Liam McDonald

Liam is building a general litigation practice.

Liam graduated with a J.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in 2023, where he received the Law Society of Saskatchewan Bronze Medal. At school, Liam served as a Managing Editor of the Saskatchewan Law Review, participated in the Dean’s Forum on Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution, and competed in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot.

Prior to joining Hunter Litigation Chambers as an associate, Liam clerked for Chief Justice Marchand, and Justices Newbury and Harris of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia.

In his career before law, Liam worked for a number of years in the technology industry. He also holds a B.Comm from the University of Victoria and an M.B.A. that he earned concurrently with his law degree.

Notable Cases

The Law Society of British Columbia v. Samarakoone, 2026 BCCA 224 (with Claire Hunter, K.C.): successfully acted for a lawyer in an appeal by the Law Society of British Columbia from order declining to remit a decision for reconsideration to the Law Society on the basis that there could only be one possible outcome but set aside the order for costs.

News

May 2026

Claire Hunter, K.C. and Liam McDonald acted for a lawyer in an appeal by the Law Society of British Columbia regarding an administrative penalty imposed for failing to comply with the client verification rules. The penalty had been set aside on judicial review on the basis that the impugned transaction was in fact exempt from the rule relied on and the chambers judge had declined to remit the matter to the Law Society for reconsideration and had awarded special costs to the lawyer. The Court of Appeal found that the judge did not err in declining to remit the matter to the Law Society on the basis that there could only be one possible outcome. The appeal was allowed only to the extent of setting aside the order for costs because the Court held that pursuing a meritless position, without more, is not a basis for judicial rebuke. The Court of Appeal’s reasons for judgment are available here.