Lawyers

Our lawyers have a broad range of legal experience, described in detail below:

W. Gary Wharton

Partner

Prior to practicing law, Gary completed his Masters Degree in Marine Biology which included thesis research in the area of… more »

Peter Swanson

Partner

Peter is a founding partner of the firm with over 30 years of professional legal experience. He practices primarily in … more »

Thomas S. Hawkins

Partner

Tom is a founding partner of the firm and practices in the areas of maritime law, insurance defence and commercial… more »

David K. Jones

Partner

David practices civil and commercial litigation with an emphasis on maritime, occupational health and safety, and environmental law matters. David’s… more »

Catherine A. Hofmann

Partner

Catherine joined Bernard LLP in January 2009. Her practice focuses on the purchase and sale of businesses, vessel and other… more »

David S. Jarrett

Partner

David practices in the areas of maritime and transportation law, insurance defence, product liability and civil and commercial litigation.  He… more »

Jason Hicks

Partner

Jason practices business law, with particular expertise in contracts, transactions, and project development.  Jason has advised on, negotiated and drafted… more »

Tom F. Beasley

Associate Counsel

Tom’s practice includes representation of employers and employees in all aspects of the employment relationship with an emphasis on human… more »

Concetta Risi

Associate

Connie’s practice is civil litigation-based, with a primary focus on insurance law defence in the areas of personal injury, disability… more »

Pamela Germann

Associate

Pamela practices with our business law group.  She has experience in a diverse range of corporate and commercial matters. She… more »

Glen Krueger

Associate

Glen earned his J.D. from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and practiced for several years with a… more »

Jakub Vodsedalek

Associate

Jakub practices in the areas of general litigation, with a focus on maritime litigation and insurance defence. Jakub has been… more »

J. Harry Ormiston

Associate

Harry obtained his Juris Doctor and LLM from Bond University in Australia.  Prior to law school he attended Simon Fraser… more »

Ryan Bernard

Associate

Ryan obtained his Juris Doctor from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. Prior to law school, he obtained… more »

Peter G. Bernard, Q.C.

(Retired June 15th, 2012)

Although Peter has chosen to retire from the practice of law, he will continue to sit as a Member of … more »

Joan L. Rush

(Retired)

Joan Rush is a retired lawyer who worked with Bernard LLP for many years assisting our client insurance underwriters, P&I… more »

Associate Counsel

Elyn Underhill

Associate Counsel

Elyn has been practising law since 1985 after completing her Masters of Laws at the University of London (LSE) in… more »

Lorna A. Pawluk, Q.C.

Associate Counsel

Lorna’s practice focuses exclusively on occupational health and safety and workplace safety matters for employers. This includes any matter arising… more »