Find Lawyers.
|
|
Noreen Collins grew up in Ireland and attended law school at University College Cork, where she graduated with an honours law degree in 1978. She then worked for a prominent law firm before coming to Canada in 1981. She discovered that she had to be a Canadian citizen to practice law so she worked as a legal researcher and then articled with the firm now known as Faskin Martineau and she was called to the B.C. Bar in 1984.
Along the way she developed an interest in personal injury practice as it gave her an opportunity to work in a very people oriented environment. She worked for over a year on the Insurance side of the practice but realized she preferred to work for injured victims rather than against them. She worked at Simpson and Company for 9 years where she gained extensive experience handling a large volume of personal injury cases, including many multimillion dollar cases where people had suffered severe injuries, especially spinal cord and brain injury cases.
In 1995 she started her own practice with law partner, Leo Cullen. Collins and Cullen is now about to enter its 18th year as a well-known boutique personal injury firm. We have kept the firm small in order to maintain the personal relationship we have with our clients, many of whom we have acted for several times, throughout the years.
She appeared at all levels of court from the B.C. Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal and she also went to the Supreme Court of Canada on the landmark case of "Tolofsen v Jensen" where the court decided which law to apply to an accident in Saskatchewan when the parties involved were from different jurisdictions. This issue frequently arises with respect to accidents in B.C. involving people from other jurisdictions and also accidents in other parts of Canada and the U. S. involving people from B.C.
She is also experienced in the mediation process and has attended numerous mediations on a broad range of cases. She likes the mediation process because the client is directly involved in the process as an active participant and is able to observe all aspects of the negotiation process. The vast majority of cases she has attended mediations on have settled.
She also brings more than 25 years of experience in settling cases to the negotiation table. Most clients want to settle their cases and she has the experience to know what is required in order to get the best possible settlement, which she puts to full use for her clients.
She uses a wide variety of specialists to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries for her clients, as well as the consideration of vocational options where clients are unable to return to their original occupations. She also uses various specialists to determine what level of ongoing care is required, especially in cases involving serious injuries, in order that clients can continue to live with success and dignity.
She is actively involved in the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. and had the privilege to serve as President in 1999-2000. She has been a frequent speaker at T.L.A.B.C. and C.L E. seminars. She is also a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and frequently attends their seminars. She also volunteers for the Access Pro Bono clinics where she provides free legal services for underprivileged people in a wide variety of matters since 2005.
She likes to hike, bike, ski, read and travel in her spare time and above all likes to spend time with her husband and daughter.
| Woodbury Law Lawyer |
