Canadian Lawyer magazine recently named Eric Gottardi, partner, as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in the fields of Human Rights, Advocacy and Criminal law. Mr. Gottardi was recognized as a “catalyst for change” for his work on at least two recent Supreme Court of Canada cases. Mr. Gottardi’s advocacy revolutionized the right to a trial without delay, and led to the abolition of certain mandatory minimum penalties.

For a brief description of Mr. Gottardi’s recent contributions to his clients and the Canadian justice system, click here.

Peck and Company lawyers Jeff Campbell and Mark Nohra, assisted by law student Harneel Hundal, secured an acquittal for a Kelowna man in a recent jury trial.  The client was tried by a Supreme Court Judge and Jury on a charge of manslaughter, based on an altercation between a group of young people and another male outside a Kelowna restaurant.  Campbell and Nohra raised evidence that the other party was threatening and aggressive, and that their client had acted in self-defence.   A number of eyewitnesses described how the event unfolded, testifying that the defendant had acted to protect others from a dangerous confrontation.  The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

Link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/single-punch-death-kelowna-not-guilty-manslaughter-1.4181016

Peck and Company partner, Eric Gottardi, spoke with a reporter from the Toronto Star about the impacts of the recent SCC decision, R. v. Jordan. As lead counsel at the SCC, Mr. Gottardi informed readers of the importance of individuals’ rights to a trial in a reasonable time. The article provided several different perspectives, and Mr. Gottardi described the decision as “thinking outside the usual box” to work towards a better system. To read the full article, please click the link below.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/19/how-an-invented-supreme-court-ruling-has-rocked-the-canadian-justice-system.html

Peck and Company lawyers, Mark Nohra and Michael Gismondi, successfully defended Mr. Nadarajah Mahendran on charges of human smuggling. On January 25th, 2017, Mr. Mahendran was found not guilty by a 12-person jury. Mr. Nohra and Mr. Gismondi argued that the Crown had failed to prove that Mr. Mahendran was involved in organizing the voyage of the MV Sun Sea vessel, which carried 492 Tamil immigrants to Canada. Fleeing war-torn Sri Lanka, these migrants arrived to British Columbia’s coast in 2010.

Since August of 2012, the lawyers at Peck and Company have worked diligently to defend Mr. Mahendran in this complex matter. Lead counsel, Mark Nohra, describes the victory as a just outcome reached by 12 citizens after a long, intense and challenging journey. Battling against a tremendous amount of government resources, the lawyers at Peck and Company were able to expose serious flaws in the Crown’s evidence, leading to Mr. Mahendran’s acquittal.

Peck and Company Barristers has a proud tradition of  promoting ongoing legal education. Throughout 2016, the firm’s partners presented at several prominent criminal law conferences and legal education seminars.

Richard C.C. Peck, Q.C. was appointed as Vice Chair of the Law Society of British Columbia’s Legal Aid Task Force in June 2016 and in November, he presented at the Legal Aid Colloquium in Vancouver. Mr. Peck spoke at the National Criminal Law Program, held by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (the “Federation”) in Charlottetown, PEI in July 2016.  Mr. Peck was an instructor at the Inns of Court program. In addition to professional conferences, Mr. Peck volunteered as an instructor to Allard School of Law students in the Allan MchEachern Course in Advanced Trial Advocacy.

In his role as a Bencher for the Law Society of British Columbia, Jeffrey T. Campbell, Q.C. lectured on professional ethics at the Law Society Professional Legal Training Court in June 2016. That same month, he also presented on ‘Police Interrogations and the Right to Silence’ for a Criminal Law CLE program. Mr. Campbell spoke at the Osgoode National Symposium regarding search and seizure laws, and volunteered as a Guest Speaker on ‘Preventing Wrongful Convictions’ at the Allard School of Law.

As a Federation Faculty Member, Eric V. Gottardi presented at the National Criminal Law Program. Having acted as lead counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada for the landmark decision of R. v. Jordan, Mr. Gottardi discussed the laws of unreasonable delay at a CLE event put on by the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia in November. Mr. Gottardi is also a regular legal commentator for CBC and other media outlets.