Derek M. Olson

About Derek

Derek M. Olson is a civil litigator whose practice centres on disputes that turn on intricate questions of law and dense evidentiary records. Derek finished third in the graduating class while working full time as a teaching assistant and researcher, and later became a named partner at a Winnipeg litigation boutique. Derek has appeared as counsel at every level of the Manitoba courts, in the Federal Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court of Canada, and has run matters in Toronto and Ottawa with counsel elsewhere in the country. Clients have ranged from insurers, banks, land developers, manufacturers and farm implement companies to family farms, livestock producers, professionals and injured individuals, with a particular interest in acting for marginalized people and groups. Derek was appointed Associate Commission Counsel, with Sherri Walsh, Q.C., to Commissioner Ted Hughes, Q.C., on the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry, which led to substantial change in Manitoba's child welfare system. Teaching and service include civil procedure at Robson Hall, an expert panellist role for the Law Society of Manitoba, editing materials for the Bar Admission Course, and membership on the Insurance Adjusters Appeal and Review Board as well as professional regulatory panels.