Overview
Fareeha Qaiser practices in the areas of insurance defense litigation, personal injury, professional negligence, construction liabilities, property and casualty claims, occupier’s liability, and subrogated claims. She represents insurance clients directly and also assists senior counsel in a range of litigation. As a litigator, she has represented insurers and individuals before both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court of British Columbia.
Fareeha counsels clients in a number of specialized litigation areas:
- Subrogation: assisting clients with property and casualty insurance subrogation claims in British Columbia.
- Insurance defence: representing insurers and self-insured entities in defending claims arising from motor vehicle accidents, disability, property damage, and other third-party liability policies.
- Professional negligence: representing architects, engineers, and other professionals with respect to claims arising from allegations of negligence.
- Occupier’s liability: representing insurers and self-insured entities in defending claims arising from slips, trips, and falls on premises.
Prior to joining Miller Thomson, Fareeha practiced law with a boutique defence litigation firm in Victoria, where she developed specialized knowledge of insurance law.
As a law student, Fareeha volunteered at Community Legal Aid and Pro Bono Students of Canada, where she provided legal assistance to individuals and local non-profit organizations, respectively.
Before attending law school, Fareeha worked at a large and diversified public Canadian communications and media company in Vancouver.
Professional achievements & leadership
- The Best Lawyers in Canada: Ones to Watch – Insurance Law, 2022
- Golden Key International Honour Society, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
- Fasken Martineau DuMoulin Prize in Real Property Transactions, University of Victoria, 2013
- South Asian Bar Association of British Columbia Scholarship, 2012
Notable matters
- Lambert v Tiwana, 2019 BCSC 1475
- CMC Engineering and Management Limited v Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc., 2018 BCSC 2457, application on admissibility of expert reports
- Martin v. Giske, and Martin v. Roth et al, oral reasons for judgment, April 10, 2017 (second IME granted)
- MacPherson v. White, 2016 BCSC 1151
Thought leadership
- "Document Production Requirements in British Columbia", Section 2 of An Introduction to Document Discovery in Canada, co-authored with Jonathan Hodes (presented by Jonathan Hodes at DRI Product Liability Conference, 2017)
- "Premise Liability in British Columbia: What Out-of-Province Operators Need to Know", co-authored with Jonathan Hodes (presented by Jonathan Hodes at in-house client seminar, 2016)
- “Is It Going to Cost You More? Upcoming Amendments to British Columbia’s Costs Rules,” Lloyd's Brief: Canadian Legal Perspectives (Miller Thomson newsletter), April 7, 2016
- “Take the Long Way Home–Avoiding Damage Claims for Short-Cuts,” Risk Management Council of Canada, 2014
Corporate directorships
- Chair, Canadian Bar Association – Insurance Section (BC Branch), 2019 – 2020
- Vice-Chair, Canadian Bar Association - Insurance Section (BC Branch), 2018 - 2019
- Treasurer, Canadian Bar Association - Insurance Section (BC Branch), 2017 - 2018
- Member at Large, Canadian Bar Association - Insurance Section (BC Branch), 2016 - 2017
- Board Member, University of Victoria Alumni Association - Victoria, BC, 2013 - 2015
Professional memberships
- Canadian Bar Association
- Vancouver Bar Association
- Law Society of British Columbia
- Canadian Defence Lawyers
- DRI, "The Voice of the Defense Bar"
- Law Courts Inn
- Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association - BC Branch
Languages spoken
- English
- Urdu
- Punjabi
Bar admissions & education
- British Columbia, 2014
- J.D., University of Victoria, 2013
- B.A. (double major in psychology and political science), University of British Columbia, 2008
