David Miller, Q.C.

Held in the highest regard.

Highly respected by his clients and peers, David is often ranked by his peers as a leading Canadian lawyer. As a result, in addition to an active practice, he often writes about and speaks at conferences on matters relating to the fields of construction, personal injury, insurance and media law.

Areas of practice:

• Litigation
• Insurance
• Construction Law
• Directors & Officers Liability
• Litigation – Commercial Insurance
• Litigation – Corporate-Commercial
• Personal Injury
• Professional Liability

Professional Recognition

• Queen’s Counsel 1991
• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, 1999
• Who’s Who in Litigation, LEXPERT, July/August 2002
• The Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Lee Samis Award of Excellence, Canadian Defence Lawyers, 2003
• LEXPERT Guide to the Leading 100 Canada/US Cross-Border Litigators in Canada, 2005
• LEXPERT / American Lawyer Media’s Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, 2006, 2007 & 2009
• Best Lawyers in Canada Directory (Bet-the-Company Litigation, Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Law), 2006, 2008-2010
• LEXPERT Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers in Canada, 2009

Advocacy

David Miller has conducted a large and broad ranging litigation practice with an emphasis on commercial litigation, insurance litigation, and tort and personal injury litigation.  He has acted as counsel in some of the largest, most complex and lengthy litigation in the Province.
His advocacy experience includes representation of clients before;

• all levels of Courts in Nova Scotia including Provincial, Family and Small Claims Courts, County Court and Supreme Court in all 18 counties of Nova Scotia, the Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada.
• private arbitrations, including the successful conduct of an arbitration on behalf of a Nova Scotia corporation before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, Peoples’ Republic of China, Beijing.
• administrative tribunals including Assessment Appeal Courts in all Assessment Regions of Nova Scotia, the Municipal Board, the Public Utilities Board, the Planning Appeal Board, the Labour Standards Tribunal, the Utilities and Review Board and the Tax Court of Canada and;
• Professional Discipline bodies.

Mr. Miller also has extensive experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution, particularly mediation.

Other Professional Activities 

Mr. Miller has sat as Boards of Inquiry under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act on several occasions.

He has also acted as an expert witness on Nova Scotia law and practice.

Teaching

Mr. Miller has taught as follows:

• Part-Time Lecturer in Civil Trial Practice, Dalhousie Law School
• Lecturer, Nova Scotia Barristers Society Bar Admission Course
• Instructor, Fire Investigation, Level III, Canadian Fire School

BAR ADMISSION(S)

Nova Scotia, 1973

LAW SOCIETY(IES)

Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

EDUCATION

Dalhousie University, LL.B., 1973
University of Waterloo, B.A., 1970

QUEEN'S COUNSEL

1991

MEMBERSHIPS

• Member, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
• Member, Lunenburg County Barristers' Association
• Member, Canadian Bar Association
• Member, Canadian Defence Lawyers Association
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers

ACTIVITIES

• Faculty Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, University of Moncton

LANGUAGE(S)

English

MARTINDALE-HUBBELL RATINGS

AV

EXTERNAL RATINGS

• Best Lawyers' 2012 Halifax Corporate and Commercial Litigation Lawyer of the Year
• Best Lawyers: Best-the-Company Litigation, 2006, 2008-2012
• Best Lawyers: Corporate and Commercial Litigation, 2006, 2008-2012
• Best Lawyers: Insurance Law, 2006, 2008-2012
• Best Lawyers: Personal Injury Litigation, 2006, 2008-2012
• Best Lawyers: Product Liability Law, 2009-2012
• Benchmark Canada, local litigation star (Commercial Litigation, Insurance, Personal Injury)

Presentations

David Miller has participated in numerous panels for continuing legal education programs for the practising bar and outside organizations including the insurance industry, fire investigators and other professional groups. He has authored and presented numerous papers on litigation-related matters for the Continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia, Canadian Bar Association, and the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.  He has participated in numerous presentations on diverse subject areas including:

• Presentation of paper “Do Civil Juries Advance Justice” at the Canadian Defence Lawyers annual Conference in Toronto in June
• Psychological Damages in Personal Injury Claims
• The Brain Injured Plaintiff
• Developing Areas of University Liability
• Controlling Insurance Agents’ Liability Claims
• The Arson Defence in Civil Actions and The Investigation of the Claim
• Controlling Slip and Fall Claims in Supermarkets
• The Arson Defence in Civil Actions
• Update on Duty of Care
• The Challenge of the 90's in the Insurance Industry
• Directors’ and Officers’ Liability in the University Context
• The Appraiser as Expert Witness
• Rehabilitation and Litigation:  Role of the Expert
• Current State of Municipal Liability Law Development
• The Comprehensive General Liability Policy
• The Standard Automobile Insurance Policy, Legal Framework, National Judicial Institute,
• Prince Edward Island Judges’ Education Seminar
• Punitive Damages in Insurance Litigation, Canadian Defence Lawyers, Atlantic Region Conference
• Legal Ethics, the American College of Trial Lawyers, Canadian Code of Trial Conduct, Dalhousie Law School
• Excellence In Advocacy, Demonstrative Evidence, Canadian Bar Association, Nova Scotia Branch
• Evidence in Bad Faith Litigation, Canadian Defence Lawyers Conference, Toronto, Ontario
• Do Juries Still Matter? Canadian Defence Lawyers Conference Toronto, Ontario
• Cross Examination
• Demonstrative Evidence
• Expert Evidence
• Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Advocacy Programme