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This issue is on the best of B.C., especially in the “rest of B.C.” outside the Lower Mainland, which contrary to some points of view is not simply “beyond Hope.” We look at the development, goals and effect of the new TRU law school and learn of a distinguished TRU alumnus. We focus on a CBABC initiative, the Rural Education and Access to Lawyers initiative (REAL) and other steps to increase access to justice throughout B.C., including growth of pro bono clinics and the Public Commission on Legal Aid. We also go abroad with a CBA initiative in east Africa to strengthen access to justice.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: BarTalk | February 2011

Students Experience B.C. Through the REAL Initiative PAGE 14

ACCESS TO JUSTICE | PRO BONO IN B.C. | TRU | B.C. LAWYERS ABROAD

FEBRUARY 2011 | www.cba.org/bc

Page 2: BarTalk | February 2011

2 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

NEWSBARTALK EDITOR Deborah Carfrae

EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR Michael Welsh

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Candice Alderson

Paul Arvisais Carol Anne Finch-Noyes

Sandra Harper Nicole Holas

Beverly MacLean Gail McKay

Rose Shawlee Mark Slay

Greg Stacey

BARTALK SENIOR EDITOR Joanne R. Silver

STAFF CONTRIBUTORS

Bianca Bishop Judy Cave

Trisha Jewison Jineane Payne Jennifer Weber

The B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 10th Floor, 845 Cambie St.

Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5T3

Tel: 604-687-3404Toll-free (in B.C.): 1-888-687-3404

[email protected]

BarTalk is published six times per year by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and is available online at www.cba.org/bc.

© Copyright the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association 2011.

This publication is intended for infor-mation purposes only and the infor-mation herein should not be applied to specific fact circumstances with-out the advice of counsel.

The British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association represents more than 6,500 B.C. members and is dedicated to improving and pro-moting access to justice, reviewing legislation, initiating law reform measures and advancing and improv-ing the administration of justice.

BarTalk Publication Sales Agreement #40741008

Write UsSend your Letters to the Editor to:

Deborah Carfrae BarTalk EditorThe B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association Fax: 604-669-9601Toll-free fax: 1-877-669-9601Email: [email protected]

Note: BarTalk undertakes every effort to publish letters to the editor, subject to space and editorial discretion. Letters to the editor can also be found in BarTalk Online at www.cba.org/bc.

Cover photo: Ryan Phillips at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park in July. Ryan is currently a third year student at the University of Saskatchewan. Last year he summered in Campbell River with the firm of Tees Kiddle Spencer and he will be returning there for his articles.

Above photo: Julian Tryczynski in South Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, near Bella Coola. Julian is currently a third year student at the University of British Columbia. Last year he sum-mered in Williams Lake with the firm of Vanderburgh & Company. To read more about the CBABC REAL (Rural Education and Access to Lawyers) Initiative go to page 14.

MEET. DEBATE. VOTE.

n There’s still time to register for the CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council, February 18-20, 2011, at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix, Quebec. If you’re not a member of Council, contact CBABC Executive Director Caro-line Nevin for accreditation.

\\ For details and registration, visit www.cba.org/charlevoix2011.

NATIONAL NEWS – MEETING

CBA 2011 Mid-WInter Meeting

FEATURE

Adventurous REAL Student

Page 3: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 3

ContentsVOLUME 23 / NUMBER 1FEBRUARY 2011

Departments4 FROM THE PRESIDENT Access to Justice by Stephen McPhee

5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Greying of the Profession by Caroline Nevin

6 NOTHING OFFICIAL What’s in a Law Firm Name? by Tony Wilson

7 ON THE WEB Flash, Session and Text Cookies by Patricia Jordan

8 PRACTICE TALK A Crisis of Abundance by David J. Bilinsky

9 DAVE’S TECH TIPS

Sections 10 SECTION UPDATE Legal Research ADR – Vancouver / Family Law – Vancouver Air Law CBABC Women Lawyers Forum – Kamloops

11 SECTION CHAIR SPOTLIGHT Eric Gottardi

Features 12 THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL by Gail McKay

13 THE NEW PROPOSED FAMILY LAW ACT by Cristen Gleeson

14 ENSURING ACCESS TO JUSTICE by Michael Litchfield

15 B.C. LAWYERS ABROAD by Allan Parker, QC and Mark Benton, QC

16 BUSINESS LAW IS MOVING BEYOND VANCOUVER by Jim Mutter

17 THE RELUCTANT PATH TO UBIQUITY by Jamie Maclaren

Inside This IssueThis issue is on the best of B.C., especially in the “rest of B.C.” outside the Lower Mainland, which contrary to some points of view is not simply “beyond Hope.” We look at the development, goals and effect of the new TRU law school and learn of a distinguished TRU alumnus. We focus on a CBABC initiative, the Rural Education and Access to Lawyers initiative (REAL) and other steps to increase access to justice throughout B.C., including growth of pro bono clinics and the Public Commission on Legal Aid. We also go abroad with a CBA initiative in east Africa to strengthen access to justice.

News and Events2 CBA 2011 Mid-WInter Meeting 18 Immensely Successful 3rd Annual GREATdebate Lorianna Bennett Honoured with TRU’s 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service 19 Your Questions Answered on Privilege and Confidentiality Call for Nominations Grant Wong named by Lexpert as one of Canada’s leading lawyers under 40 20 Bill C-49 Denies Rights of Refugee Claimants Changes to Bill C-470 Welcomed Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) – Call for Volunteers 21 Legislative Update Branch & Bar Calendar Two candidates for National Second Vice-President Law Week – April 7 to 16, 2011 22 Health & Wellness TIP CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Honours Outstanding Women Lawyers CLEBC Update 25 Mediation TIP Also In This Issue23 LAW FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

24 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT &

MEMBER SERVICES

25 DISPLAY ADS

26 BAR MOVES

27 NEW MEMBERS

Page 4: BarTalk | February 2011

4 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

Stephen McPhee [email protected]

FROM THE PRESIDENTSTEPHEN MCPHEE

Access to Justice Taking up the challenge.

got serious. His remarks are avail-able on the Court of Appeal website and I encourage everyone to read them. They are a challenge – a chal-lenge to all lawyers to have the cour-age to take a long, hard look at our responsibilities to our justice system and access to justice in particular.

