Gary Nijman's Page

Current Title

Partner

Current Employer

Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP

Past Employment/Experience

Naval officer - Canadian Navy 1973-1981

Education

BSc Physics and Physical Oceanography RRMC 1977
JD UVic 1984

Location

Vancouver, BC

Professional Summary

Insurance coverage and defence since 1985

Insurance: acts as coverage and defense counsel in the courts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba under the various Law Society agreements allowing practice in other provinces. As coverage counsel, Gary will also monitor the defense of actions in the USA under NAFTA rules and anywhere in the world, for example:
- £300,000,000 D&O case in England involving the sale of a truck manufacturer;
- $100,000,000 USD multiple E&O cases in the USA and Canada for a pipeline from northern British Columbia to Chicago;
- large E&O lawyer defalcation case in Manitoba; and
- large British Columbia D&O class action case over a multi-company going-private transaction.

Environment: Gary has a thorough understanding of the science of environmental contamination and acts as coverage and defense monitoring counsel on environmental liability claims, in Canada and elsewhere. Examples include:

- billion dollar claim by an international mining company for liability insurance coverage for clean up liability for all of its mine sites and off-site pollution;
- billion dollar claim by a national oil company to clean up all of its oil fields, refineries, bulk plants and service stations; and
multi-million dollar claim by an international mining company to clean up a river after a large mine tailings escape.

Maritime: with a Naval navigation background spent on the west coast, and a degree in physical oceanography, Gary’s pre-law experience has assisted him in his maritime practice, which is mainly focused on coverage issues.

Website

http://www.ahbl.ca/people/lawyers/gary_nijman

Associations and Groups

RMC Club of Canada
Golf Canada - BC Chapter
Horse Council of BC