contributor to CLE BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice.
He has contributed to articles on Appealing Decisions of Masters and Examinations for Discovery to the Advocate, a magazine published by the Vancouver Bar Association.
His textbook on Affidavits, the first in Canada, was published in January, 2023 by Lexis Nexis and he has commenced work for a textbook on Examinations for Discovery.
In his off-time, he enjoys mountain biking in Utah, Japan, California, Nevada and British Columbia. One of his favourite places to mountain bike is France, where he has a 400-year-old home in Burgundy.
Comments from a recent Examination for Discovery John was conducting
“A: Well, your -- your reputation precedes you, Mr. Shields.
681 Q Well --
A: I have heard very intimidating things about you. So you're making me very nervous.”
Practice Areas
Commercial Litigation
Alternate Dispute Resolution
Shareholder/Partnership Disputes
Franchise Litigation