Co-Managing Partner, Litigator

Greg Palm LinkedInTwitter

Biography

Greg Palm is one of Hamilton Duncan’s senior litigation lawyers. His practice consists of commercial litigation and business disputes, real estate litigation, collection and foreclosure matters and employment and human rights cases. Greg also devotes a significant portion of his practice to disputes between lawyers and their clients over legal fees and disputes about the costs of litigation. In the course of those matters, Greg has acted for a wide range of clients and has done so at every level of court in B.C. as well as before various administrative tribunals.

In his commercial litigation practice, Greg acts as counsel on matters of all kinds and types: contract disputes, wrongful dismissal and other employment law matters, disputes between business owners, leasing and other real estate disputes, and others. His clients on these matters range from small local businesses to large national and international ones.

Greg’s legal fee disputes practice is a niche one in which few lawyers have his background or experience. Throughout his career as a lawyer, he has regularly assisted both large and small law firms with establishing their entitlement to fees and with protecting and recovering on that entitlement as well as assisting them with matters where they are required by law to have their fees approved by the Court (such as class proceedings and cases involving infants). He has also represented both corporate and individual clients of other lawyers with a view towards ensuring that the legal fees they have been charged are fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. Lawyers and litigants alike also frequently contact Greg for assistance in disputes over costs of litigation that are payable from one party to the other.

In his collections and foreclosure practice, Greg is frequently called on by banks and other financial institutions, collection agencies, casinos and private lenders to recover on mortgages, credit card debts and many other kinds of loans, and by small and large businesses, law firms and other professionals to collect on invoices for goods sold or services provided. He maintains a quality network of investigators, bailiffs, realtors and other professionals, and is aided by a dedicated team of legal assistants experienced in collections work, to assist in maximizing recovery in a cost-effective manner.

Greg spent the first nine years of his litigation career at two reputable downtown Vancouver firms before founding his own boutique litigation firm in South Surrey in 2010. In 2013 he moved that practice to Hamilton Duncan and became a partner shortly thereafter. In addition to his law practice, Greg is also a past president of the Surrey Bar Association, a current member of the Provincial Council of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch and recognized author and speaker on matters pertaining to legal fee disputes and costs of litigation.

 

 

Work Highlights

  • Represents some of the world’s largest casinos with respect to the recovery of loans ranging from $50,000 to more than $5,000,000
  • Counsel to a major Canadian chartered bank in debt recovery matters involving credit cards, lines of credit and other financing products
  • Acts for private mortgage lenders in various foreclosure matters, both residential and commercial
  • Counsel to several notable downtown Vancouver law firms in disputes about fees and in connection with the collection of their receivables generally
  • Acted for a local business in a hotly contested business ownership dispute involving employment law concerns, competition issues, contemplated wind-up proceedings and eventually a favourable buyout agreement

Publications

  • Contributing Author, “Remuneration” chapter, Canadian Legal Practice, LexisNexis Canada Inc.
  • Contributing Author & Editorial Board Member, Practice Before the Registrar, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
  • Author, “Remuneration”, Annual Review of Law & Practice, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2007)
  • Author, “Costs”, Annual Review of Law & Practice, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2007-2013)
  • Author, “Basic Billing Advice for BC Lawyers”, 134 The Verdict 98, Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia (2012)
  • Author, “Retainer Agreements: Getting what you intend and limiting disputes”, Costs – 2012, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2012)
  • Author, “Is My Fee Agreement Worth the Paper it’s Printed On? – The Conundrum Created by section 71(5) of the Legal Profession Act”, Costs – 2008, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2008)
  • Author, “Human Rights in the Workplace”, Employment Law from A to Z in British Columbia, Lorman Education Services (2007)
  • Co-Author, “Who can be Sued in an Employment Action? The Potential Liability of Persons or Entities Other than the Nominal Employer for Wrongful Dismissal and Related Claims” Employment Law from A to Z in British Columbia, Lorman Education Services (2005)
  • Co-Author, “Franchise Law: Review of Labour Board Decisions Involving Franchised Systems”, Franchise Law, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2000)

Associations

  • Provincial Council Representative, Canadian Bar Association – BC Branch (2016 to present)
  • Surrey Bar Association (past President, Vice-President and Treasurer)
  • Canadian Bar Association, Member
  • New Westminster Bar Association, Member
  • Vancouver Bar Association, Member
  • Legal Fee Working Group, Law Society of British Columbia (2006-2007), Member

Speaking

  • Speaker, Litigation Misconduct 2017, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, November 2017
  • Course Chair & Presenter, Costs – 2015, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, October 2015
  • Course Chair & Speaker, Costs – 2012, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, October 2015
  • Speaker, Costs – 2008, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, October 2015

Community

  • Guest Judge, Professional Legal Training Course, Law Society of British Columbia
  • Moot Court Judge, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
  • Clinic Supervising Lawyer, UBC Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (2001-2012)
  • Chair, Education Committee, St. Bernadette School, Surrey, B.C. (2009-2017)
  • Coach, Coastal FC Soccer (2014-2016)
  • Assistant Coach, Surrey Minor Ball Hockey (2014-2015)