Derek McManus, MA (Econ), LlB., has been practising law since 1975, first in Alberta, and since 1981 in Salmon Arm.

Derek has been in practice longer than all other lawyers in Salmon Arm who concentrate all of their legal expertise, experience and time on non-court legal matters.

He is married with two boys. Derek has numerous interests in addition to law.

Nina Couch is Derek's Legal Assistant. Nina has worked in law since 2004, and has a broad range of legal experience. Prior to her career in law, Nina worked in library administration.

We strive for three characteristics in our practice.

First, we are friendly. We know that coming to a law office can often be intimidating, and that using lawyers is often in a stressful or unhappy situation. Without diminishing our empathy for that, we strive to make your time with us as friendly and enjoyable as possible.

Second, we make the legal process understandable. We work very hard to explain everything in a non-legal language, and will not allow you to be uninformed or confused.

Third, we are efficient. We know that using the legal system is expensive, and we do everything we can to minimize the cost. This is one of the reasons, for example, that we produce and distribute, free of charge, a series of reports on Common Legal Questions, and why we encourage the use of Flat Rate Legal Plans.

Our practice covers all areas of business and personal affairs. This includes such things as the following:

Companies

Societies

Wills

Incompetency matters such as Powers of Attorney and court applications to help with someone's personal or financial affairs

Conveyances and Mortgages

Real estate development

Buying and selling businesses

General commercial matters such as Leases and Contracts of all kinds

Assisting with problems of a personal or business nature that if not settled would lead to some kind of litigation.