They say “timing is everything,” and the timing of the remarks is prescient. The Public Commission on Legal Aid is underway and we should see a report early in 2011. This past fall, we had to consider the requests of the Notaries Society to expand notaries’ services. There are well-documented delays in Provincial Court hearings because of a shortage of Provincial Court judges. This January, lawyers in Abbotsford and Chilliwack are withholding criminal duty counsel services to protest chronic under-funding of the criminal justice sys-tem. We are also familiarizing our-selves with new rules in Supreme Court – rules that were specifically introduced to make access to that court easier and cheaper.

We heard recently that the request by the Notaries Society has been deferred for con-sideration until 2012. I believe the successful lobby-ing work of our members as well as our clear cogent submissions played no small part in the govern-ment’s decision to take more time to consider the impact of the pro-posals and consider the CBABC submission that such a request should be part of an overall assess-ment of access to justice issues.

Some have remarked that this must all be a heavy burden for me in the first three months of office. I will not deny that it has been very time consuming, but I must add that it has been rewarding and a real privilege to represent our mem-bers on these important issues.

I do not expect the demands to slow down in 2011. CBABC has a leadership role to play in address-ing the challenges that face our justice system and access to justice in a comprehensive way. Not with

“more meetings” that allow the participants to feel good about the time and thought they contribute, but that do not result in change or action, but with a meaningful, practical strategy that includes all justice system stakeholders.

I have already had conversations with some of the key justice system stake-holders and believe all stakeholders – the ju-diciary, lawyers, LSBC, our CBABC, TLABC, the Ministry of the At-torney General, para-legals, notaries, com-munity advocates, law enforcement, Crown Counsel, Legal Services

Society, and other groups such as those in the Coalition for Public Legal Services need to be involved. This is not an exclusive or exhaustive list.

The Honourable Chief Justice Finch has laid down a challenge to our profession. We accept it, and challenge others to join us and examine their own roles and how they can influence, change and shape our justice system. Together we can map out a course of action and follow it; overcome the diffi-culties and demonstrate the cour-age to silence the critics.

I look forward to your continu-ing support and commitment to these endeavours in 2011.

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising, which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

At the CBABC Conference in Scottsdale in November 2010, The Honourable Chief Justice Finch was the key-note speaker at the final dinner. He is a very good speaker, and has developed comic timing and a use of humour that is always the envy of everyone in the room. However, after a light roasting of minor legal celebri-

ties – absent and present – The Honourable Chief Justice Finch

Page 5: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 5

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORCAROLINE NEVIN

their 60’s and 70’s – and this is the age group most likely operating in rural and small town community legal practices. With increased student loan debts, younger lawyers are drawn to urban practices on the (perhaps mistaken) premise that they will have more disposable income to pay off their loan more quickly. More and more senior lawyers I talk to have deferred full retirement not because of devalued savings, but because there is no-one to take their place in serving their clients and community.

Among people aged 65 and older, the Alzheimer’s Society pre-dicts one out of 11 has Alzheimer’s to one degree or another – and the risk doubles every five years after 65. That’s only one type of impair-ment; there is an increased risk of many other debilitating and fatal illnesses that manifest anytime after age 50.

This points to a significant re-sponsibility of all of us commit-ted to ensuring self-regulation of lawyers. Protection of the public

interest means that we must, as a profession, ensure competent, un-interrupted service to clients regardless of what is going on with any one particular lawyer. This is as true in the biggest law firm as it is in small town B.C.

The concept of “practitioner impairment” is a touchy one, es-pecially within a profession that traditionally honours the skills and experience of its senior mem-bers. And yet, there is a need to ensure adequate supports, alarm systems and interventions when you notice that an impairment in yourself or a colleague is affect-ing service to clients or the ad-ministration of justice. And you have an important professional responsibility to ensure that you have a “succession” or “practice continuance” plan in case you or your law partner become unable to serve clients for a period of time, or leave unexpectedly due to sudden illness or death.

This is particularly important for solo and small firm practition-ers, who make up 45 per cent of the practicing Bar. This same seg-ment generates almost twice as many complaints to the Law So-ciety as compared to their col-leagues who practice with three or

more lawyers. Succes-sion and continuance planning is essential for every practition-er, but it is absolutely critical in practices with no or few col-leagues upon whom to rely in a crisis.

Building on some great resources de-veloped by the Law

Society of British Columbia (see www.lawsociety.bc.org under Prac-tice Resources) CBA is preparing a number of Professional Develop-ment opportunities to help ensure that lawyers throughout the prov-ince get the chance to discuss these important issues. We are commit-ted to helping you gain the tools you need to prepare and protect your own practice to survive every-thing from a “time out” to deal with a treatable health issue, to a catastrophic interruption in service to your clients. We welcome your input as we develop these and other innovative PD programs.

If you practice in a larger firm, you may well notice a bit more grey hair at the table and some turnover among your firm’s leader-ship. However, if you practice in Vancouver, the lawyers you work with, both as colleagues and opposing counsel, are likely younger on average than in the rest of the province. In fact, the volume of young lawyers you see and hire may actually camouflage what’s really going on: fewer young lawyers are staying in practice and

are seeking to become the equity partners of tomorrow. That may well impact your long-term financial planning, and you should spend some time thinking about how you and your firm will strategize in response.

In smaller firms and communities around the province, the reality of an aging Bar is even more stark. The average age of lawyers everywhere is rising as the Baby Boomer bulge hits

The Greying of the Profession Professional responsibility and aging of the Bar.

Caroline Nevin [email protected]

Page 6: BarTalk | February 2011

6 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

Unfortunately, law firms aren’t taking my branding advice. Lang Michener had a good chance when they merged with Toronto’s Mc-Millan Binch in January. If they’d all been drinking with the TV tuned to “Mad Men” the night they came up with the “new” brand, they might have called themselves “Macallan” and gone head to head with the Single Malt Scotch people for misdirected Google hits and the resulting confusion. Hav-ing your law firm confused with a marquee Scotch is preferable to having it confused with a clothing line, like “Bench,” which may ex-plain why they didn’t go with the second name, “Binch.” Alas, they chose McMillan, which is neither a Scotch nor a celebrity. However, I’m told Lang Michener may for-ever be known as McMichner, which is catchy among some of its Vancouver lawyers because it an-noys the hell out of Toronto. It’s always a good thing to annoy the hell out of Toronto. I encourage it. Fortunately, it’s not too late to

put the definite article “The” in front of Mc-Millan and pretend it’s a Scotch and a law firm. The McMillan. Catchy and kitschy.

