Jonathan Hodes

Jonathan Hodes practices insurance and environmental litigation. He provides practical and cost-effective advice to Canadian, American, and international clients on product liability, general liability, coverage and environmental matters.

In addition, he has completed Pepperdine University’s prestigious "Mediating the Litigated Case" program, and offers his services as a mediator in civil claims.

He holds Canadian and U.S. law degrees and a large part of his practice involves assisting American insurers involved in inter-jurisdictional and cross-border claims. He has appeared in the courts of British Columbia, Alberta, and the Nunavut and Yukon Territories, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. Jonathan has also provided opinion evidence in the Superior Court of Washington State.

Jonathan provides practical advice and counsel in a number of areas:

• Insurance: international, corporate, and Lloyd’s of London practice: acting for Canadian, U.S., and international insurers in product liability and general liability claims involving personal injury, fire, construction defect and other property losses; handling coverage issues under a variety of types of policies; acting for numerous international insurers in multi-jurisdictional disputes and cross-border liability and coverage matters; reviewing broker-drafted policy wordings; being retained to provide opinion evidence in choice of law proceedings in Washington Superior Court.
• Environmental: acting for local and international businesses, as well as property and liability insurers, in environmental matters arising out of industrial and commercial practices.
• Mediation Services: Jonathan is passionate about dispute resolution. After nearly 25 years of practice, he has a proven ability to obtain sensible and cost-effective results, even in the most difficult cases. He has earned a reputation for being reasonable and practical, and for being capable of understanding all sides of a dispute. These skills are essential in mediation, where he applies them in assisting others to resolve their disputes without the cost, stress and uncertainty of trial.

Jonathan has written frequently on insurance and environmental issues and is the author of Automobile Accidents in British Columbia: A Manual for U.S. Claims Examiners. He has contributed to the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law and Practice and Motor Vehicle Practice Manual, the Canadian Journal of Insurance Law, various insurance industry publications, CDL’s Hearsay newsletter, and DRI’s For the Defense magazine.

He is a regular speaker on insurance related issues in Canada and the United States for various organizations, including Canadian Defence Lawyers, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, the Canadian Insurance Claims Managers, Canadian Independent Adjusters and BC Insurance Brokers Associations, the Insurance Institutes of BC, Alberta and Manitoba, and the Canadian Bar Association. He has delivered seminars accredited by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner to assist U.S. claims professionals dealing with claims in British Columbia.

He is a past president of Canadian Defence Lawyers and an active member of DRI’s Product Liability Committee, as well as an elected member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and Association of Defense Trial Attorneys.