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Michael A. Coady Direct Line: 604 891 2213 mcoady@harrisco.com |
| "Strategic focus, successful outcome." |
A partner at Harris & Company, Michael Coady joined the firm after practising in the Vancouver office of a national law firm. Michael was called to the BC Bar in 1974, then worked for two years for Chair Paul Weiler of the BC Labour Relations Board. Michael graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University with a Master of Laws in labour law in 1976. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws at Dalhousie University Law School in 1972, and his Bachelor of Arts from St. Dunstan's University in 1969.
Michael has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of labour and employment law, focusing primarily on labour relations, employment law, and human rights matters. Michael acts only on the employer side, and has appeared frequently and in major cases before the BC Labour Relations Board and the Canada Industrial Relations Board. His experience as counsel encompasses such matters as common employer and successorship applications, unfair labour practice charges, certifications and decertifications, and strikes and picketing complaints.
For clients with collective agreements, Michael advises on the strategy and conduct of negotiations, and assists in the administration of the collective agreement. He counsels front line managers on difficult interpretation and discipline issues, and acts as counsel at grievance arbitrations. Michael has written extensively on current arbitral issues, including drug testing issues and the duty to accommodate.
Michael regularly defends clients in human rights complaints and advises in wrongful dismissal situations. Michael has appeared at all levels of the judicial system.
In addition to his role as counsel, Michael provides opinions and strategic advice to clients on business initiatives raising employment-related issues, including the sale or acquisition of a business, plant relocations, and partial and total closures. He advises on all employment and labour aspects of business planning, working closely with corporate clients in developing and implementing their strategies.
Michael is ranked as "Leading Individual" in the labour and employment field in Western Canada in PLC's Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2008. He is recognized as a leading practitioner, repeatedly recommended, by Lexpert, and was peer-selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada.
Michael has been a guest speaker at numerous conferences and seminars over the years, and has written more than thirty papers on labour and employment law topics.
Direct Line: 604 891 2213
