Mark G. Underhill

Mark G. Underhill is a 1995 graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, and was called to the Bar of the Law Society of British Columbia in 1996. He practised with Arvay Finlay for ten years before establishing his own firm in 2005. In 2017, Mark reconstituted Arvay Finlay with Joseph J. Arvay O.C., O.B.C.,Q.C., and other former members of the firm. Mark maintains a broad general civil litigation practice, with particular expertise in aboriginal, administrative and environmental law, including multi-party disputes involving property remediation and liability for contamination. In addition to his expertise in public law, Mark has acted in a number of class action suits, including claims involving tainted blood, misleading advertising, employment benefits, log salvage fees, gaming fees, and a fraudulent investment scheme. He has appeared at all levels of Court, including as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Canadian Federation of Students v. Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority in the Supreme Court of Canada. Most recently, he acted for Rick Desautel in the landmark decision in R. v. Desautel, which established a constitutionally protected right to hunt in British Columbia for the Sinixt people, declared to be extinct by the Canadian government in 1956.