Biography
My practice as a lawyer focuses exclusively on representing plaintiffs in two distinct areas: (i) class actions and (ii) sexual misconduct claims, including civil sexual assault. I am drawn to both areas because of a common theme: access to justice.
I am a fourth-generation Japanese-Canadian with mixed Irish heritage, born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both of my parents are visual artists. Growing up, I witnessed their boundless dedication to storytelling through painting and filmmaking: telling, for example, the stories of draft dodgers, of Japanese-Canadian families interned during World War II, and of farmers in southern Alberta, including my grandparents, whose livelihoods were lost to bank foreclosure.
I believe that law, much like the visual arts, can help individuals and groups be seen and heard — to get histories and voices out into the public realm when those histories and voices might otherwise be lost or missed. Doing this can help promote accountability, fair outcomes and, where needed, healing.
As a lawyer, I am driven by the belief that our legal systems in Canada, despite all of their challenges and intricacies, can be powerful vehicles for positive social change. As a litigator, I also ground my practice knowing that behind every court judgment and legal brief is an important human story.
For my prior counsel work, I have been recognized as a Rising Star in British Columbia Dispute Resolution by Legal 500 (2022 and 2023), and in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada™ for Corporate and Commercial Litigation (2022, 2023 and 2024). I have experience representing clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and before the Supreme Court of Canada on matters involving leave to appeal. My legal experience also includes a judicial clerkship with two justices of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Honourable Madam Justice Pamela A. Kirkpatrick and the Honourable Justice Richard B.T. Goepel.
In addition to my legal practice, I am the mother of an energetic preschooler, a frequent contributor to continuing legal education and pro bono legal services, and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, where I enjoy teaching Advanced Contract Law to second- and third-year law students.
Education
- University of British Columbia, J.D., 2015
- University of British Columbia, B.A., 2011 (International Relations)
Results
Disclaimer: The outcome of every legal proceeding will vary according to the facts and unique circumstances in each individual case. References to successful case results where the lawyers at Murphy Battista LLP have acted for clients are not necessarily a guarantee or indicative of future results.
Angela Bespflug, Janelle O’Connor and Caitlin Ohama-Darcus, along with lawyers from Cooper Regel, were successful in obtaining an order for certification in this class action against Canada on behalf of Indigenous persons who allege that, at any time between May 14, 1953 and the present, they were physically or sexually assaulted by members of the RCMP during arrest, detainment, or while being held in custody, and who were alive as of July 20, 2018.
Read the full reasons for judgment: Meguinis-Martin v. His Majesty the King, 2023 FC 771.
For more information about this class action please visit: RCMP Indigenous Racism and Assault Class Action.
In the News
Caitlin Ohama-Darcus to speak at TLABC on “The Responsible Use of Counterclaims for Defamation and Abuse of Process,” May 11, 2023
April 19, 2023
Caitlin Ohama-Darcus will join other experienced litigators at the day long TLABC seminar “Under Pressure: Out-of-the-Box Litigation Tactics and Their Ethical Limits,” on May 11, 2023. Caitlin will be sharing her knowledge and expertise on the responsible use of counterclaims for defamation and abuse of process. Early bird rate ends on…
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Publications and Presentations
- Co-author of the Civil Appeal Handbook, published by CLEBC
- Co-Author of Mineral Tenure Act case confirms narrowness and need for clarity on intervener applications, Lexpert, November 2022
- Co-Author of Adding Some Curb Appeal: The New Court of Appeal Act and Proposed Court of Appeal Rules, The Advocate, September 2021
- Co-Author of Order and Chaos: A Practical Guide to Some Vexing Points of Appeal Procedure, The Verdict, Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia, October 2016
- Co-Author of Limitation Period Issues Determined by Summary Trial, The Advocate, November 2014