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Thomas Mediations

David  L. Thomas

 

Barrister & Solicitor with a focus on mediation for human rights complaints and business disputes.

David L. Thomas - Experienced Mediator

Experienced Mediator

I work with parties to develop a meaningful, confidential and cost-effective resolution to their disputes. I help them avoid expensive, protracted litigation with potential for exposure and embarrassment. My aim is to assist people in making good choices with outcomes that will bring closure and peace of mind.

David L. Thomas

David Thomas - Chair - Canadian Human Rights Tribunal

Senate Hearings
Parliament of Canada

When conflict arises, different people react to it in different ways. Some of the reaction is driven by emotion and personality type. For some, the reaction is driven by pure business interest. However, for most people, conflict is uncomfortable. In my experience, the longer it takes parties to reach closure, the more the potential for worsening outcomes arises.

Engaging an experienced, balanced and neutral mediator can help people bring closure to their disputes and set them back on course to the fulfillment of their personal and business goals. The key for the mediator is searching for the shared values and common ground while expressing empathy and understanding to differing points of view.

As a trained mediator with a varied professional background, I bring a unique level of diversity and understanding to help parties resolve their disputes without litigation.

As the Chairperson of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Ottawa, I assigned every complaint that came to the Tribunal during my seven-year term. I reserved many of the most complex cases for myself, travelling to all 10 provinces to conduct mediations and resolve disputes before they moved further along the lengthy adjudication path. Over the course of a decade with the CHRT, I had a strong record of success at mediation. I attribute this success to a varied career, starting as a business lawyer at a large law firm over 30 years ago. I then ran my own practice with work that took me all around the world. I have started businesses and been engaged in civil society in a variety of roles.

I work with parties to develop a meaningful, confidential and cost-effective resolution to their disputes. I help them avoid expensive, protracted litigation with potential for exposure and embarrassment. My aim is to assist people in making good choices with outcomes that will bring closure and peace of mind.

I am currently residing in the Greater Vancouver area and working as a contract mediator for the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. I am available for discreet, private mediations in-person, by videoconference or telephone. I am also available to travel to other cities in Canada to conduct mediations face-to-face.

Feel free to send an email or call with any questions. I am here to help.

David Thomas - Chair - Canadian Human Rights Tribunal - speaking in Orillia

Experience You Can Trust

Highlights of David’s career and qualifications:

  • Chairperson / Member, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Ottawa 2013-2023
  • Called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1989
  • Articling Student, Associate and Junior Partner at Bull, Housser & Tupper (now Norton Rose Fulbright – Vancouver) 1987-1994
  • Sole Practitioner Lawyer – immigration, business, human rights 1994-2014
  • University of Windsor Law School Executive Certificate in Conflict Management Stitt Feld Handy (Toronto) (2015-2018) Mediation Training & Certification:
          o  SFH Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop
          o  SFH Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop
          o  SFH Applied Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop
          o  SFH Dealing with Difficult People Workshop
          o  SFH Negotiation Course
          o  SFH Difficult Conversations Course
  • Contract Mediator for the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal 2022-present
  • Mediated high-level policy amendments for national government organizations
  • Mediated numerous disputes for national airlines, banks, railways and telecommunication companies as well as smaller private companies
  • Mediated numerous disputes for national government-related agencies, such Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and federal government departments
  • Experienced mediator in various formats, including in-person, telephone, multi-day and virtual videoconference sessions
  • Graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School & the American College of Switzerland
  • Founder & Director of Dundarave Mortgage Investment Corporation since 2008
  • Founder of Charity serving orphans in North Korea
  • Director of the Canada Korea Society (Ottawa) and past President of the Canada-Korea Business Association (Vancouver)
  • Mentor to students and Big Brother through Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver in addition to numerous other volunteer positions in the community
  • Tribunal Vice-Chair and Part-Time Adjudicator for the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants 2022- present
  • Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
  • Member of the Canadian Bar Association

Thomas Mediations

David L. Thomas, Barrister & Solicitor
1555-1500 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC, V6G 2Z6

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