Service Team
Brandon
Hastings
Associate
Biography
Mr. Hastings is currently on sabbatical from his practice at Cassady, pursuing a Master of Law in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech (https://tech.cornell.edu/programs/masters-programs/master-of-laws-llm/). We look forward to his anticipated return in mid-2024.
READ FULL BIO Legal Expertise
PERSONAL LAW
BUSINESS LAW
Education
Juris Doctor | University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law | May 2013
Exchange Semester (from the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law) | National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law | August 2011
Bachelor’s of Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Leadership (with Distinction) | Kwantlen Polytechnic University, School of Business | April 2010
Business Administration Diploma (with Distinction)| Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Economics Faculty | December 2007
Trends in e-Psychology (and e-Mediation) | University of Leuven (Belgium) via EdX | December 2015
Knowledge Management and Big Data in Business | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University via EdX | October 2015
BIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Hastings is currently on sabbatical from his practice at Cassady, pursuing a Master of Law in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech (https://tech.cornell.edu/programs/masters-programs/master-of-laws-llm/). We look forward to his anticipated return in mid-2024.
Brandon has over a decade of experience helping people, organizations, and families effectively overcome obstacles and reach their goals. He brings creative, pragmatic solutions to his legal practice, which are enriched by knowledge in mediation and strategic business thinking.
Brandon has appeared at all levels of court for a variety of matters, and has set law in British Columbia on more than one occasion through his conduct of matters in the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Brandon is a certified mediator, and in that role, or as a lawyer, he is well-suited to drafting and negotiating agreements, administering estates, and assisting in business matters.
As a law student, Brandon was selected to attend the prestigious National University of Singapore (NUS) where he took masters-level law courses taught by law professors from some of the world’s leading universities, including dispute resolution by Carrie Menkel-Meadow (Georgetown Law) and world trade law by Joseph H. H. Weiler (NYU).
Brandon is passionate about volunteerism and access-to-justice, and prides himself on working in teams to build solutions that benefit others. A self-taught computer programmer, Brandon has worked with the BC Provincial Government as a Subject Matter Expert, drawing on his experience in civil litigation to help create the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s Solutions Explorer. Brandon has founded various legal and access-to-justice organizations, regularly writes and presents to lawyers on legal topics, and has deep ties with the Canadian Bar Association.
Brandon holds a Black Belt in Tong Moo Do martial arts, an Orange belt in Shito-Ryu Karate, and is a PADI-certified Rescue Diver. In his spare time, Brandon likes to learn new things, exercise, practice martial arts, hike, build things, watch NetFlix, and SCUBA dive.
Representative Matters
- Willms v. Willms, 2020 BCCA 51 [http://canlii.ca/t/j544b]. Conduct representing appellant in appeal of chambers judgement, where appellant represented by other counsel. Spousal support reduced from $3,272 per month to $3,473 per month. Retroactive spousal support from August, 2016 to March, 2018 repealed, reducing amount of support for that period to prior amount of $2,100. Retroactive award against appellant by reduced by $30,913.00. Covered in Take Five British Columbia: https://canlii.ca/t/srd8.
- Pisarski v Piesik, 2019 BCCA 129 [http://canlii.ca/t/hzrjh]. Conduct of response to appeal aimed at the appellant. Set new law of intention in relation to treatment of excluded funds put into joint property which is cited in many Supreme Court of British Columbia cases. Successfully defended against claim of the appellant that $351,000 of family property should be the appellant’s sole excluded property. Costs of the appeal paid to the respondent.
- Helle v Helle, 2019 BCCA 97 [http://canlii.ca/t/hz6f0]. Conduct of presentation of appeal for wife denied spousal support based on husband’s post-separation increases in income. Set new law on what Mr. Hastings calls the “correlation probably equals causation” test for including post-separation increases in income for purposes of spousal support. Covered in Take Five British Columbia [https://canlii.ca/t/sg3w]. Cited by Professor Rollie Thompson, QC, one of the authors of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines and the Revised User Guide as an example of his top 10 “hard” spousal support cases at the 28th Annual Institute of Family Law [https://canlii.ca/t/sqhg].
- Chan v Chan, 2014 BCSC 2422 [http://canlii.ca/t/gfr7w]. Second-chair on unjust enrichment trial, representing defendant. Plaintiff claimed an interest in $750,400 home as a joint family venture. Claim denied; plaintiff constrained to monetary remedy as an estimate of his hourly labour.
