600 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 4 JULY 2022
After obtaining his LL.M., and notwithstanding his eastern roots, Mike
returned to Vancouver and resumed practice at Davis & Company. His
early years of practice saw him pursuing opportunities to work on files that
spoke to his interest in the intersection between public and private law,
working on a variety of cases including Blencoe v. British Columbia (Human
Rights Commission), 2000 SCC 44 and several cases relating to the transfer or
expropriation of federal lands. For obvious reasons, in 2002 Mike followed
John Hunter, Q.C., and Peter Voith (as they then were) when they left Davis
& Company to form Hunter Voith Litigation Counsel.
As one of the founding members of Hunter Voith and its successor firm,
Hunter Litigation Chambers, Mike was instrumental in building the firm
into one of the most respected litigation boutiques in the country. While
doing so, Mike continued to hone and develop his skills and keen interest
in the law, appearing as counsel in numerous significant public, administrative
and commercial cases at all levels of the B.C. courts, the Federal Courts
and the Supreme Court of Canada. His fastidious nature meant that each
case, big or small, received the same level of rigour and attention to detail.
Anyone who has worked with Mike knows that he views every issue as worthy
of consideration: every pitfall or potential advantage is thoroughly
examined in his legal analysis of a file. As a result, Mike was always the
most prepared person in the courtroom. He worked tirelessly to advance his
client’s interests, but never at the expense of living up to the high ethical
standards demanded of a lawyer. In that regard, Mike set the bar very high
and expected others to do the same. These traits were all hallmarks that led
to his success as counsel, and they will no doubt prove invaluable on the
bench. But heaven help counsel if they show up unprepared in his courtroom—
you may be politely sent away and kindly told to try again.
Over the course of developing his thriving practice, Mike also consistently
found time to give back to the profession. He served on several Law Society
committees, including the Ethics Committee, which anyone who knows him
will agree was an obvious fit. Mike also found time to teach, publish and
present on various topics, including evidence and administrative law.
Mike was also a tireless mentor and supportive colleague. He cared
deeply about the people he worked with and took very seriously his obligation
to train, support and otherwise help young lawyers become better
counsel. Mike was always someone you could count on to be available if
you needed to talk through an issue, seek advice on an ethical issue or just
generally talk about the law, sports or life. His office was the epitome of the
“open door” (if you could find your way in through the maze of binders,
rolling carts and boxes … ).