Joe is an experienced trial and appeal lawyer and co-founder of Poulus Ensom Smith LLP.  He regularly acts for corporations (both public and closely held private companies), and their directors, officers, and shareholders.  His experience includes contract disputes, professional negligence claims, injunctions, real estate disputes, corporate governance matters, shareholder oppression claims, defamation claims, and securities litigation.  He also acts for Indigenous governments and individuals in litigious matters.

Joe has been recognized as a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation Canada and for his outstanding professional excellence in Corporate and Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers in Canada.

Joe has appeared as counsel before all levels of Court in British Columbia, the Federal Court, and the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.  He has represented clients before administrative tribunals and regulators including the BC and Ontario Securities Commissions.  Joe has also navigated numerous alternative dispute resolution proceedings including private arbitrations and mediations.

Known for his strategic thinking and attention to detail, Joe approaches dispute resolution through a commercial lens. He understands his clients’ business objectives and how best to achieve them. Whether the path is a negotiated resolution or a hard-fought trial, Joe has the technical skills and experience to successfully navigate any dispute.

*Law Corporation

Legal Assistant:
Helen Nicol
hnicol@peslitigation.com
(778) 727-3505

Education

  • University of Toronto (J.D. 2012)
  • University of British Columbia (B.A. 2009)

Bar Admission

  • Ontario, 2013
  • British Columbia, 2013

Contract Disputes

  • 1385673 BC Ltd. v Nobox Limited, 2025 BCSC 325.  Counsel for the Plaintiff in a dispute related to the purchase of a business-to-business software application, including breach of contract and misrepresentation issues.
  • Confidential International Arbitration (2024). Counsel to a US-based developer in an international arbitration against a Canadian clean energy company regarding development rights in Australia
  • Thunderstruck Resources Ltd. v Bonga Xploration Drilling Supplies Ltd., 2022 BCSC 404.  Counsel for the plaintiff and related parties in a complex dispute arising from the breakdown in the relationship between Thunderstruck, a mineral exploration company operating in Fiji, and Bonga Xploration Drilling Supplies Ltd., a drilling contractor. The claim and counterclaim involve claims based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion and defamation.
  • One West Holdings Ltd. v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2995, 2021 BCSC 473.  Counsel for the developer One West Holdings Ltd. in the successful prosecution of a 34-day trial to recover a commercial parking area unlawfully seized by a strata corporation. The case makes new law on two points: developers do not owe fiduciary duties to condo purchasers; and a legal structure used in BC to allocate tens of thousands of parking stalls is valid and binding. (With Hein Poulus, KC)
  • Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. v. Oei, 2017 BCSC 236.  Counsel for Concord Pacific Acquisitions Inc. in the successful defense of a five-day summary trial application brought by the owner of the Plaza of Nations land, who sought dismissal of CPAI’s claim for damages (estimated to be in excess of $100 million) arising from an alleged breach of a contract to jointly develop the Plaza of Nations land in Vancouver. (With Hein Poulus, KC).
  • 1397225 Ontario Limited. v 0805361 B.C. Ltd., 2017 BCSC 1830.  Counsel for the Plaintiff, a company controlled by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, in the recovery of unpaid principal, interest and legal costs from the guarantors of a $2.6 million mortgage loan.
  • Barafield Realty Ltd. v. Just Energy (B.C.) Limited Partnership, 2017 BCCA 307.  Counsel for the Defendant in a complex breach of contract claim relating to the supply of natural gas to apartment buildings. (With Jonathan S. McLean).

Shareholder Disputes and Proxy Contests

  • Smith v Fancamp Exploration Ltd.2021 BCSC 1758.  Counsel for Fancamp Exploration Ltd. in the successful dismissal of a Petition brought by dissident shareholders in a proxy contest. The dissidents’ Petition sought, among other things, to impose an independent chairperson as well as an early AGM date. (With Hein Poulus, KC)
  • Jaguar Financial Corporation v. Alternative Earth Resources Inc., 2016 BCCA 193.  Counsel for Alternative Earth Resources Inc. in the successful appeal of two judgments which had found that the company and its directors had oppressed a minority shareholder, Jaguar Financial Corporation, by pursuing the acquisition of a private company called Black Sea Copper & Gold and by defending a proxy contest launched by Jaguar, who sought to take control of the company. The appeal decision preserved the present management of the company and is now a leading BC authority on the disclosable interests of directors and the oppression remedy. (With Hein Poulus, KC)

Defamation Claims

  • Seyedalikhani v Mansouri, 2023 BCSC 1902.  Counsel for the defendants in the successful dismissal of a defamation claim arising from a regulatory complaint.

Professional Negligence Claims

  • Blizzard Uranium Corp. v Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, 2024 BCSC 2197.  Counsel for the plaintiffs in a complex negligence claim against a commercial litigation lawyer. (With Hein Poulus, KC, Tessa Latowsky and Naoki Hasegawa).

Indigenous Governance Disputes

  • Squinas v. Lhoosk’uz Dené First Nation, 2023 FC 612 .  Counsel for Lhoosk’uz Dene Nation and its councillors in a judicial review proceeding challenging the suspension of the Nation’s Chief from office (including the successful dismissal of an interlocutory injunction motion).
  • Lorentz v. Suhr, 2022 FC 1138.  Counsel for the Electoral Officer in a contested byelection for the role of the Chief of the for the Ts’il Kaz Koh Burns Lake First Nation in proceedings brought before the Federal Court pursuant to the First Nations Elections Act.
  • Hall v. Kwikwetlem First Nation, 2020 FC 994.  Counsel for the Council of the Kwikwetlem First Nation in a judicial review challenging the removal of their Chief from office. (With Nazeer T. Mitha, KC).
  • CBA-BC Civil Litigation Webinar, Duty of Honest Performance in Contracts (May 19, 2021).
  • Counsel Comment, Jaguar Financial Corporation v. Alternative Earth Resources Inc., 2016 BCCA 193 (June 2016, Take Five British Columbia Edition)
  • Counsel Comment, Barafield Realty Ltd. v. Just Energy (B.C.) Limited Partnership, 2015 BCCA 421 (November 2015, Take Five British Columbia Edition)
  • Member, Canadian Bar Association
  • Member, Vancouver Bar Association
  • Member, The Advocates’ Society
  • Benchmark Litigation Canada, Litigation Star, 2025
    Benchmark Litigation Canada
    , 40 & Under Litigator Canada, 2023-present
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2024-present