Vancouver is fast becoming an international city, drawing people from all over the world. Years ago, Lauren moved here from China, where she was born, raised and educated. Today, she is one of just a few English-fluent and native-Chinese litigators practicing within a major law firm in Vancouver.
Her cross-cultural background allows her to assist a wide range of clients across a variety of demographics as Vancouver grows more each day into a global hub.
Work Highlights
- Obtained a worldwide Mareva Injunction of $20.5 million on behalf of a creditor in a cross-border dispute, protecting the creditor’s interest in the debtor’s assets in Canada.
- Successfully defended a foreign judgment that contains penalty rate that is in contravention of the criminal rate of interest under the Criminal Code of Canada and obtained an order for interest payable at 60% per annum, the maximum allowed under the Canadian law, which turned a $5 million foreign judgment into a $22 million Canadian judgment, and successfully defended the appeal of the said order, including leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada (Wei v. Mei, 2018 BCSC 157; Wei v. Mei, 2018 BCSC 1057; Wei v. Li, 2019 BCCA 114; ACIC | Canadian Update: Wei vs. Lei BCCA 114; Legaldaily)
- Conducted harassment and discrimination investigation that involve complainants whose first language is Chinese and made post-investigation recommendations for higher learning institutions
After her first university degree in China, Lauren worked for the government of a major tourist city in mainland China. She then gained extensive business experience by owning and operating a private company in Shanghai. Given this cross-disciplinary experience between business and law, Lauren has a unique understanding of our clients’ perspectives and concerns, and how to best meet their needs.
Services
Estate & Trust Litigation
| Represent parties in multi-jurisdictional estate litigation involving jurisdictional and choice of law dispute | Represent parties in challenging or defending the validity of Wills |
| Represent parties in pursuing or defending Wills variation claims | Represent trustees or beneficiaries in claims relating to trusts |
| Represent parties in committeeship applications | Represent executors or beneficiaries in accounting proceedings |
| Represent parties in probate actions |
Estate Planning and Estate Administration
| Assist financial advisors with the estate planning of their high net worth clients from China | Advise executors on estate administration and particularly administration involving multi-jurisdictional elements |
General Litigation and Asset Recovery
| Represent parties in enforcing foreign judgment or defending the enforcement of foreign judgement in Canada | Represent parties in asset tracing, freezing injunction and recovery |
| Represent parties in any contractual dispute and general litigation |
Strata Property
| Represent strata corporations in Supreme Court proceedings and administrative tribunal proceedings regarding diverse condominium disputes | Assist strata corporations with bylaw review, resolution drafting, and provide opinions on diverse condominium issues and interpretation of the Strata Property Act |
Lauren takes a proactive and empathetic approach to resolving issues. She is a tenacious court advocate when litigation serves our clients’ best interest, and she has successfully litigated in all levels of court, including successfully defending Supreme Court of Canada leave applications. Lauren’s cases such as Wei v. Mei have been studied and analyzed in the United States, Canada and China for its precedent setting effect. In the meantime, Lauren has a deep understanding and appreciation of the emotions and stress involved in litigation. As such, when dealing with the very human issues of wills and estates, she works proactively to mitigate clients’ distress while also representing them relentlessly.
With Lauren’s cross-cultural background, her outstanding skillset, her expertise in jurisdictional and choice of law dispute, and her international connections, Lauren is sought out to resolve disputes involving international elements. These include cases involving competing jurisdictions of countries, potential conflicts between the laws of different countries, and enforcing or defending the enforcement of foreign judgments in Canada. Lauren is often involved in the strategic planning at the onset of a dispute to place our clients in the most advantageous position both for settlement negotiation or litigation, and work collaboratively with legal counsel from other jurisdictions.
Because of Lauren’s litigation, language and cross-cultural skills, she has been called upon to conduct harassment and discrimination investigation that involve complainants whose first language is not English, and make post-investigation recommendations to the institutions.
In addition to her litigation practice, Lauren also assists clients with their estate planning. Her litigation perspective and experience allows her to identify potential loopholes that may open doors for future challenges and to take proactive measures to address issues at the estate planning stage to prevent possible future litigation.
Awards & Distinctions
- Best Lawyers® in Canada, Trusts and Estates, 2022-2025
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Private Client Awards finalist for Contentious Trusts and Estates Team of the Year 2021
- Corporate/Securities Law Moot Court National Competition representing University of British Columbia, 2009, 3rd place team
