About Richard Parsons

Richard obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and his law degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.  Richard is an active member of the Law Society of British Columbia, the State Bar of California, and the Washington State Bar Association.

Richard has extensive experience litigating complicated matters before the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, appearing in trials, appeals and interlocutory matters.

Richard was the president of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia in 2014 and presently serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice (formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association).  From 2014 to 2018, Richard was chair of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia’s Legislation Committee.  The committee successfully lobbied the British Columbia Provincial Government to enact the Class Proceedings Amendment Act, amending the British Columbia Class Proceedings Act and changing British Columbia from a “national opt-in” to a “national opt-out” class proceedings jurisdiction.  This change, combined with British Columbia’s no-cost rule after certification and low evidentiary threshold to reach certification, makes BC the leading jurisdiction in Canada to prosecute common law class proceedings with national scope.

Acting in a consortium, Collette Parsons Corrin LLP recently won carriage of one of the largest data security breach class proceedings in Canadian history.  The case arises from the LifeLabs data breach in which the health information of up to 15 million Canadians was accessed by hackers.

Richard prides himself on diligence, perseverance, and teamwork in the practice of law.  During his undergraduate years Richard rowed on the University of Washington varsity crew team.  In 1995 his UW crew won a NCAA national championship.