I always liked “Ogilvie Re-nault” because it sounded like a famous French car manufacturer and “Ovaltine.” But that firm will become “Norton Rose” in June and even though it has offices all over the world, all I can think of is some ship built by Henry XVIII in the 16th century. (May God Bless the Norton Rose, and all who may sail in her.)

There’s a trend away from two and three name firms to one-name firms. Boughton, Goodmans, Mc-Millian (McMichner?), Gowlings and Torys all used to be multi-named firms who dropped all the other names from their masthead. Blake Cassels and Graydon, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, Stikeman El-liott and Fasken Martineau are col-loquially called Blakes, Oslers, Stike-mans and Faskens respectively, but

I predict it’s just a matter of time before the poor sods in the second and third spots are voted off the island in the name of branding, leaving only one name; the first one. To the disappointment of all, I cannot see this ever happening to Bull Housser and Tupper. Ever.

I was consulted on a new name for a law firm in 2010, and was forced to think outside the box. I considered all those firms like Legacy, Catalyst and Quorum, which tossed out the whole idea that a law firm should be named after three dead white men. So I came

up with names that inspired confi-dence and trust; boldness and cour-age. I came up with Reliant. Enter-prise. Intrepid. Destiny. The fact that I was doing this while watching Star Trek one night and my choices were the names of Starships, cars and car rental companies proved a universal truth: The best ideas don’t always come in the shower, but the worst ones will always come while watching The Space Channel. You’ll get better ideas from watch-ing Mad Men. With drinks, of course. Martinis. Manhattans.

By the way, I act for a law firm looking for people with the last names Smirnoff, Guinness, Obama, Porsche and Mercedes.

nothingofficialTONY WILSON

What’s in a Law Firm Name? How about watching Mad Men for some inspiration?

Regular readers of this column might recall a piece I did a few years ago called “Law Firm Names in the Age of Google,” where I bragged about being a part-time branding guru and suggested naming law firms after ce-lebrities just for the increased Google hits from people looking for jailed, rehabilitating or misbehaving star-lets. Instead of finding Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or

Lindsay Lohan, they’d find your newly branded law firm instead. You could place targeted ads on the right hand column of your web page, and increase your firm’s bottom line. Or if you were lucky enough to have Fiona Apple and Peter Macin-tosh as partners, you could rename your firm after a popular product, and neither the (surviving) Beatles nor Steve Jobs could stop you from naming your firm “Apple Macintosh.”

The views expressed herein are strictly those of Tony Wilson and do not reflect the opinions of the CBABC or its members.

Page 7: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 7

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

onthewebPATRICIA JORDAN

Flash, Session and Text Cookies Are they safe?

tents and site preferences. Cookies can be encrypted for information privacy and data security purpos-es and may be set with or without an expiration date. CBA websites also use text cookies that are set with an expiration date. As text, cookies are not executable and do not replicate. Although cookies do not yet contain viruses, they can be used as spyware. Anti-spyware products provide warnings about cookies that can be used to track computer activity.

Third-party cookies are sent from a vendor’s site instead of the website being browsed. Third-party cookies can track visitors as they visit multiple domains within a website and across different web-sites. This functionality provides an analytics vendor with the ability to collate the individual’s activity on sites where they provided personal information with their activity on other sites where they thought they were anonymous. Most people block third-party cookies due to privacy concerns. Many companies

that supply banner ads use third-party cookies to track site visitors.

DID YOU KNOW?The price of your flight or hotel room can increase because of a cookie on your computer. The in-crease in price could be due to the cookie that was placed on your computer when you first visited a company’s website. Commercial sites use cookies to identify users and prepare customized web pages. When accessing a site that uses cookies, you may be asked to pro-vide information such as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and is sent to your computer where it is stored for later use. Upon your next visit to the site, this information is accessed and used to present you with customized web pages and, perhaps, a higher price for a flight or hotel room. Be-fore you book a hotel room or pur-chase an airline ticket online, erase the cookies from your computer if you have previously visited the site.

Adobe Flash Player uses Flash cookies that contain cookie-like data that is stored as a file on a com-puter. The default settings in Adobe Flash Player do not seek permission to store these cookies. Flash cookies store more information than trad-itional cookies and are not deleted

by cookie privacy con-trols in a web browser and are stored in a sep-arate directory that can be difficult to locate. Search for .sol on your computer’s hard drive to find the location of these files. Flash cook-ies can also be used to reinstate traditional cookies that have been

deleted. This practice is referred to as re-spawning.

Many commercial sites use Flash cookies for tracking purposes and to store information that is used for be-havioural-targeted advertising. Each time you search for a product or ser-vice, visit a website or click on a ban-ner ad or “paid search” keyword that activity is logged in a cookie that can be analyzed for later use by an advertiser to deliver targeted ads.

Members frequently ask if the Canadian Bar Associa-tion (CBA) uses cookies on its websites. The CBA uses session cookies to record session information such as your surname and CBA membership ID number when you log in to access a member-only area. Session cookies are temporary bits of informa-tion that are erased once you exit your web browser

or turn your computer off. While most Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies, you can change the settings to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. Rejecting cookies on some websites can make those sites unusable.

A cookie is a piece of text stored by a computer’s web browser. It can be used for authentication, as an identifier for a server-based session and to store shopping cart con-

Patricia Jordan is the CBABC Web Manager. She welcomes your com-ments, questions and suggestions. Tel: 604-646-7861; Email: [email protected]; visit: www.cba.org/bc.

Read more about Flash cookies in BarTalk Online at www.cba.org/BC/ bartalk_11_15/02_11/web_column.aspx.

Page 8: BarTalk | February 2011

8 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

DAVID J. BILINSKY

practicetalkA Crisis of Abundance New Canadian study finds 2/3 of adults are overweight.

“Well, if you look at those num-bers I’d be very surprised to see what actually qualifies as a na-tional crisis if this does not,” said Dr. Arya Sharma, Chair of Obes-ity Studies at the University of Al-berta and scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network.

Further, the Canadian Press, re-porting on this survey, stated:

“The survey suggests the pro-portion of Canadians with dan-gerously large waists went to 21 per cent from five per cent among men, and to 31 per cent from six per cent among women.”

