Mike is the founder of Lids4Kids, a non-profit organization that connects Nova Scotia youth with high-quality bicycle helmets. He is the legal representative of the Nova Scotia Health Authority`s Research Ethics Board and a volunteer with ReachAbility, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to justice, equality and human rights for people with disabilities. Mike also served as legal counsel for the Nova Scotia Restorative Inquiry into the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children and systemic racism issues in the province. He is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the John Howard Society. March v. Hyndman, 2010 NSCA 100 – represented the victim of medical malpractice on appeal against a jury verdict. Successfully argued for the Court of Appeal`s rare overturning of a jury verdict based on errors made by the trial judge in the jury indictment. Mike has served as Chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association and currently sits on the Association`s Education Committee. He has lectured at the Nova Scotia Bar Admission Course and has been invited to speak at numerous conferences in Canada and the United States. He has been featured in national publications and quoted in national media such as The Globe and Mail and CBC. Elwin v. Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children, 2013 NSSC 411 – represents hundreds of survivors of childhood sexual abuse at the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children.
They successfully argued for certification of their claims as a class action lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. In recent years, he has been recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada`s Personal Injury Litigation number. He was honoured to be named Atlantic Canada`s 2022 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, a peer-reviewed publication. Mike is also a part-time professor at Dalhousie University`s Schulich School of Law, where he teaches class action law and procedures. Because of his reputation as a passionate lawyer, Mike regularly receives referrals from other lawyers and works with other lawyers on assault and medical malpractice cases, as well as numerous class action lawsuits. Mike has successfully helped hundreds of victims of sexual assault and abuse. He has had the great honour of promoting victims` rights and access to justice in a number of precedents. Barton v. Sobeys Group Inc., 2009 NSSC 75 – successfully represented an injured victim in Nova Scotia`s first civilian jury trial, where jurors could be challenged on just cause due to the possibility of racial bias. "I was hit by a car and it left me in bad shape.
I didn`t want to have a lawyer to help me because I had other health issues and I didn`t want to make a big deal out of it. Mike explained to me what was relevant and what was not. He did all the work with insurance companies and lawyers and made the experience enjoyable. It was great to meet him personally. Highly recommended. King & Dawson v. Government of Prince Edward Island, 2020 PECA 13 – successfully advocated for the appeal of class action certification in Prince Edward Island`s first certified class action lawsuit, while representing a group of Prince Edward Island residents with developmental disabilities due to their exclusion from a state disability assistance program. Mike is a founding partner of Valent Legal. His entire career has been dedicated to representing victims of serious injury, sexual abuse, medical negligence, and corporate and pharmaceutical injustice. Over the past decade, he has earned a reputation as a tireless advocate for victims and a strong advocate for access to justice.
In 2015, he was a finalist for Public Justice`s North American Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. From 2017 to 2022, Mike has consistently been listed in Lexpert`s repertoire as Canada`s leading lawyer in his area of practice. Morrison (Succession of) v. Attorney General (Nova Scotia), 2011 NSSC 479 – represented hundreds of nursing home residents claiming illegal nursing home fees. Successfully acted as class counsel in the first controversial class action lawsuit in Nova Scotia history. Gay et al. v. RHA7, 2014 NBCA – represented hundreds of victims of hospital and medical negligence to gain access to the courts in a class action lawsuit. The case was successfully heard by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal and is the first certified class action in New Brunswick history. It is also the first time in Canada that an alleged medical malpractice lawsuit has been certified as a class action.