Publications
- Dimensions of Dispute Resolution: Categorizing Methods of Dispute Resolution | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | August 2020
- Happiness is a Currency… or at least it should be | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | February 2020
- Gillian Hadfield: On appropriate regulation of legal service providers | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | August 2019
- Counsel Comment: Helle v Helle, 2019 BCCA 91 | OnPoint Legal Research: Take Five British Columbia Edition | April 2019
- The Cannabis Act: High Time for Change? | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | June 2018
- I Want Candy: the Case Against Fructose | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | February 2018
- BC Family Justice: Systematic and Cultural Change, and the FLA | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | October 2017
- Pitfalls of Negative Net Worth: Family Debt and Section 82 | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | February 2016
- A2J Evolution: Time for a Redesign | Canadian Bar Association: National Magazine | December 2016
- Personal Injury Across Provinces: Dimensions of Auto Insurance in Canada | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | October 2016
- Trial by Ambush in BC: Just when you thought it was safe to go back to into the courtroom… | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | August 2016
- UMP and the Un(der)insured: Three Tiny Letters, One Big Difference | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | February 2016
- Braaaiiiinnns in Mediation | Continuing Legal Education Dispute Resolution Conference 2015 Blog | October 29, 2015
- Travel Expenses: Overhead or Disbursement? Interpreting Rule 14-1(5) | Canadian Bar Association, BC: BarTalk Magazine | October 2015
- The Civil Resolution Tribunal: A Boon to BC Business | Business in Surrey Magazine | June 2015
Events
- Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLEBC)
- Coach: Mediation Level 2 | February 2020
- Faculty and panellist: “Conflict Resolution Conference 2019” | October 2019
- Faculty and co-presenter: “Justice Technology: Digital Dispute Resolution for an Analog World” (CLEBC-TV) | December 2016
- Conflict Resolution Clinic (CoRe)
- Faculty: online mediation training sessions | November 2019
- People’s Law School
- Settlement Smarts for Self-Represented Litigants – Conflict Resolution Week | November 2016
- Douglas College
- Guest Lecturer: Auditor’s Liability | May 2016, September 2016
- Osgoode Hall Law School
- Legal Technology Course; Online Dispute Resolution Simulation Coordinator | April 2016
- Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Lunch and Learn: Navigating Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation | November 25, 2014
- 7th National ProBono Conference
- Panelist: Tech Tools for #A2J | October 2018
- Innovate BC
- Panelist: What’s Next in AI: And what that means for B.C. | October 2018
- Canadian Bar Association of BC
- Panelist: Immigration Law Section Meeting | December 2015
- PechaKucha Night Richmond Vol. 9: “Feed the Soul”
- “A House to Make Canada a Home” | March 26, 2015
- University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law
- New Student Orientation Speech: What you need to know about Law School | October 2012
News
Community
- Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia
- Executive Committee Member | 2019 – last updated
- Young Lawyers’ Advisory Committee, Chair | 2019 – last updated
- BarTalk Magazine Editorial Board, Chair | 2017 – last updated
- Provincial Council Representative for Westminster County | 2017 – 2019
- BarTalk Magazine Editorial Board, Member | 2015 – 2017
- Court Services Committee, Member | 2016 – 2019
- Access to Justice Week BC, Organizing Committee Member | 2018 – last updated
- Founder, The Justice Hack | 2017
- Co-founder, Vancouver Legal Hackers | 2016
- Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, Executive Member / Secretary | 2014 – 2018
- 8th and 9th Justice Summits: Technology, Steering Committee Appointee | 2017 – 2018
- City of Richmond (BC, Canada), Family and Youth Court Committee Member | 2016 – 2017
- Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLEBC), Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference; Faculty | 2015, 2016
- Policy Advisory Committee, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Company of Young Professionals | 2015
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Executive Member, Treasurer and Chair of Risk Management Committee, Alumni Association | 2012 – 2014
- Branding and Visioning Committees, Office of the President | 2009 – 2011
- Richmond Public Library, Board Member | 2008
- Refugee SSP, Pro-Bono Refugee Lawyer | 2015 – 2016
- Junior Team Canada, Trade Mission Delegate: China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong | 2013
- Surrey City Central Rotary Club, Founding Member (pre-incorporation) | 2012 – 2013
- Law Students’ Legal Advice Program, Student Clinician | 2010 – 2011
- Conflict Resolution Clinic (CoRe), Volunteer | 2010 – 2011
- University of British Columbia Field School, Field School Archeologist: Petra, Jordan | August 2009
- Help, Learn, Discover. Fundraising and House-building in Chunchi Canton, Ecuador | 2008
Associations/Memberships
Canadian Bar Association
New Westminster Bar Association
Law Society of British Columbia
Mediate BC