While it is a common point of pride among Canadians that we are fitter (and less obese) than our American neighbours, the CHMS study has placed a large dent in that myth:

“The average BMI [Body Mass Index] for Canadian children was similar to that of children in the United States.”

So the question is, what does all this have to do with prac-tice management? Napoleon Hill

once said: “It is lit-erally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.”

If we have a crisis of fitness, particularly among our children, then the greatest gift we can give to our children is not a trust and large inheritance, but rather the life skills of fitness and health. This is the start of the New Year (at least when this column was written) and a time to set and follow through on resolutions. We can take our kids out for ski days (downhill and cross-country) together, go out to the pool and do lengths, head out the door and go for a walk, play hoops together, go for runs together and much more. The education system in B.C. has a relatively new initiative: “Daily Physical Activity” (DPA) among children. This initiative needs re-inforcement from parents. After all, we all know the lessons of the maxim: “Children Learn What They Live.”

In an article: “Show, Don’t Tell! Five Ways to Help Your Kid Get Fit,” it is stated:

“The objective: to show kids how much fun fitness can be. You can – and should – take the same approach at home. ‘Making sure your kids enjoy being active is the

key to keeping them healthy for life,’ says FitSchools adviser Jim Liston, C.S.C.S. ‘But you may have to do the opposite of your first instinct.’ How so? See for yourself by following Liston’s five new rules of kids’ fitness.”

What are the five new rules?1. Don’t compare your kids with

others2. Never reward kids with food3. Know when to praise4. Instruct by showing, not telling5. Remember to keep play fun

(you can read more at: http://on.msnbc.com/hG0Jv)The leadership that we show

daily in our practices and among our clients also needs to be

r It would sure do me good, to do you good

Let me help ... r

– Music, Lyrics and recorded by Billy Swan

The Canadian Health Measures Survey, the most com-prehensive survey ever conducted in Canada (http://bit.ly/6WV8WC) has recently found:

“That fitness levels of children and youth have declined significantly since 1981, regardless of age or sex. Fitness levels of adults have also de-clined, particularly among younger adults.”

A prominent Canadian researcher on obesity has stated that the figures in the CHMS study point to a country in crisis:

David J. Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor for the Law Society of British Columbia. Email: [email protected] Blog: www.thoughtfullaw.com

The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and may not be shared by the Law Society of British Columbia.

Continued on page 9 >>>

Page 9: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 9

dave’s techtips

Turn a Smart Phone or iPad Into a Credit Card Point-Of-Sale Terminal

Square (www.squareup.com) is a revolutionary service and device that turns a smart phone or iPad into a credit card point-of-sale terminal. Imagine being able to take credit card pay-ments – anywhere, anytime – such as at the courthouse, at the client’s home, at the client’s office etc.

Launched by Twitter (www.twit-ter.com) founder Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, this little device stands to change how lawyers get paid.

Currently, there is no contract, no rental cost, no extra equipment aside from the

reader (pictured below) and the associated software, no monthly “fees” or merchant account required. Receipts are sent electronically.

The fees? 2.75 per cent + $0.15 to swipe a card; 3.5 per cent + $0.15 if you have to key-in the card. The reader is free.

Contrast this with existing merchant account contracts where you have to pay a monthly cost for the card

reader equipment, enter into a contract and incur setup fees as well as possibly face monthly minimum usage re-quirements (and pay a penalty fee if you don’t meet the min-imum usage amount). There may be other fees and charges levied based on the type of credit card being processed as well as “customer service fees” and such.

Square even provides man-agement reports that track your top clients, taxes, payments by loca-tion and more.

All transactions are stated to meet all standard indus-try security practi-ces detailed at https://squareup.com/security.

There is only one tiny problem with Square – it is only available in the USA (as per their (https://squareup.com/tos) Terms of Service. So un-fortunately – for now – Canadian lawyers can’t be hip to be square – unlike our Amer-ican cousins.

demonstrated to our children, and not just by putting in endless hours at our desks.

Being the best in B.C. has many facets and meanings. Doing good for others and in the process, doing

“good” for ourselves, is rewarding. Besides, “Best Dad or Best Mom” sounds like a pretty good title to me.

Continued from page 8

Page 10: BarTalk | February 2011

10 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

sectionsLegal Research

uMr. Irvine spoke about legal re-search and the new civil rules.

In particular, Mr. Irvine reviewed the object of the rules, which re-mains the same, as well as the addi-tion of the “proportionality rule” outlined in Rule 1-3(2). The Table of Concordance in the Queen’s Printer’s versions of the rules will be of assistance, as will text sources normally consulted and now up-dated to refer to the current rules.

He further outlined the follow-ing changes found in the new civil rules: responding to civil claims; case planning orders; re-vival of the fixed date system for interlocutory applications; sum-mary judgment; duty of expert witnesses; appointment of court’s own expert; pre-trial conference on experts; discovery of docu-ments; examinations for discov-ery; and interrogatories.

Mr. Irvine further confirmed that case law decided under Rules of Court (SCR 1976, SCR 1990 and, where applicable, SCR 1961) will remain relevant and helpful.

ADR – Vancouver / Family Law – Vancouver

u\Professor Patrick Parkinson, Fac-ulty of Law, University of Syd-

ney, Australia spoke on the Voices of Children in Family Law Disputes.

Over the last decade or so there has been increasing recognition of the need to take into account the views of children on various issues in relation to decisions that directly affect them. Increasingly, children have been recognized as active constructors of their own experience and as persons in their own right whose perspectives and

CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Kamloops

Meeting: December 4, 2010Speakers: Michelle Stanford (photo) and The Honourable Judge Donegan Topic: Dealing with Difficult Clients

ADR – Vancouver / Family Law – Vancouver

Meeting: December 14, 2010Speaker: Professor Patrick N. Parkinson, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, Australia (centre) with Nicole Garton-Jones (left) and Stephanie Fabbro (right)Topic: The Voice of the Child

Air Law

Meeting: October 18, 2010Speaker: Richard Hall Topic: Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada – Trends in Enforcement Actions in Aviation Matters

Legal Research

Meeting: September 23, 2010 Speaker: Fred IrvineTopic: Legal Research and the New Civil Rules

SECTION UPDATE

Keep Current A review of provincial Section meetings.

