Arvay Finlay is particularly experienced in commercial, personal injury, product liability, constitutional, aboriginal, environmental and tax litigation as well as energy regulation and administrative law. We also assist in government relations in a wide variety of fields.

The Canadian Legal LEXPERT Directory, which rates firms based on comprehensive surveys and meetings with senior lawyers, notes that Arvay Finlay has been "repeatedly recommended to us as formidable opponents who punch well above their weight..." Each of the partners is recommended in an area of practice, including corporate-commercial and tax litigation, and environmental and aboriginal law. Arvay Finlay has also recently been featured in a L'Expert Magazine article on leading Canadian litigation "boutiques".

Since its formation in 1990, Arvay Finlay has been involved in a wide variety of matters:

• litigation respecting a failed financial institution (the Teachers Investment and Housing Cooperative) where the potential claim was approximately $200 million;
• a series of trials and appeals on behalf of Gulf Canada in which John Finlay won the largest judgment in a tax case in Canadian history;
• we have acted for National Gypsum in the first "Asbestos" lawsuit in Canada;
• we have acted for the Conflict of Interest Commissioner respecting inquiries of two Premiers of the Province;
• we have acted on behalf of the British Columbia Government in a number of very important constitutional cases including the intended closure by the federal government of the E & N Railway and the most significant aboriginal land claim case in Canada, Delgamuukw;
• we acted on behalf of other governments in Canada in a number of constitutional cases and were retained by the Ontario Government to advise on a possible challenge to NAFTA;
• we acted on behalf of the Can West Global Inc. in litigation arising from an attempted takeover of WIC;
• we acted on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association in its challenge to the B.C. Government's " Legal Services Tax";
• we acted on behalf of the Law Society of British Columbia and Legal Services Society in a number of matters respecting the scope of the freedom of information legislation in the Province;
• we act for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium in their landmark challenge to Canada Customs powers of prior restraint;
• we act for the British Columbia Securities Commission in the Bennett-Doman Insider Trading case;
• we acted for over 200 Widows in their successful challenge to the provisions of the Workers Compensation Act that denied their survivor pension upon remarriage;
• we acted for the Province of British Columbia and B.C. Commercial Fishers in the challenge to the Mifflin Plan;
• we acted for the Canadian Human Rights Commission in the Canadian Liberty Net "Telephone Hate-Line" case;
• we acted for John Dixon in his challenge to the federal government’s decision to terminate the Somalia Inquiry;
• we have acted successfully in a number of very complex medical malpractice cases on behalf of plaintiffs;
• we acted for Roger Cable in its challenge to a decision of the federal government to permit B.C. Tel to obtain a broadcasting licence;
• we acted for the Province of Manitoba in the CAP Reference;
• we acted for CUPE and the National Action Committee for the Status of Women in the " Senate Packing Reference";
• we acted for Premier Penikett in a major wrongful dismissal case involving his government;
• we acted for the British Columbia Securities Commission in the Pezim "Insider Trading Case";
• we acted for a large class of Taiwanese citizens who retained us to challenge the constitutionality of the federal government’s immigration policy;
• we acted for the British Columbia Labour Relations Board in defending its decision that it had constitutional jurisdiction over the operations of a health care facility on Indian Reserve land;
• we acted for the Nuxalk First Nation in preventing the export of its cultural property;
• we acted for the Province with respect to the Alcan/KCP litigation;
• we acted for Messrs. Egan and Nesbit in the " Same Sex Spousal Benefit" case that went to the Supreme Court of Canada;
• we are acting for Messrs. Ritchie and Gavel in their challenge to the constitutionality of the Income Tax Act insofar as it denies benefits to same sex spouses;
• we act for the Provincial NDP in the " Election Budget" case;
• we act for the Province of British Columbia in defending the constitutionality of the provisions of the Elections Act which regulate both third-party spending and opinion polling;
• we acted for the Province of British Columbia in intervening in the " Thompson Newspaper" case in the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the constitutionality of a ban on opinion polls;
• we acted in the Supreme Court of Canada for the Canadian Association of Human Rights Agencies in the " Malcolm Ross/Holocaust Denial" case;
• we acted for the Province of British Columbia in the Nanoose Bay "Experimental Test Range" case;
• we acted for the Province of British Columbia in a challenge brought by Canadian Airlines to the provincial fuel tax;
• we acted for the Cowichan Nation Tobacco Company in its challenge to the Bill C-93, The Cowichan Tribe’s Tobacco Tax Act;
• we acted for a number of teachers, students and parents in their successful challenge to the Surrey School Board’s decision to ban books with a gay-lesbian content;
• we acted for Murray Ryan in his successful challenge before the Supreme Court of Canada to the constitutionality of the provisions of the Railway Act insofar as they provided railway companies with special privileges in the area of negligence and nuisance;
• we act for the Province of British Columbia in defending a constitutional challenge to the Nisga’a Treaty;
• we acted for the Nanaimo Community Bingo Association in its successful challenge to the constitutionality of provincial gaming legislation; and
• we act for Craig Jones in his class action against the RCMP and the federal government for constitutional infringement arising from the APEC Conference.