Luciana Brasil

Luciana Brasil is a partner 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 was 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 the corporate 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

Instructor of Law 435C - Mass Torts and Class Actions Course at UBC Law School, Winter 2011
Co-author (with Ward Branch), “Settling a Class Action (or How to Wrestle an Octopus)”, September 2010 (Vancouver)
Instructor (with Ward K. Branch) of Law 435C - Mass Torts and Class Actions Course at UBC Law School, Winter 2010
Guest Instructor in Law 435C Course at UBC Law School, Summer 2009
Co-author (with Jay Strosberg), "You Get What You Pay For: The Problem with the Canadian Appoach to Class Counsel Fees", Western Canadian Class Actions Conference (Vancouver: Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, 2009).
Co-author (with Charles M. Wright), “The Importance of "Schedule F":”, How Real Access to Justice is Driven by Notice and Claim Forms, 5th Annual Symposium on Class Actions (Toronto: Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 2008).
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 (updated paper), 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 (original paper)(October 2004)
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Guest Instructor, Professional Legal Training Course (multiple times)
Past Chair, CBA Class Action Subsection (2 consecutive terms)
Member, Law Society of British Columbia
Member, Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), Sao Paulo Subsection

Counsel Work

Cuzzetto v. Business in Motion International Corporation and others, Federal Court of Canada, Docket T-696-10 (November 10, 2011 - Vancouver)(certification of class action alleging the operation of an unlawful pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme).
Private Career Training Institutions Agency v. Vancouver Career College (Burnaby) Inc., 2010 BCSC 765, affirmed 2011 BCCA 69 (successful defence at trial and appellate levels of an injunction on the basis that bidding on competitors' trade names for the purposes of Google Adwords and other online marketing programs is not "misleading" - a matter of first impression in Canada);
Stahlke v. Stanfield, 2010 BCSC 142, affirmed 2010 BCCA 603 (successful defence at trial and appellate levels of oppression proceedings commenced by 12 shareholders of the respondent companies, with costs at the highest scale awarded to the respondents);
Main v. Cabdury Schweppes plc, 2010 BCSC 816, affirmed 2011 BCCA 128 (successful application in price fixing class action to approve a partial settlement reached with two of the defendants involving a contribution of in excess of $5 million);
Joel v. Menu Foods Genpar Limited, unreported (November 3, 2008) S.C.B.C. Vancouver Registry No. S072079 (successful application to approve a settlement in excess of $24 million in a class action; application was brought concurrently before the courts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and P.E.I. by way of video-conferencing);
Joel v. Menu Foods Genpar Limited, unreported (June 23, 2008) S.C.B.C. Vancouver Registry No. S072079 (successful application to certify class action; application was brought concurrently before the courts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and P.E.I. by way of video-conferencing);
Joel v. Menu Foods Genpar Limited, 2007 BCSC 1248 (successful defence of an application to have a motion for certification heard prior to the resolution of carriage issues in two competing class actions relating to contamination of pet food);
Representing the interests of private career training institutions in the preparation and negotiation of employment and student agreements, and in various employment, human rights and civil disputes before the Courts, Human Rights or Employment Standards Tribunals of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba; and
Acting as local counsel for international and extra-provincial law firms who require local representation for their clients.