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Joseph Saulnier

Joe Saulnier has a wide range of experience – from defending murder and sexual assault, to securities investigations and regulatory work, driving offences and prohibitions, extraditions and appeals. In all cases Joe represents his clients with a focus on results. A client’s main concern might be defending the charge at all costs, working out the best deal, avoiding publicity or keeping a job. Joe’s approach is to always focus on what the client wants and work to achieve what is in the client’s best interests.

Joe has represented clients at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada; in regulatory proceedings before the BC and Alberta Securities Commission, FICOM (now the BC Financial Services Authority), and other regulatory and administrative tribunals. Frequently, Joe advises clients during the investigatory stage, before charges have been laid. He is occasionally retained by the Crown to prosecute serious crimes throughout BC.

Joe is a former adjudicator at the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (now RoadSafetyBC) and has unique knowledge of the training and decision-making processes involved in driving prohibition reviews, including for IRPs and ADPs.

Joe studied law at the University of Victoria, including a term at the University of Utrecht Faculty of Law in The Netherlands. He has a B.A. from the University of British Columbia.

Joe volunteers regularly. He is currently on a roster of mentors with the Law Society of BC, helping lawyers needing supervision as a result of a regulatory matter. He is a past-chair of the Vancouver Criminal Justice Subsection of the Canadian Bar Association (BC), past-president of the Advocates Club, and former member of the Advisory Committee to the BC Judicial Council, which helps to select Provincial Court judges. Outside of the law, Joe sits on the board of a UBC student organization and even tries to coach his children’s sports teams.

Prior to joining the firm, Joe clerked at the British Columbia Supreme Court, worked as an associate at a large full-service law firm in Vancouver, and then was a member of the defence team on the Robert Pickton multiple murder trial, for which the team received the BC Trial Lawyers Association President’s Award for outstanding counsel work. Recently Joe was lead defence counsel for the high-profile jury trial of Aydin Coban, who was charged with offences against Amanda Todd.

Joe Saulnier has a wide range of experience – from defending murder and sexual assault, to securities investigations and regulatory work, driving offences and prohibitions, extraditions and appeals. In all cases Joe represents his clients with a focus on results. A client’s main concern might be defending the charge at all costs, working out the best deal, avoiding publicity or keeping a job. Joe’s approach is to always focus on what the client wants and work to achieve what is in the client’s best interests.

Joe has represented clients at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada; in regulatory proceedings before the BC and Alberta Securities Commission, FICOM (now the BC Financial Services Authority), and other regulatory and administrative tribunals. Frequently, Joe advises clients during the investigatory stage, before charges have been laid. He is occasionally retained by the Crown to prosecute serious crimes throughout BC.

Joe is a former adjudicator at the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (now RoadSafetyBC) and has unique knowledge of the training and decision-making processes involved in driving prohibition reviews, including for IRPs and ADPs.

Joe studied law at the University of Victoria, including a term at the University of Utrecht Faculty of Law in The Netherlands. He has a B.A. from the University of Victoria.

Joe serves on the Advisory Committee to the British Columbia Judicial Council. He was a member and then president of the Advocates Club, and likewise served as board member and chair of the Vancouver Criminal Justice Subsection of the Canadian Bar Association (BC).

Prior to joining the firm, Joe clerked at the British Columbia Supreme Court, worked as an associate at a large full-service law firm in Vancouver, and then was a member of the defence team on the Robert Pickton multiple murder trial, for which the team received the BC Trial Lawyers Association President’s Award for outstanding counsel work. Recently Joe was lead defence counsel for the high-profile jury trial of Aydin Coban, who was charged with offences against Amanda Todd.

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About us

Martland & Saulnier is a leading Vancouver criminal law firm. We have been recognized by Canadian Lawyer magazine as one of the top criminal law boutiques in Canada for 2022-2023. We help people from every walk of life, with all types of criminal cases.

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