Stewart McDannold Stuart is a firm of municipal law experts devoted to serving local governments in British Columbia. We established the firm in 1988 with the primary goal of providing a full range of top-calibre local government law services to our clients at a reasonable cost. Originally known as Wilson Staples McDannold & Marley, and later as Staples McDannold Stewart, our firm evolved over time into Stewart McDannold Stuart. In 2025, in recognition of the fact that our valued clients have long referred to the firm in shorthand as “SMS”, we rebranded to SMS Law.

The firm has been home over the years to pioneers of municipal law in British Columbia, including Lorena Staples, K.C., Guy McDannold, Colin Stewart, Robert Macquisten, Kathryn Stuart, and the late Galt Wilson, Q.C.

We are proud of our long history of service to municipalities, regional districts, park boards, trusts, and improvement districts, as well as to regional health authorities, provincial ministries, non-profit and government organizations, and other public bodies.

We are located in the beautiful city of Victoria, the provincial capital, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

Go to top