Articles & Publications Rose Keith, KC authors quarterly Mediation Moment Column for Spring 2024 Edition of The Verdict March 25, 2024 Rose Keith, KC*
*Rose Keith Law Corporation
Partner
Rose is fueled by her inherent motivation to solve problems.
Biography
With over thirty years of experience, Rose brings sound judgment and a well-rounded perspective to her diverse practice. The guiding principle for Rose is finding the right legal solution for her clients and in doing so nothing is more important than being respectful, compassionate and responsive. She is the chair of our personal injury group and an integral member of our workplace law group.
In her workplace law practice, Rose has extensive experience advising both employers and employees on employment related matters including wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and human rights. Her practice has included workplace investigations and development of comprehensive workplace policies including creation and implementation of bullying and harassment policies and procedures . During her tenure, Rose’s practice has evolved, and she now routinely assists clients in complicated situations. Often involving senior level employees, including exiting CEOs, Rose has a great deal of experience advising clients regarding the various issues that arise in these types of complex circumstances.
Rose has had the opportunity to put her trial expertise to work in a variety of commercial litigation matters including wrongful dismissal claims, sexual abuse claims, real estate disputes, shareholder and partnership disputes, contractual disputes and product liability litigation. Rose has enjoyed the challenge of finding solutions for clients in these complex matters and looks forward to putting her problem-solving skills to work for clients involved in commercial litigation disputes.
Rose’s experience in personal injury litigation has been broad and has included representing clients in motor vehicle accidents, occupiers’ liability cases and a significant portion of her practice is devoted to representing clients in sexual abuse cases, either as plaintiff or as defendants. Rose’s involvement in sexual abuse cases began with representation of survivors of Indian Residential Schools and has continued with representation of clients either in an institutional or non-institutional setting.
During her thirty years of practice, she has been involved in insurance law and has represented clients in a broad variety of cases including social host liability, property damage, occupiers’ liability, and professional liability.
Throughout her years of practice, Rose has been very involved in mediations as counsel. That experience showed her the pivotal role that a mediator can play in the success of a mediation and the experience of clients in the mediation process. Her practice has provided her with the opportunity to serve a broad variety of clients and her strength lies in her ability to relate to clients with diverse backgrounds. She is a Roster member with Mediate BC and has an active and thriving mediation practice. She was an early adopter of virtual mediation and is very familiar with the technology and the process. She is also a member of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Institute of BC (ADRBC) as well as the National College of Distinguished Neutrals and speaks often on topics relating to mediation.
Rose also has a great deal of experience in Underinsured Motorist Protection (UMP) proceedings. She has acted both as counsel and arbitrator in these types of cases and is a prolific writer and speaker on this topic. She is a sought-after arbitrator in a variety of cases due to her reputation in the legal community and her broad practice experience. Rose has always enjoyed being a part of the larger legal community and has actively participated in board positions for many different organizations and associations including the Trial Lawyers of BC and the BC branch of the CBA. She is also an active volunteer with several non-legal, nonprofit organizations such as BC Lupus Society and Ovarian Cancer Canada.
An avid cyclist and tennis player, Rose is passionate about supporting women in sport and is involved in providing support for local sporting activities for her daughters, for herself and other women. This includes involvement as past chair of Cycling BC and the Hollyburn Hurricanes swim team, and her past Board of Directors role with Hollyburn Country Club
Assistance Team 
Expertise
Education
Justice Institute of BC, Separate Meetings – Pre-mediation and Caucusing, 2018
Justice Institute of BC, The Art of Reframing, 2018
Continuing Legal Education of BC, Med-Arb Training for the DR Professional, 2018
Continuing Legal Education of BC, Advanced Skills for Non-Family Mediators, 2017
Justice Institute of BC, Foundations of Collaborative Conflict Resolution, 2017
Continuing Legal Education of BC, Fundamentals of Mediation, 2016
University of Saskatchewan, J.D., 1992
University of Saskatchewan, B.A., 1989
Languages spoken
- English
Experience
Mediation & Arbitration
Rose is a Mediator on the Civil Roster of MediateBC and a member of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Institute of BC (ADRBC. She brings to her mediation and arbitration practice experience as counsel in a broad variety of legal matters, which in turn provides her with subject matter expertise to assist in the resolution of a variety of disputes.
Mediation is a process which provides the parties with the opportunity to achieve a confidential and cost-effective resolution of disputes. Arbitration is a process which provides the same opportunity, but in this case, the arbitrator has the authority to make a binding decision. Both methods provide a more flexible process than traditional court processes. Regardless of the process chosen by her clients, Rose takes a hands-on approach in assisting the parties to come to a resolution that satisfies their needs and goals. Rose actively listens and helps her clients come to a lasting agreement.
