Aaron K. A. Peterkin is a litigation partner focused on insurance coverage and complex liability disputes, with a practice built around working through complicated problems amidst conflict and uncertainty, whether immediately after a loss or as litigation takes shape. He brings clarity to complex situations through a disciplined and methodical approach grounded in the evidence, a deep understanding of the law, and more than two decades of practical litigation experience.
Aaron has acted as lead counsel on applications, trials, and appeals before superior and appellate courts across Canada, representing insurers and insureds in coverage and litigation matters in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. His coverage litigation experience includes first-party and third-party disputes, duty to defend applications, priority disputes between insurers, and limitation issues that turn on close analysis of policy language and statutory interpretation.
He is frequently retained immediately following a serious loss to coordinate post-loss cause and origin investigations and to direct engineers and other forensic professionals where litigation is reasonably anticipated. This early involvement is aimed at establishing an accurate understanding of the loss, assessing exposure, and developing practical and effective litigation strategies at a stage when early decisions can have lasting consequences.
Aaron’s practice is shaped by a consistent emphasis on disciplined judgment and strategic decision-making, particularly where critical calls must be made before all the facts are known, and his academic teaching has focused on developing those same skills in students. He taught Insurance Law as a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law and served as an Assistant Professor (Teaching) at the Haskayne School of Business, where he designed, developed, and taught courses in business law and ethics, focused on students’ self-sufficient critical thinking and their ability to make well-founded, decisive decisions in ambiguous situations. His teaching philosophy is founded on the belief that future professionals must be able to think critically and independently, make well-founded decisions in complex and dynamic circumstances, and exercise ethical leadership with self-awareness.
Outside of law, Aaron practices complex problem-solving skills under pressure at every opportunity. He is an experienced freefly skydiver with more than 1,600 jumps from altitudes in excess of 13,000 feet AGL and is a member of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association and the United States Parachute Association. He has served as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Sport Parachuting Association and as a contributing editor and photography contributor to CanPara magazine.
