Education

Bar Admission

  • 2011 Admitted to the British Columbia Bar

Patrick Bruce is a Partner in the firm’s Insurance group. His practice is primarily litigation-based with an emphasis on insurance defence, insurance coverage and alternative dispute resolution.

Patrick has experience with technically complex, multi-party personal injury, casualty, and liability claims. He has acted for large global insurers and their insureds across a wide range of industries, including complex personal injury claims, subrogated matters, property damage, construction claims, and other matters. Patrick also has experience interpreting and applying provincial and federal privacy legislation, especially in the context of data breaches and the need to report to the relevant privacy commissioners.

In his capacity as counsel, Patrick’s approach is to focus on first understanding his client’s unique objectives before recommending a course of action to efficiently and creatively resolve claims. He works closely with his clients throughout the process and is committed to providing a high level of service on all matters.

Patrick is an experienced trial lawyer and he has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia, including the Court of Appeal, Provincial and Supreme Courts. He is also experienced in alternative dispute resolution, having mediated many claims including complex multi-party matters.

On A Personal Note...

Prior to joining the firm, Patrick spent a summer during law school working at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. In his spare time, Patrick spends most of his time negotiating with his children and playing hockey.

Representative Experience

Patrick has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia and has run both Provincial and Supreme Court trials. He is also experienced with respect to alternative dispute resolution, including settlement conferences and mediations.

Some of Patrick’s specific experiences include the following:

  • Identifying a worker-worker defense to an $1 million +  injury claim involving a high profile plaintiff, resulting in a resolution;
  • Providing an assessment of real risk of significant harm in the context of a data breach affecting an international organization, and assisting with reporting to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner;
  • Defending a novel claim against a large common carrier and maintaining a liability denial resulting in a very favourable resolution for the client;
  • Providing a coverage opinion in the context of a sizeable tanker-truck spill, resulting in environmental contamination and competing coverages;
  • Defending claims brought under the Family Compensation Act;
  • Defending a case involving negligent construction and property damage, complicated by the intersection of insured and non-insured claims as well as a builder’s lien and counterclaim being advanced in parallel by the insureds.

Some of Patrick’s decisions include the following:

  • Kalstrom v. Yip, 2016 BCSC 829
  • Benson v. Day, 2014 BCSC 2224
  • High Country Outfitters Inc. v. Pitt Meadows (City), 2012 BCPC 308
  • Sandhu v. Delta (Corp.), 2012 BCPC 435

Publications

  • April 4, 2019, “B.C. Civil Rule Amendment Could Cut Costs, Timelines Considerably”, The Lawyer’s Daily, Author
  • November 4, 2016, “Apportioning Damages for Indivisible Injuries”, The Lawyers Weekly, Author
  • 2016, Chambers Advocacy Exercise, Law Society of BC Professional Training Course, Guest Judge/Instructor

Professional & Community Affiliations

Patrick's
Focus