Profile

James is an associate lawyer with ATAC LAW. His primary areas of practice are civil litigation, debt collection, real estate, construction law, tenancy dispute, and family law.

With his extensive and diversified background, James has appeared for clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, including the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Prior to joining ATAC LAW, James received his training in mechatronic systems engineering at Simon Fraser University by obtaining both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Subsequently, he completed his law school program at the University of New Brunswick and articled at Cohen Buchan Edwards LLP.

Thinking outside the box and providing practical solutions to clients are what matters to James. Even if it is the norm to perform a certain task, James will not hesitate to analyze the situation and decide on whether there is a better method for that specific client.

As for his language skills, James can read/write in both Chinese and English and speak in Mandarin, Cantonese and English.

Education

Bachelor of Applied Science, Simon Fraser University – 2014
Master of Engineering, Simon Fraser University – 2016
Juris Doctor, University of New Brunswick – 2019

Areas of Expertise

• Civil Litigation
• Debt Collection
• Real Estate
• Construction Law
• Tenancy Dispute
• Family Law

Recent Dispute Resolution Experience:

• Succeeded in dismissing a lawsuit of approximately CAD $1,176,907.21 (converted from HKD $6,800,000.00) before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of a defendant on December 15, 2023. The plaintiff was represented by well-known Vancouver law firm.
• Succeeded in dismissing a lawsuit of approximately CAD $776,143.77 (converted from HKD $4,484,358.32) before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of a defendant on February 20, 2024. The plaintiff was represented by well-known downtown law firm.
• Succeeded in appeal before the Court of Appeal relating to a real estate development, on September 23, 2022. The court decision is published in Firestar Custom Home Builders Inc. v. 1099000 B.C. Ltd., 2022 BCCA 324.
• Succeeded on behalf of a defendant before the Supreme Court of British Columbia to cancel a judgment of HKD $6,800,000.00 that was registered on the defendant’s lands, on June 21, 2023. The court decision is published in Venetian Macau Limited v. Huang, 2023 BCSC 1534.
• Succeeded on behalf of a defendant before the Supreme Court of British Columbia to cancel a judgment of $785,211.14 that was registered on the defendant’s lands, on March 17, 2023. The court decision is published in Melco Resorts (Macau) Limited v. Huang, 2023 BCSC 631.
• Succeeded on behalf of a purchaser before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on March 11, 2022. The court decision is published in Chan v. Dhaliwal, 2022 BCSC 571.
• Succeeded on behalf of vendors in preventing a real estate dispute from escalating into a lawsuit, on September 15, 2024.
• Succeeded in dismissing a lawsuit of HKD $4,484,358.32 before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of a defendant on February 20, 2024.
• Succeeded in dismissing a lawsuit of HKD $6,800,000.00 before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of a defendant on December 15, 2023.
• Succeeded in obtaining a restraining order before the Supreme Court of British Columbia to prevent disposition of assets, on April 29, 2024.
• Succeeded in dismissing a lawsuit relating to environmental contamination before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of a property owner, on April 8, 2024.
• Succeeded on behalf of a client to recover $1,000,000.00 from the client’s debtor, in the month of May 2024.
• Succeeded on behalf of a defendant before the Supreme Court of British Columbia to recover $768,973.85 that was improperly garnished into court, on March 11, 2021.
• Succeeded in obtaining both a monetary order for a landowner against tenants and an order to allow the landowner to keep the security deposit, on February 8, 2024.
• Succeeded in obtaining both an Order of Possession and a monetary order for a landowner against tenants, on November 20, 2023.
• Succeeded in obtaining a court judgment of $110,905.75 before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on August 9, 2023.
• Succeeded in defending a mortgage foreclosure on behalf of a property owner before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on April 27, 2023.
• Succeeded in enforcing a contract of purchase and sale for a purchaser, through litigation, from a vendor who was not willing to comply with the contract, on January 4, 2022. In favour of the purchaser, the purchase price was further deducted by $5,000.00.
• Succeeded in recovering for a purchaser, through litigation, from a vendor who was not willing to comply with a contract of purchase and sale, the purchaser’s deposit of $100,000.00 plus a desirable settlement amount that was $10,000.00 more than what the purchaser had asked for, on October 18, 2021.
• Succeeded in recovering possession of building for a commercial landowner from a difficult commercial tenant, on May 19, 2022, using only one month’s time.
• Succeeded in obtaining a desirable settlement for a commercial tenant in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on May 26, 2022, by significantly postponing the date that the tenant was required to vacate the lands.
• Succeeded in having a client be recognized as a deceased’s spouse and be entitled to all of the deceased’s assets, despite opposition from the deceased’s sister, before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on March 10, 2023.
• Succeeded in obtaining a court judgment of $154,567.48 plus costs of $6,572.35 at a summary trial before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on January 13, 2021.
• Succeeded in obtaining $300,000.00 for two adult claimants for retroactive child support, through litigation, on December 11, 2020.
• Succeeded in obtaining an Order of Committal before the Supreme Court of British Columbia against a judgment debtor, on February 28, 2022.
• Succeeded in obtaining a court judgment of $147,163.82 plus costs of $722.75 before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on December 6, 2021.
• Succeeded in obtaining a desirable settlement for a defendant in the Federal Court of Canada on July 6, 2022, by reducing the claim amount of USD $229,290.00 to USD $42,000.00.
• Succeeded in a contested chambers application for the settling of a court order before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, on December 7, 2022.
• Succeeded in opposing applications to adjourn a trial and to testify by video before the Provincial Court of British Columbia, on November 26, 2020.
• Succeeded in opposing an application before the Provincial Court of British Columbia with respect to jurisdiction and enforcement issues, on November 23, 2020.
• Succeeded in opposing applications to adjourn a trial and to testify by video before the Provincial Court of British Columbia, on September 30, 2020.
• Succeeded in obtaining a divorce order on behalf of a client before contested family issues such as property division and spousal support could be resolved, on April 2, 2024.

*denotes Law Corporation