Page 11: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 11

sections

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

interests may not necessarily co-incide with those of their parents or other adults responsible for making decisions.

Judicial interviews with children in contested parenting proceed-ings are an uncommon and con-tentious practice in Australia and many other common law jurisdic-tions. While there has been some debate about the merits and risks of such a practice among profes-sionals and academic commenta-tors, there is little research on the views of children and parents. Air Law

uRichard Hall presented on the organization, function

and activities of the Transporta-tion Appeal Tribunal of Canada (“TATC”). It’s interesting to note that 70 per cent of cases are avi-ation while 30 per cent of cases are marine, with marine fines being much larger than aviation fines.

Review Hearings take place in the area where the enforcement took place. There is to be full dis-closure by both sides in respect to any hearing. Once full disclosure has taken place, a date is set and usually the Review Hearings take place in federal court courtrooms where possible or hotel rooms.

The procedure for a hearing is that Transport Canada’s Case Pres-entation Officer gives an opening submission and then the Applicant can give a statement. Then Trans-port Canada calls its witnesses. All of the witnesses are sworn and a witness may be subject to cross-examination. The Applicant then presents his case and witnesses.

Decisions are usually given in writing 120 to 130 days after a hearing, and there is a 30-day time period to appeal after a decision

is made. Appeals are heard by a three-person panel and take an average of 120 days to render a de-cision. TTAC decisions and proced-ural rules are posted on the TATC website, which is www.tatc.gc.ca.

CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Kamloops

uThe topic of the meeting was “Dealing with Difficult Cli-

ents.” Guest presenters provided two distinct views on the topic: The Honourable Judge Donegan provided a view from the bench, and practising lawyer, Michelle Stanford, who has a background in nursing, provided a medical/legal perspective with a focus on clients with mental health issues.

The Honourable Judge Donegan’s presentation discussed the challenges that both judges and court staff face in these situa-tions, as well as provided point-ers for finding the right balance, particularly when dealing with self-represented litigants.

Michelle Stanford covered issues specific to clients who are not crim-inally responsible and the process involved in review panel hearings. Ms. Stanford also discussed tech-niques for communicating with mentally ill clients, including non-verbal cues, as well as the ethical issues faced by legal counsel when dealing with mentally ill clients.

For enrolled CBA members, more detailed information and available minutes from the Section meetings are online at www.cba.org/bc in Sections under Professional Development.

SECTION CHAIR SPOTLIGHT CRIMINAL LAW – VANCOUVER

Eric Gottardi practises primarily in the area of criminal defence. He has represented clients in some of British Columbia’s recent well-known cases, including the Air India trial and the Hollyburn Country Club murder trial. He has appeared as counsel in all levels of court in British Columbia and in the Supreme Court of Canada. He was recently called to the Bar in Ontario as a special prosecutor.

Earlier in his career, Eric clerked at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. After being called to the Bar in 2003, he joined the firm of Peck and Company, where he soon focused on appellate and extradition work. He has been the Chair of the Criminal Justice – Vancouver Section for the past two years.

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features

“Town and gown.” Law firms are generally clustered in a business district down-town far from academia. Compared with B.C.’s three

largest Lower Mainland campuses, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) follows a more traditional Cam-bridge or Harvard planning model, which makes an asset of the lack of physical “distance” between the profession and the university.

A Google Earth view of TRU shows the university as the center-piece of the interior city of Kam-loops, and its law school – the first new Canadian law school in 35 years – intends to take town and gown integration to its heart, effecting a reciprocity, a flow of expertise and intellectual traffic, between community and campus.

How was permission to create a new law school granted? The Law School Advisory Board persuaded the provincial government that, in the same way medical schools at UNBC and UBC Okanagan en-courage interns and newly creden-tialed doctors to stay and practise where they train, situating a law school in a non-Lower Mainland location could provide clients with a better level of access to justice. “Prince Rupert is an example of a place that is hugely underserviced because of retirement and competi-tion with big cities,” explains Ad-visory Board member and former B.C. Law Society President Rob McDiarmid. As well, TRU General

Counsel John Sparks helped argue that, in the context of the 2009 Trade, Investment and Labour Mo-bility Agreement (TILMA) between B.C. and Alberta, a plan to license existing curriculum from the Uni-versity of Calgary’s law school, with appropriate B.C. con-tent modifications at TRU, was exactly the type of interrelation-ship contemplated by the drafters of TILMA.

Courses such as nat-ural resource law, ab-original law and en-vironmental law make the U of C curriculum a natural fit with the needs of many Kamloops and other non-Lower Mainland firms. But certain nuances to the classic aca-demic curriculum have been iden-tified by Chris Axworthy, TRU’s Founding Dean of Law, as appos-ite to the new law school. Besides hiring practitioners to equip stu-dents with experiential skills such as “how to run a law office, how to read a balance sheet, and how to draft pleadings, wills and leases,” Axworthy has a broader vision of what it means to graduate students who are “practice-ready.” The “im-position of a higher standard of eth-ics placed upon the self will be ex-pected from day one,” he explains. “Rather than tacking on the CBA’s Code of Professional Conduct in the last few months of a legal edu-cation, students will be expected to

think and behave like lawyers from semester one, year one, as they interact with role models from both community and classroom.”

As Anne Pappas, TRU Law’s Lawyer/Manager Administration points out, “putting lawyers into remote communities or preparing them for that option if they choose it after graduation, has been an issue the profession has been dealing with for decades.” As examples of deliv-ering in-person instruction in remote communities, Pappas cites the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Ad-mission Course delivered in north-

ern Ontario, and UVic’s Akitsiraq Law Pro-gram, which saw in-structors going to Iqal-uit to teach students.

Engendering an at-titude of lifelong re-sponsibility to engage in continuing legal education to keep one’s practice viable is another goal of the

new law school as it seeks to help preclude any sense of professional isolation in non-Lower Mainland centres. To that end, commencing in January 2011, TRU will begin to serve as one of the hosts to CBABC professional development courses and receptions, welcom-ing an ongoing flow and exchange of expertise and intellectual traffic.

If the precept “know thyself” encompasses knowing the scales with which to weigh the value systems of town and gown, TRU Law will leave its starting gates with both an appreciation and in-tegration of the integrity of each.

GAIL MCKAY

Thompson Rivers University Law SchoolStudying law in the B.C. interior.