Personal Injury
Rose’s personal injury experience includes motor vehicle, bike and motorcycle accidents, slips & falls, sexual abuse claims including historical institutional claims and claims arising from attendance at Indian Residential Schools, medical malpractice, occupiers’ liability claims, and product liability claims.
She has extensive experience helping clients recover following an injury. Although her primary role is obtaining full financial recovery for the losses that a client has experienced following injury, she also assists with her client’s physical and emotional recovery by ensuring that they are receiving the care that they need and are accessing the experts that can help.
Workplace Law
Rose acts for both employers and employees helping them find solutions to workplace issues. Her focus is on providing advice in complex situations, often involving upper management and C-suite. She has experience dealing with a variety of issues including initial job offers, terminations, wrongful dismissal, navigating changes to the terms or conditions of employment, identifying human rights and employment standards issues. Her true passion in this area lies in the more complicated issues, including workplace investigations claims of sexual harassment and/or bullying. Her work in this area often involves the development of effective workplace policies and procedures.
Professional Credentials
Leadership
- Athletics 4 Kids, Past Board Member (2001 – 2005)
- BC Chapter of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Member (2022 – current)
- British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre – Mediation and UMP Panels, Panelist
- Canadian Bar Association BC ADR – Vancouver Section, Secretary (2022 – current)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Advisory to Judicial Council Committee, Past Committee Member (2010 – 2020)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Auto Insurance Committee, Past Chair (2016 – 2018)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Auto Insurance Committee, Past Member (2014 – 2016)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Government Relations Committee, Past Committee Member (2010 – 2020)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Legislation & Law Reform Committee, Committee Past Member (2010 – 2020)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Retreat Planning Committee, Member (2017 – current)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Women Lawyers Forum (WLF), Past Vice Chair and Past Executive Member (2018 – 2018)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Women’s Lawyer’s Forum (WLF), Chair (2018 – 2022)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Women’s Lawyer’s Forum (WLF), Mentor (2005 – current)
- Canadian Bar Association BC Working Group – Broken Lives, Broken Dreams Report, Member
- Canadian Bar Association National Judicial Issues Subcommittee, Member
- Civil Resolutions Tribunal, Past Part Time Member (2016 – 2018)
- CIVJI, Editorial Board Member (2013 – current)
- Cycling BC, Past Chair (2016 – 2018)
- Elizabeth Fry Social Issues Committee, Past Member
- Employment Update Column for The Verdict, Author (2019 – current)
- Harper Grey Critical Injury Group, Chair (2021 – current)
- Harper Grey Culture Club, Member (2018 – current)
- Harper Grey Enhanced Mentorship Committee, Member (2018 – current)
- Harper Grey Innovation Committee, Member (2018 – current)
- Hollyburn Country Club, Past Executive Board Member (2018 – 2021)
- Hollyburn Hurricanes Swim Team, Past Chair (2013 – 2017)
- Life in Law – LiL Advisor Committee, Co-Chair (2022 – current)
- Lupus BC, Past Board Member (2012 – 2016)
- Lupus Canada, Past Board Member (1998 – 2000)
- Mediation Moment Column for The Verdict, Author (2019 – current)
- Ovarian Cancer Canada Love Her Gala Vancouver, Past Chair (2014)
- Trial Lawyers Association of BC, Past President (2007)
- Trial Lawyers Association of BC, Past Board Member (2003-2018)
- Trial Lawyers Association BC Women’s Retreat Planning Committee, Member (2005 – 2023)
- Life In Law, Volunteer Advisor (2020 – current)
Memberships
- Admission to the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
- ADR Institute of British Columbia, Member
- American Association of Justice, Member
- Canadian Bar Association, Member
- Canadian Bar Association Alternate Dispute Resolution Section, Executive Member
- Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch Subsections, Member: Civil Litigation, Aboriginal Law, Employment Law, Insurance Law
Recognition
Recognized as a “Repeatedly Recommended” in the area of Personal Injury by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®
2024
Recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in the areas of Employee Benefits Law, Labour and Employment Law, Personal Injury Litigation by Best Lawyers® in Canada
2024
Recognized as a “Local Litigation Star” in the area of Employment Law by Benchmark Canada®
2020-2023Appointed King’s Counsel
2019Select Cases
Fetus negligence action against a physician
Determining for the first time in British Columbia whether a fetus can bring a negligence action against a physician and whether it can bring a claim for failure to obtain informed consent.
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