Morgan Blakley
Principal | Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Morgan Blakley is the principal of Columbia Valley Law Corporation, which operates in Invermere as Columbia Legal and in Golden as Fairley & Blakley. He has practised law in British Columbia since 2012 and represents individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and Indigenous Nations in litigation, appeals and other complex disputes.
Morgan’s principal area of practice is civil litigation and dispute resolution. He regularly advises and represents clients in commercial and construction disputes, real-property and restrictive-covenant cases, estate litigation, administrative and judicial-review proceedings, and other disputes requiring strategic advice, negotiation or courtroom advocacy. His experience also includes criminal appeals, constitutional litigation, Indigenous-rights cases, and environmental and natural-resource matters.
Morgan has appeared as counsel in Small Claims Court, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. His reported cases include matters concerning Aboriginal title and the Crown’s duty to consult, qualifying experts, defamation, the regulation of mineral claims, public access to land and water, environmental decision-making, fisheries regulation, property and strata disputes, estates, secured lending and criminal law.
Before establishing his practice in the Columbia Valley, Morgan worked as a lawyer with Ecojustice, where he represented environmental organizations and other public-interest clients in judicial reviews and litigation involving water use, fisheries, wildlife and government decision-making. That work included challenges involving industrial water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing, federal regulation of aquaculture, and the lawfulness of provincial resource-management decisions.
Morgan has subsequently acted in significant Indigenous-rights litigation, including proceedings concerning Aboriginal title, taxation of treaty benefits, the constitutional duty to consult and the relationship between British Columbia’s mineral-tenure system and the rights of Indigenous peoples.
This breadth of experience allows Morgan to identify the legal issue at the centre of a dispute without losing sight of its practical and financial consequences. He approaches litigation strategically: determining what the client actually needs, identifying the evidence and legal principles that will decide the matter, and pursuing the most effective route to a negotiated or adjudicated result. He gives clients direct advice about risks, costs and realistic outcomes.
Morgan lives in the Columbia Valley and maintains a strong connection to the communities served by the firm. Outside the office and courtroom, he spends much of his time mountaineering, paddling, and exploring the mountains and rivers of southeastern British Columbia.