Luciana Brasil

Luciana Brasil is a senior litigator at Branch MacMaster. Luciana commenced her legal studies in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the Mackenzie University in 1993. In 1994, Luciana moved to Canada, and in 1998, she obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Victoria, in British Columbia. Luciana articled at a major national law firm and was called to the Bar in May 1999.

Luciana’s practice at Branch MacMaster is primarily in the area of class actions, where she acts for both Plaintiffs and for Defendants. This dual practice gives Luciana an unique advantage in that she understands the strategies employed by both sides, and has either worked with or against all leading Canadian class action counsel. On the plaintiff side, Luciana has been counsel for the Class in various high-profile multi-jurisdictional cases, such as Joel v. Menu Foods Genpar Ltd. (recalled pet food) and Langille v. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (recalled processed food products), which resulted in settlements in excess of $20M. Luciana is one of lead counsel for the proposed class in the actions commenced against Ticketmaster and TicketsNow in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. As a result of her practice in class actions, Luciana has been recognized by Lexpert as a “Top Litigator to Watch” in the 2009 US Cross Border Litigation Guide.

In addition to class actions, Luciana also maintains a loyal clientele of commercial clients, including a number of post-secondary educational institutions, to whom she provides general litigation support and employment advice. Luciana's commercial litigation experience includes acting for two of the respondents in Stahlke v. Stanfield and others, a high profile oppression petition brought by 12 minority shareholders which was dismissed with costs at the highest scale awarded to Luciana's clients.

With the adoption of the National Mobility Agreement, Luciana has been able to provide assistance to clients in other provinces, and in doing so has appeared before the Courts of Alberta and Ontario. In addition, Luciana’s multi-jurisdictional class action practice has allowed her to participate in proceedings in many other Canadian provinces.

A native of Brazil, Luciana speaks Portuguese fluently, and maintains a membership in the Brazilian Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil), Sao Paulo Chapter. She also speaks conversational French.

Areas of Practice

Class Actions
Commercial Litigation
Employment

Education

Bachelor of Civil Law (Juris Doctor), Mackenzie University (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 1993
LL.B, University of Victoria (British Columbia), 1998
Admitted to the British Columbia Bar, 1999

Professional Activities

Co-Authored by Charles M. Wright, “The Importance of "Schedule F":”, How Real Access to Justice is Driven by Notice and Claim Forms.
Co-author (with W. Branch), “If it ain't broke, don't fix it!If it is broke, fix it!”, 4th Annual Symposium on Class Actions (Toronto:Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 2007)
Co-author (with W. Branch), Which Comes First: the Chicken or the Egg? The Order and Appropriateness of Pre-Certification Motions, British Columbia CLE (February 25, 2005)
Co-author (with W. Branch), Which Comes First: the Chicken or the Egg? The Order and Appropriateness of Pre-Certification Motions (October 2004)
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Guest Instructor, Professional Legal Training Course
Past Chair, CBA Class Action Subsection (2 consecutive terms)
Member, Law Society of British Columbia
Member, Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), Sao Paulo Subsection