Photo: Chris Axworthy, TRU’s first Dean of Law. Gail McKay is an Assistant Professor at Thompson Rivers University.

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FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 13

In 2006, the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General began researching and con-sulting on the issue of Family Law Reform, culminating in

the White Paper released in 2010. The White Paper proposes a new Family Law Act, which prom-ises, if passed into legislation, to change practice for British Colum-bia’s family law lawyers.

The proposed changes are far-reaching and cover all family law issues, including but not limited to property division, spousal support, child custody and guardianship.

The proposed treatment of spouses under the new law marks a significant broadening of spous-al support and property division rights for non-married persons. Unlike the Family Relations Act, the new law provides that all in-dividuals meeting the definition of “spouse” are entitled to property division and spousal maintenance.

The new definition is broad. The proposed legislation defines a “spouse” as follows: A. A person who is married to an-

other person, B. A person who lived with an-

other person: I. In a marriage-like relation-

ship for a continuous period of at least two years, or

II. In a marriage-like relation-ship of some permanence if the persons are together the parents of a child and, for the purposes of this Act, the

marriage-like relationship may be between persons of the same gender, or

III. Is a former spouse for the purposes of applying for an Order under this Act.

This definition allows persons who have cohabit-ed and had children together to claim property division and spousal support even where the relationship may have been brief.

The proposed Family Law Act likely means change for B.C. law-yers both now and in the future. Many of the proposed changes are so far-reaching that it is wise to start advising clients now of the potential changes to their prop-erty and maintenance rights.

One thorny issue that B.C. family law lawyers confront presently is the interpretation of Section 120.1 of the Family Relations Act. The courts have interpreted even co-habitation agreements, which spe-cifically seek to protect property rights, as opting the parties into Part 5 of the Family Relations Act. This has resulted in many family law lawyers advising their clients against cohabitation agreements and, therefore, provides little pro-tection for common law spouses.

The new Act eliminates Section 120.1 but includes un-married spouses in the property division regime. This makes the present

state of existing cohabitation agreements perhaps even more precarious. However, the pro-posed changes create a new regime under which common law spouses can seek the protection of cohabit-ation agreements drafted to the re-quirements of the new Act.

The proposed changes also ad-dress the enforceability of agree-ments. For the first time in Brit-ish Columbia, there will be a codification of the circumstances under which a family law agree-ment may be set aside. This as-pect of the changes could result

in decreased certainty with respect to both past and future agree-ments. For example, Section 18 of the pro-posed Family Law Act states that the court may set aside an agreement if satis-fied it would be unfair not to do so because a

party did not understand the na-ture or consequences of the agree-ment. Meeting this test could be as simple as a party’s testimony or affidavit evidence. Because of the changes proposed with respect to the enforceability of family law agreements it would be wise to write to past and future clients to advise them of the risks associated with these proposed changes.

The proposed Act also elimin-ates the existing triggering events and provides only one triggering event, the date of separation. This will provide increased protection for clients particularly in the event of the death of a spouse or a dec-laration of bankruptcy.

Cristen Gleeson is Co-Chair of the Fraser Valley Family Law Section and is a partner at Baker Newby LLP.

CRISTEN GLEESON

The New Proposed Family Law ActHow will it affect your B.C. practice?

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An integral compon-ent of the mission of the Canadian Bar Association is to im-prove and promote

access to justice. In recent years the British Columbia Branch has launched, and continues to lead, a number of innovative projects to fulfill this mission that are making an impact throughout the province.

In March of 2009, the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBABC) launched the Rural Education and Access to Lawyers Initiative (REAL) with funding from the Law Foundation of British Columbia. The three-year initiative was commenced in response to the current and an-ticipated increasing shortage of lawyers practising in small towns throughout British Columbia. The initiative consists of a coordinated set of programs that address this shortage in order to ensure that these communities continue to enjoy access to legal services.

A primary component of the in-itiative is the summer student pro-gram that provides funding and support for lawyers in small towns throughout the province to hire a summer student. The program began in the summer of 2009 with 11 students placed in diverse lo-cations, including postings as far north as Fort St. John and as far east as Cranbrook. In 2010, the REAL Initiative was able to increase the number of summer students to 21

and it is anticipated that another 21 positions will be created for 2011.

The goal of the summer program is to expose students to the vast array of opportunities that exist through-out the province and to ultimately increase the number of young law-yers practising outside of urban areas so that smaller communities throughout the prov-ince continue to enjoy a high level of access to legal services. Recent data indicates success in this endeavour with more than half of sum-mer students taking part in the 2010 sum-mer program being offered article positions as a result of their summer experience. Perhaps more import-ant however, is a noticeable shift in attitude and interest from students and practising lawyers alike who see practising in a non-urban setting as an attractive career option.

More recently, the CBABC played a leading role in the for-mation and implementation of the Public Commission on Legal Aid (the “Public Commission”). The Public Commission is a joint project of the CBABC, The Law Society of British Columbia, The Law Foun-dation of British Columbia, The British Columbia Crown Counsel Association, The Vancouver Bar Association and The Victoria Bar Association. The Public Commis-sion was borne out of a series of

meetings between community or-ganizations and justice system stakeholders who shared a com-mon concern about the future of legal aid in the province.

The purpose of the Public Com-mission is to engage the public of British Columbia regarding their priorities for the future of legal aid through an open call for writ-ten submissions and through an 11-community tour of the prov-ince to hear in-person submissions. The Public Commission com-menced the in-person hearings in September of 2010 and in addition

to holding hearings in the larger urban centres of the prov-ince, visited numerous smaller communities, including Terrace, Wil-liams Lake, Nanaimo and Cranbrook. The report of the Public Commission is cur-rently under develop-ment and once re-

leased will provide an important foundational document for con-tinued efforts to improve access to justice in British Columbia.

While the province of British Columbia continues to face chal-lenges in regards to access to justice, the legal profession can be proud of the significant projects that have been launched in recent years to address this important issue. Not only have these projects made an impact here in British Columbia, they have also garnered nation-al attention and have reinforced the reputation of the province as an innovation leader.

featuresMICHAEL LITCHFIELD

Ensuring Access to Justice Innovative projects throughout the province.

