Our Services
We only practice in areas in which we excel.
Litigation, insolvency and restructuring.
Reedman Law helps clients resolve commercial disputes, navigate financial distress and recover assets. We advise and represent businesses, individuals, directors, creditors and insolvency professionals.
Our work combines practical advice, negotiation and courtroom advocacy. Whether you need advice before a dispute develops, representation in contested proceedings or assistance with a distressed transaction, we help you understand your options and decide how to proceed.
Commercial Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Restructuring Law
We offer expert guidance in insolvency, restructuring, and bankruptcy proceedings, representing stakeholders with clarity and confidence in challenging financial situations.
Insolvency and Restructuring Law Expertise
At Reedman Law, we specialize in insolvency and restructuring law, offering comprehensive services that address complex financial disputes and insolvency-related litigation. With significant experience in bankruptcy discharge hearings, receiverships, foreclosures, and restructurings, our firm delivers strategic advocacy tailored to each client's unique needs.
Our services cater to a wide range of stakeholders, including:
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Debtors
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Creditors
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Insolvency professionals (receivers, liquidators, and bankruptcy trustees)
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Directors and officers
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Employees
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Investors
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Landlords
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Suppliers and various other stakeholders
We provide counsel and representation in matters under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA), Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), and receivership proceedings.
Our expertise covers a wide range of insolvency and restructuring matters, including:
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Bankruptcy discharge applications
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Realization processes
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Examinations under the BIA and bankruptcy investigations
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CRA collection matters
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Fraudulent preference and conveyance actions
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Out-of-court restructurings (workouts)
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Receiverships
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Security enforcement
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Mortgage enforcement and foreclosure proceedings
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Negotiating and advising on forbearance agreements
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Directors' liability litigation and advisory services
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Assisting with Distressed Business Asset Purchases
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Appeals
We also advise and collaborate with clients and their solicitors in structuring strategic offers for distressed business assets during formal sales processes. Our team ensures transactions are executed efficiently while minimizing risks related to fraudulent preferences or conveyances in commercial matters.
At Reedman Law, we combine deep legal expertise, strategy, and a commitment to results to navigate insolvency and restructuring matters.
Personal Bankruptcy Law & Discharge Applications
We guide individuals through bankruptcy proceedings and discharge applications, ensuring clarity and support throughout the bankruptcy process.
At Reedman Law, we specialize in assisting individuals with obtaining discharges from bankruptcy, a niche area requiring deep knowledge and strategic advocacy.
Our experience spans representing bankrupts, Licensed Insolvency Trustees, creditors, and other stakeholders in personal bankruptcy proceedings and hearings. With hundreds of discharge applications successfully managed, our firm combines technical expertise and practical insight to guide clients through this complex legal process.
Comprehensive Representation
We offer a wide range of services in bankruptcy discharge matters, including:
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Discharge Applications: Preparing and advancing applications for discharges from bankruptcy.
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Pre-Bankruptcy Advice: Advising individuals on navigating bankruptcy, potential difficulties in assigning into bankruptcy, and alternatives such as BIA proposals or informal proposals to avoid bankruptcy.
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Conditional Order Variations: Preparing and applying for variations to conditional discharge orders.
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Proposal Advisory: Advising on consumer and Division I proposals, including reinstating defaulted proposals or obtaining court orders to make new proposals.
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Section 178(1) Claims: Prosecuting or defending claims regarding debts that may survive bankruptcy discharge.
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Student Loan hardship applications
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Appeals: Handling appeals related to discharge orders.
Our experience spans all levels of court in British Columbia, including representing appellants at the Supreme Court of Canada in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission), 2024 SCC 28, a landmark case addressing whether financial sanctions imposed by securities regulators survive bankruptcy discharge. We were also lead appellant counsel for Piekut v. Minister of National Revenue, 2025 SCC 13 at all levels of court in British Columbia and at the Supreme Court of Canada. .
Understanding Bankruptcy Discharges
A discharge from bankruptcy is a legal process that releases an individual from most debts and liabilities, providing a fresh financial start. It enables individuals to:
- Rebuild their financial lives and credit history.
- Eliminate restrictions and obligations imposed under Section 158 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA).
- Avoid penalties related to credit offenses under Section 199 of the BIA.
Navigating Opposition to Discharges
When a discharge is opposed by creditors, a Trustee, or the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB), an automatic discharge is no longer available. This triggers a hearing before a Registrar in Bankruptcy, with potential outcomes including:
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Absolute Discharge
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Conditional Discharge
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Suspended Discharge
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Refused Discharge (with or without leave to reapply)
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Adjournments
We frequently represent individuals in challenging scenarios, including:
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Long-standing bankruptcies adjourned due to non-compliance with BIA duties.
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Significant tax debt cases.
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Opposition by provincial regulatory bodies such as the BC Securities Commission for administrative monetary penalties or disgorgement orders.
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Complex Cases and Complementary Representation
Our team is equipped to handle complex bankruptcy cases, including those involving allegations of moral turpitude related to the cause of bankruptcy. We also collaborate seamlessly with civil litigators, family lawyers, criminal defense counsel, and regulatory specialists, ensuring consistent and strategic representation across interconnected legal issues.
