Alison Burns, Vancouver

About Alison

Alison has a broad civil litigation and dispute resolution practice. She acts as counsel in domestic and international arbitrations, restructuring and insolvency matters, complex commercial disputes, class actions, and international trade matters. Alison has appeared as counsel in matters before the Supreme Court of British Columbia and has assisted in matters before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and various arbitral tribunals.

Alison joined Blakes as an articled student in 2020 and completed her articles in 2021. Prior to her articles she completed an exchange studying World Trade Organization and international trade law in Bern, Switzerland.

Select Experience

Recent representative experience includes acting as counsel to:

A salmon farm operator in a Federal Court judicial review which overturned the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' decision to end aquaculture in a region of coastal British Columbia
An owner in respect of an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration claim regarding pipeline construction
An intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in Cindy Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, addressing Indigenous self-determination and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
An industry group as intervenor in a treaty infringement proceeding
Several defendants in a shareholder dispute involving allegations of misrepresentation and conspiracy
A public base-metals mining company with operations internationally in a Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceeding involving a sales and investment solicitation process
A public company and subsidiaries in the cannabis cultivation, production, licensing and wholesale business in a CCAA proceeding involving an insolvency restructuring and plan of arrangement and compromise of a cross border enterprise