Michael Litchfield, CBABC Regional Legal Careers Officer, Rural Education and Access to Lawyers. Email: [email protected]

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FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 15

The latter part of 2010 saw CBABC members making impressive con-tributions to the CBA’s International Develop-

ment Program for East Africa. The current program is called Strength-ening Access to Justice through Legal Sector Development (SAJEA).

Phase one of SAJEA is a two-year program between the CBA and partners in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. SAJEA is de-signed to strengthen the ability of justice system stakeholders to ad-dress issues related to access to jus-tice and to increase collaboration among justice system stakeholders to improve access to justice.

The program is funded by the Canadian International Develop-ment Agency (CIDA) and is sup-ported by the voluntary contri-butions of legal professionals in Canada and Eastern Africa. Full details for the program, including very informative newsletters, can be found at www.cba.org/SAJEA/en/main/default.aspx.

In July 2010, CBA 2nd Vice President Robert Brun, QC and CBABC Executive Director Caro-line Nevin facilitated a three-day SAJEA conference in Kampala, Uganda on “Making Strategic Plans a Reality.” Several pres-idents, council members and senior staff attended the confer-ence from the region’s law soci-eties and Bar. Sessions dealt with governance capacity and priority

setting, barriers in maintaining priorities and tips on project man-agement and monitoring. There was also a session in “world café” format to discuss common issues and challenges in strategic plans.

In October 2010, LSS Executive

Director Mark Benton, QC and Access Pro Bono Associate Execu-tive Director Allan Parker, QC at-tended a three-day conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Also attending were lawyer Martha MacKinnon, Executive Director of the Justice for Children and Youth Clinic in To-ronto and Andrea Redway, SAJEA Project Director for East Africa.

The focus of the conference was an update for the National Work-ing Groups (NWGs) of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on de-velopment of their legal aid plans as part of the current phase of the SAJEA program. Each NWG is

made up of representatives of law societies, government agencies and various non-governmental agencies. As well as developing legal aid plans, the NWGs have developed focused pilot pro-grams for their countries: Kenya on children’s programs; Tanzania in AIDS programs; and Ugan-da on community outreach and rights awareness.

The conference dealt with sev-eral practical issues, which are, in their own way, universal to all legal systems. These included: con-sidering how to develop programs that ensure the client’s perspective is effectively considered; reviewing legal aid governance models and service delivery systems; and fa-cilitating inter-organizational col-laboration. Themes throughout the conference were how pro bono services could complement legal aid programs, and how commun-ity advocate services could sup-port delivery of legal help.

Following the Mombasa confer-ence, Mark and Allan travelled to Kampala, Uganda for two addi-tional days of meetings at the in-vitation of the Uganda Law Soci-ety. Mark presented an additional session on legal aid governance, based on the work done at LSS. Al-lan then participated in a daylong session on training trainers who will be working with local vol-unteer community advocates on rights delivery programs – as part of that session, Allan was able to share with the participants the ex-tensive materials developed for the Law Foundation’s Legal Advocacy Training Course.

B.C. Lawyers Abroad Strengthening Access to Justice through Legal Sector Development (SAJEA).

ALLAN PARKER, QC AND MARK BENTON, QC

Allan Parker, QC (centre front) and Mark Benton, QC (right) with the Uganda Law Society staff in Kampala.

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features

While the foun-dation for busi-ness legal ser-vices is firmly entrenched in

Vancouver, legal communities around the province are develop-ing strong corporate / commercial practices thanks to changing dy-namics in B.C. business. The mar-ket for up and coming companies outside of the Lower Mainland is thriving and the diversity of com-munities beyond the 604 area code provides an opportunity to help grow unique businesses.

The government has recognized this potential for business growth and development beyond B.C.’s traditional business centre and has developed a tax incentive pro-gram to jumpstart small business-es outside of the Lower Mainland. This is further supported by the fact that one of the five qualifying activities of an eligible business corporation (“EBC”) is commun-ity diversification outside of the Lower Mainland.

The Venture Capital Programs division of the Ministry of Small Business, Technology, and Econom-ic Development was established to promote equity investments in B.C. companies (and thus bolster the economy) using two different invest-ment models: direct, through EBCs; and indirect, through VCCs (ven-ture capital corporations). VCCs are investment funds that target start-ups and small businesses.

EBCs are corporations that meet various eligibility criteria related to industry, size and employment structure. The target companies are small – usually start-ups – and in need of a capital raise of up to $5,000,000 to continue.

The key benefits of these programs are the tax implications for eligible invest-ors. Shareholders of an EBC who are in-dividuals resident in B.C. can claim up to $60,000 in refund-able tax credits in one year. B.C. corporate shareholders can also claim non-refundable tax cred-its. These are powerful incen-tives for investment, but need to be assessed carefully. The EBC must comply with the strict re-quirements of the Small Business Venture Capital Act (the “Act”) in order to retain the availability of those tax credits for investors. In the event the EBC is found to be in contravention of the Act, the investor may be required to repay any tax credits it has benefited from, especially if the investor has collected a refund.

While the benefits of an EBC to investors and small businesses can be significant, companies and their counsel should carefully consider the Act to ensure that the com-pany can meet the application, and ongoing, eligibility requirements.

There are numerous scenarios and transactions that can consti-tute non-compliance, which can translate to potential liability for solicitors advising in this area. Lawyers intending to advise cli-ents on these programs should collaborate with accounting and tax professionals and are urged to contact other lawyers with ex-pertise in this area. The Ministry also plays an important role in the application process and can be a valuable resource.

The combination of govern-ment incentives such as the Ven-

ture Capital Programs and skilled counsel moving to smaller, growing communities may shift the founda-tion of the Vancou-ver corporate world in the coming years. While big business-es will likely remain with big firms, small-er companies may

make the move to local boutique business law firms that can of-fer more personalised service. As clients go, small businesses can be more attractive to counsel in this area. Small companies are not burdened by existing compli-cated structures or the pressure to downsize due to the changing economy. They offer unique, chal-lenging work with a problem-solving focus. As the small busi-ness population expands, counsel will need to be familiar with the issues that developing companies face and have relevant tools, such as the EBC and VCC incentives, available for clients.

JIM MUTTER

Business Law is Moving Beyond VancouverThe role of EBC and VCC tax incentives.

