David W. Wu Partner

Telephone: 604.283.9361
E-mail: dwu@arvayfinlay.ca Pronouns: he/him/his Administrative Support: Kim Woytowich (604.696.9828)

David Wu has a broad civil litigation practice with a focus on public law litigation. He has a particular interest in socio-economic and environmental rights, and often litigates and advises clients on complex and novel legal issues. He has appeared in all level of courts in British Columbia, as well as courts in Alberta and Ontario, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

David’s public law experience includes:

  • Constitutional litigation, including being a part of the litigation team in La Rose, a Charter claim brought by youth across Canada against the Canadian government for its role in causing and contributing to the climate crisis

  • Administrative law, including judicial reviews in various areas such as forestry, wildlife, and privacy

  • Aboriginal law, particularly internal governance issues

  • Misfeasance claims, including being co-counsel in the Greengen litigation, which resulted in a landmark eight-figure judgment against the Province

  • Municipal law, particularly conflict of interest issues

  • Human rights and discrimination law

  • Class actions which involve constitutional claims

  • Interventions for a wide-array of public interest groups, including at the Supreme Court of Canada on significant environmental law cases

He also has a broad private law practice, and has litigated and advised clients on contract disputes, property disputes, and tort claims, including professional negligence claims.

David graduated in 2015 from the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia with a specialization in environmental and natural resource law. He clerked at the British Columbia Court of Appeal before being called to the bar in 2016.

David co-teaches “Climate Litigation Workshop” at UVic’s Faculty of Law, and is co-coach of the UVic environmental moot team. He sits on the executive of CBABC’s Constitutional/Civil Liberties subsection. He is a frequent guest speaker in law schools, CLE and other professional conferences, and the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation.

Publications

  • Author, “Big Oil Liability in Canada: Lessons from the US and The Netherlands” (2023) in the Dalhousie Law Journal

  • Co-author, "Class Actions and the Charter" (2017) presented at the 14th Annual Symposiums on Class Actions (Osgoode Professional Development)

  • Author, "Tsilhqot'in Nation as a Gateway Towards Sustainability: Applying the Inherent Limit to Crown Land" (2015) in the McGill International Journal of of Sustainable Development Law & Policy

  • Co-author, "Compelled Expression and the Charter" (2015) in the Supreme Court Law Review

  • Author, "Missing the Forest for the Trees in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford" (2015) in the Review of Constitutional Studies

  • Author, "Embedding environmental rights into section 7 of the Canadian Charter" (2014) in the National Journal of Constitutional Law

  • Co-author, "Tribunal Standing on Judicial Review" (2014) presented at the Administrative Law Conference - 2014 (CLE BC)