Joseph J. Arvay, Q.C. holds law degrees from the University of Western Ontario Law School and Harvard Law School. He spent five years as an assistant then associate professor at the University of Windsor Law School before relocating to British Columbia in 1981 where he assumed the position of senior counsel and later general counsel for the British Columbia Ministry of the Attorney General. Mr. Arvay has a busy civil litigation practice but with an emphasis on constitutional and administrative law matters. He has been involved in many constitutional cases of importance in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada. Mr. Arvay has been involved in a number of aboriginal-rights litigation cases and is also counsel on medical malpractice cases, class actions, commercial litigation and defamation.
In 2000 Joseph Arvay was the recipient of the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award and described by Madam Justice Michèle Rivet, President, (Canadian Section) International Commission of Jurists as “one of Canada's most tireless civil rights and human rights lawyers [who] has made a exceptional commitment to human rights in this country.” He also received the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, "Reg Robson 2005 Award" on March 31, 2005 for his long-standing work in the area of civil liberties.
Arvay Finlay distinguished itself in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2005 where Joseph Arvay was "The Most Frequently Recommended Practitioner" in the area of Public Law Litigation in both Vancouver and Victoria. Mr. Arvay was, as well, identified as "Consistently Recommended As A Leading Practitioner in British Columbia" in the areas of Aboriginal Law, Class Action Litigation and Corporate/Commercial Litigation. Joseph Arvay has been named as one of the top 100 Best lawyers in Canada in a publication of the same name for the last three years.
In 2009 Joseph Arvay was awarded the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia Bar Award for his devotion to his clients, his high level of professional commitment and success regarding the rights and liberties of individuals.
Contact Joseph J. Arvay
Cell: (604) 505-1728
Areas of Practice:
