Michelle Maniago

Practice Areas

Michelle is a Partner at BLG’s Vancouver office. Michelle has significant experience with highly complex commercial, banking, and corporate litigation and arbitration across a range of industries and legal subject matters.

Her practice includes defence of high-profile provincial, national, and multi-jurisdictional class actions involving credit card insurance products, foreign exchange transaction costs, Ponzi schemes, mutual fund related management fees, alleged defective products, environmental claims, consumer protection claims, privacy breaches, and price-fixing claims. The resulting decisions are well-known precedents, particularly with respect to consumer protection and competition-related claims. She has experience with all aspects of disputes, including complex and voluminous document production, multi-day oral discovery, multi-week trials, appeals and settlements (including class proceedings settlements on the eve of common issues trials). Michelle has appeared as counsel before the courts of British Columbia, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the BC Privacy Commissioner, the Federal Privacy Commissioner, Consumer Protection BC, the Youth Justice (Criminal) Court, and in leave to appeal proceedings before the Supreme Court of Canada. She has also appeared as counsel before both domestic and international arbitration tribunals.

Career

British Columbia Bar, 2008. Law Clerk to Mr. Justice K. Smith, BC Court of Appeal (2007-2008). Former Director, ADR Institute of Canada (2016-2019). Member and former executive leader, Class Action Practice Group, The Advocates' Society, 2019-2023: Chair (2022-2023); Vice Chair (2021-2022); Secretary (2020-2021), and Member at Large (2019-2020)). Currently regional lead of BLG Appellate Advocacy practice group, and Co-Chair of BLG’s national disputes training program for associates.

Professional Memberships

The Advocates Society, Canadian Bar Association (BC Branch)

Publications

Michelle has published extensively on the topics of class actions and arbitration. Selected works are located on her web bio: https://www.blg.com/en/people/m/maniago-michelle