Representation for Creditors and Trustees
Our services are not limited to individuals seeking discharges. We also represent:
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Creditors opposing bankruptcy discharges.
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Licensed Insolvency Trustees requiring advocacy in discharge hearings.
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Appeals and Variations
We assist clients with:
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Appealing conditional discharge orders to higher courts.
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Applying for variations to discharge conditions.
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Applying to court for student loan hardship applications
Appeals of discharge orders or other bankruptcy matters have a strict 10-day appeal period. It is critical to seek legal advice promptly to preserve your rights.
If you're seeking assistance with a bankruptcy discharge or need support for an appeal, Reedman Law is here to help.
Commercial Litigation
We represent clients in commercial disputes involving contracts, loans, guarantees, shareholder interests and the management of businesses.
Our work includes pursuing and defending debt claims, disputes over security and enforcement, breaches of trust and fiduciary duty, and claims involving the misuse of corporate funds or assets. We also act in shareholder and corporate control disputes involving financially distressed businesses.
We advise from the early assessment of a dispute through negotiation, mediation, trial and appeal, with attention to the evidence, available remedies, costs and commercial consequences.
Fraud, Tracing and Judgment Enforcement
We pursue and defend civil fraud claims and disputes involving misappropriated funds, concealed assets and transactions alleged to prejudice creditors.
Our work includes tracing assets, investigating transfers and seeking court orders to preserve property or obtain information. We assess how civil proceedings, enforcement measures and insolvency remedies can work together.
We also assist with the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in British Columbia, and with cross-border insolvency matters involving assets or proceedings in more than one jurisdiction.
Estate and Trust Litigation
Our Estate and Trust Litigation Services
Our estate and trust work focuses on disputes involving debt, insolvency, financial misconduct and competing claims to property.
We advise on insolvent deceased estates, creditor claims against estates, breaches of trust and fiduciary duty, and allegations involving the misuse or transfer of estate or trust assets.
Led by Cody Reedman, a Trust and Estate Practitioner, we work with executors, trustees, beneficiaries and creditors. We also assist estate and family lawyers when financial distress or insolvency complicates an administration, property dispute or proposed settlement.
CRA and Provincial Tax Debts
We assist individuals, businesses and directors facing CRA or provincial tax collection action and related financial difficulties.
Our work includes collection disputes, director liability claims, associated assessment challenges and the treatment of tax debts in bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings.
We assess the available legal responses alongside the client’s broader financial position, working with accountants and other advisers where appropriate.
Security Reviews, Opinions & Secured Lending
We review security at the point where it matters, from the perspective of lawyers who spend their time defending or attacking these in court. Because we don't act as counsel to institutional lenders, we can provide independent opinions for lenders, borrowers, trustees and receivers.
Our work includes:
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Independent Security Opinions — Opinions for receivers, Licensed Insolvency Trustees, and proposal trustees on the validity and enforceability on secured creditors claims
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Pre-Enforcement Reviews for Lenders — Identifying defects in loan and security packages before enforcement, when they can still be fixed rather than after they've become defences.
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Borrower and Guarantor Reviews — Acting for borrowers and guarantors reviewing loan agreements, guarantees, and security documents: what you're agreeing to, what the lender can do on default, and where your personal exposure sits on default.
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Contested Security — Litigation where security is attacked or defended, including fraudulent preference and conveyance claims, subordination disputes, and priority disputes in receiverships and bankruptcies.
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Forbearance Agreements — Negotiating and reviewing forbearance agreements on both sides of the table. For lenders, forbearance is the chance to shore up security and paper acknowledgments while the borrower still needs time. For borrowers and guarantors, it's when defences are waived and fresh security is taken.
Foreclosure Law & Distressed Real Estate
Foreclosure in British Columbia is driven through the courts, and the outcome is usually shaped at an early stage. We act at every stage, on both sides of the file.
For lenders, we provide full enforcement services for your defaulted mortgage: foreclosure petitions, obtaining the order nisi, conduct of sale, deficiency judgments, and claims against guarantors. Where the security is a stalled development or an operating property, we act in court-appointed receiverships to preserve and realize value.
For borrowers, owners, and guarantors, we defend by evaluating the file to determine whether reinstatement is possible, contesting the order nisi if warranted, extending the redemption period to allow refinancing or sale, and reviewing the lender's accounting, fees, and interest charges. We negotiate forbearance that extends time to sell or refinance, and where a lender pushes a sale at an undervalue, we oppose it as improvident.
We act in both residential and commercial foreclosure matters.
Our work includes:
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Foreclosure Proceedings — Acting for lenders and other charge holders through the full foreclosure process: orders nisi, redemption periods, orders for conduct of sale, orders absolute, and pursuing deficiency claims.
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Foreclosure Defence — Contesting arrears calculations, penalty interest, and fees, including defences under the Interest Act, and securing the time and terms borrowers need to refinance or sell on their own schedule.
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Guarantors — Defending personal guarantee claims that follow a shortfall, and advising guarantors on exposure before enforcement begins.
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Receiverships Over Real Property — Court-appointed receiverships involving development projects, rental portfolios, and operating properties, including priority disputes with builders lien claimants.
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Distressed Purchases — Acting for buyers acquiring property out of foreclosure or receivership, including court-approved sales and vesting orders.