Ryan Bernard

Ryan Bernard is a Senior Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group at Dentons, based in the Vancouver office. His practice encompasses commercial and general civil litigation, regulatory disputes, and alternative dispute resolution, representing clients in mediation and arbitration. He has appeared before all levels of court in British Columbia and before the Federal Court of Canada.

Mr. Bernard has acted as junior counsel for a corporate defendant in a large fisheries regulatory prosecution arising from a marine construction project, served as junior counsel for a successful respondent on an appeal of dismissal for want of prosecution in litigation between industry competitors, and defended insurers in a number of personal injury and product liability matters, including two successful trial decisions with awards well below amounts sought by plaintiffs. He also engages in pre-litigation dispute resolution and assists senior counsel with trials and appeals.

Ryan holds a J.D. from Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law (2018), where he received the Elkanah Rafuse Prize in Admiralty Law for the highest standing in Maritime Law and Practice, and a B.A. from the University of British Columbia (2013). He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Maritime Law Association.

He has authored and co-authored publications including the Provincial Court Small Claims Handbook for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, and has contributed to Dentons Insights on regulatory litigation, environmental trends, and artificial intelligence regulation. He received the Jim Davey Award from the Canadian Transportation Research Forum (2018).