Herb Silber was the senior litigation partner with Kornfeld Mackoff Silber and is now Associate Counsel at Kornfeld LLP. Herb’s career in litigation has primarily focused on real estate and contract litigation, lease arbitration and employment law. He co-counselled one of the largest commercial fraud cases in Canadian history, which included precedent-setting decisions on directors’ liability. Herb’s securities and corporate litigation experience includes shareholder oppression actions, proxy fights, and fraud claims. His successes in this area have resulted in decisions that have influenced corporate law and damage recovery principles. Herb’s employment law practice includes appearances as counsel in many wrongful dismissal trials and appeals, negotiations for severance packages and advising on group terminations. Herb has regularly appeared in both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

Herb has increasingly taken on the role of arbitrator and mediator in commercial disputes. He is a graduate of an intense five-day mediation workshop organized by the Harvard University, School of Negotiation. Herb brings to an arbitration or mediation a strong combination of experience, knowledge and understanding of the goals to be achieved.

Herb was a member of the Board of Governors of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) from 2013 to July 31, 2018. He has been a long time member of the Audit and Finance Committee and a representative of the Board on the BCIT Foundation, which both manages assets for BCIT and raises private donations. In 2014, on the recommendation of the Justice Minister for the Government of British Columbia, Herb was appointed Queen’s Counsel in recognition of his distinguished legal career. From 2012 to 2018, Herb was a member of the BC Health Professions Review Board, appointed by the Province of B.C. The Review Board is an Administrative Tribunal established to provide independent reviews of certain decisions of self-governing health professional colleges.

Herb has also served for many years on the boards and as an executive of a variety of non-profit organizations.

• Counsel on many Arbitration cases involving Real Estate and Contract law in particular.
• Has also been either the sole Arbitrator or part of a panel on many cases in those practice areas as well as a Mediator.
• Graduate of Harvard Negotiation Institute on Mediation.
• As a member of the Health Profession Review Board was Chair and member of a panel on both written and oral hearings,  he wrote many decisions, and participated in successful mediations.
• Admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, FCIArb.

• Rated by peers as BV by Martindale and Hubbell for many years.
• Designated Queen’s Counsel in 2014.
• Lectured at CLE program on Directors Liability.
• Edited several articles published in the Advocate and other Publications.
• A long time member of the Canadian Bar Association.
• Organized and appeared as panel participant at BCMAI Symposium on arbitration-related topics.
• Written a Blog for several years for clients and lawyers on Dispute Resolution issues.
• Organized seminars with law firms to present on benefits of arbitration.
• Written articles on Arbitration for VanIAC (formerly BCICAC) published in the “Advocate”.

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, FCIArb.

Graduate of the Harvard Negotiation Institute on Mediation

Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, LLB

University of British Columbia, BA