Overview

Sharon White, K.C., is a partner at Richards Buell Sutton and advises a diverse client base in matters of strategic and economic importance to them.

Sharon is the chair of the firm’s Real Estate Development Group, co-leader of the Real Estate Practice Group, and past chair of the firm’s Securities and Corporate Finance Group.

In her law practice, Sharon advises a mix of clients, both public institutions and for profit corporations, including publicly traded companies and those who are thinking of going public. Matters include commercial real estate, business acquisitions, financing, and other business related matters. She also advises commercial clients on a variety of special projects undertaken by them. These projects have involved a number of parties in unique collaborations, each with their own unique challenges. Sharon is readily available and accessible to her clients to help them identify and manage their risks and negotiate and structure their transactions to a successful conclusion. Given her broad range of experience, she is able to bring a strategic and innovative approach, and provide targeted tactics and solutions, to assist clients in achieving their goals and objectives.

Her practice areas involve a broad range of real estate and commercial matters. Her work focuses on the creation of sustainable neighbourhoods and communities: from acquisitions, structuring, long term leasing, financing and development of major multi-use development projects. Real estate projects include 99 year ground leases, strata properties, strata leaseholds, hotels, office and institutional uses.

Sharon is the past chair of the Securities Section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and also a former member of the Securities Advisory Council of the B.C. Securities Commission. She is a former director of Partnerships B.C., a company owned by the Province of B.C. which is responsible for bringing together ministries, agencies and the private sector to develop projects through public private partnerships. Sharon was also a former director of Farm Credit Canada, a federal Crown Corporation with assets under management in excess of $28 billion.

Sharon was named a King’s Counsel in 2011. Under the King’s Counsel Act, the appointment is made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by letters patent under the Great Seal for those members of the Bar of British Columbia “learned in the law for the Province of British Columbia”.

She is also currently ranked as one of the top real estate lawyers in B.C. by Chambers and Partners, an international authority on global legal rankings which has been referred to as “one of the legal industry’s most prestigious rankings” by The National Law Review.

Sharon has been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the area of Real Estate Law since 2018.

In 2014, she was named to the Power 50 list of the most influential figures in Vancouver published by Vancouver Magazine. She was also selected to the Worldwide Who’s Who for Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs in 2014 and named a Top Female Executive, Professional and Entrepreneur. In 2015, Sharon was named as one of The Most Influential Women in British Columbia by B.C. Business Magazine.

Sharon provides legal services through Sharon E. White Law Corporation.

Practice Areas

• Banking/Finance
• Securities
• Commercial Law
• Information Technology Law

Bar Information

Called to the bar: 1981 (BC); 2000 (BM)