Jim Mutter, Partner, Benson Salloum Watts LLP

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FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 17

Each month, Access Pro Bono operates pro bono clinics in 95 loca-tions across B.C. – as far north as Fort Nel-

son, as far south as Surrey, as far east as Nelson and as far west as Prince Rupert. Pro bono clinics are now more common in B.C. than outdoor hockey rinks, Can-adian Tire stores and White Spot restaurants. It follows that pro bono legal services are more widely available to low-income British Columbians than moonlit games of shinny, Motomaster car batter-ies and Triple-O hamburgers.

The weaving of pro bono legal services into the cultural fabric of B.C. communities is a bittersweet phenomenon. On one hand, it re-flects a pervasive spirit of benevo-lence and volunteerism among lawyers and a healthy respect for the rule of law. It evokes warm and folksy images of kind-hearted lawyers counselling local citizens who find themselves a little down on their luck. On the other hand, it signals that many British Colum-bians cannot afford to pay market rates for critical legal services, nor can they rely on government to fill the affordability gap. It is no coinci-dence that the decline in access to justice in B.C. parallels the steady service cuts to its legal aid system.

In seven of eleven hearing loca-tions of the recent Public Commis-sion on Legal Aid, pro bono law-yers brought the preceding point

into sharp focus. They each spoke of their particular frustrations in advising and representing margin-alized people whose types of legal issues were once covered by legal aid. In cities and towns like Wil-liams Lake, Terrace and Nanaimo, they told of pro bono clients whose legal problems had grown from bad to worse to life threatening be-cause of no early and reliable access to free legal representation. For many clients liv-ing in rural and re-mote communities, the negative effects of legal service gaps were com-pounded by factors of mobility and distance. Some clients spent their last bit of money on a Greyhound ride to the nearest pro bono clinic.

In an effort to extend as many services as possible to low-income British Columbians residing in isolated communities where few or no lawyers practice, Access Pro Bono is expanding its use of

Skype-based clinics. Such clinics only require that a client have In-ternet access in order to link by video to a pro bono lawyer provid-ing legal advice from the comfort of his or her faraway office. The clinics also provide private and accessible means of connecting clients with particular legal, lan-guage or cultural issues to remote pro bono lawyers trained to serve their sensitive needs. A woman dealing with a violent domes-tic situation in a small northern town, for example, could con-nect to a pro bono lawyer asso-

ciated with Battered Women’s Support Ser-vices in Vancouver.

Access Pro Bono will always prioritize in-person service over remote service, but its in-person reach is limited by the location of lawyers in the province. At almost 100 clinic locations

across B.C., Access Pro Bono is nearing the saturation point for clinics located in communities near or where lawyers currently practice. Over time, initiatives like the CBABC Branch’s Rural Education and Access to Lawyers program (REAL) will serve to extend the reach of in-person clinics. But major growth of pro bono culture in B.C. is likely to occur in the virtual world with the proliferation of Skype-based clinics. British Columbians should only be so lucky to see the growth of pro bono culture in B.C. limited by renewed investment in its legal aid system.

JAMIE MACLAREN

The Reluctant Path to UbiquityPro bono clinics spread across B.C.

Jamie Maclaren, Sole Practitioner and Executive Director, Access Pro Bono Society of B.C.

The weaving of pro bono legal services into the cultural fabric of B.C. com-munities is a bitter-sweet phenomenon.

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news&events

n On November 23rd, 2010, Boughton Law Corporation and the British Columbia Law Institute jointly hosted the im-mensely successful 3rd Annual GREATdebate at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver. A lively and entertaining evening of dinner and debate, the event was spon-sored by R. Johnson, HSBC, HUB International and Manning Elliot. George Cadman, QC of Boughton Law Corp., hosted the evening and Rick Cluff, host of CBC Radio 1 “The Early Edi-tion,” presided as moderator for the debate. Debaters from Alex-ander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP and Boughton Law Corp. delivered creative and thoughtful presentations and rebuttals on the

topic “Mrs. Forenza Wings 14.2 million estate should go to her parrot, Polygon.”

The judging panel comprised The Honourable Wally Oppal, QC, former Attorney General of British Columbia, The Honour-able Lance Finch, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, B.C. and The Honourable Robert Bauman, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, B.C. The judges continued the jocular mood by delivering a unanimous and light-hearted decision that awarded victory and the GREATdebate Trophy to the team from Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP.

The 2010 GREATdebate will be remembered as one of last year’s professional event highlights.

EVENT RECAP

Immensely Successful 3rd Annual GREATdebate

Left to right: George Cadman, QC of Boughton Law Corporation; Rick Cluff of CBC Radio 1 is standing at the podium (the MC for the evening); Peter Ramsay, QC of the BCLI; Emily Clough and Andrew MacKay of Alexander Holburn Beau-din & Lang LLP are holding the well-deserved GREATdebate trophy.

n Lorianna, a family lawyer, mom and engaged community volunteer, has inspired her peers and promoted a culture of change in many law firms striving to create working environments that balance the needs of professionals, families and communities in her capacity as the former Yale County representative of the Canadian Bar Association.

Work life balance is import-ant to Lorianna who is an active volunteer in her sons’ school and sporting activities, teaches a Commercial law course at TRU and fundraises for the hospital and university foundations. She often takes time to speak as a career men-tor and as an advocate for anaphylaxis education.

AWARD

Lorianna Bennett Honoured with TRU’s 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service

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FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 19

NATIONAL NEWS – ETHICS

Your Questions Answered on Privilege and Confidentialityn Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about solicitor-client privilege and client confidential-ity are the subject matter for the third in a series of guidelines, designed to supplement the CBA Code of Professional Conduct. Published in a convenient, search-able, online format, the guidelines pose 17 FAQs that deal with ethical issues for lawyers, ranging from exceptions to solicitor-client privilege, to client identification, to how to preserve privilege when communicating electronically.

“Lawyers have a duty, as expressed in the ethical codes of the profession, to hold client information in strict confidence,” explains Paul Paton, Chair of the CBA’s Standing Commit-tee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. “The duty itself is straightforward, but how it applies in practical situations may not always be clear. We hope

these FAQs will assist lawyers in identifying and fulfilling their professional responsibilities.”

The publication makes the important distinction between privilege and confidentiality, as outlined in the CBA Code of Professional Conduct. “The duty of confidentiality is distinguished from the common law rule of so-licitor-client privilege with respect to oral or written communications between client and lawyer. The duty of confidentiality is wider and applies without regard to the nature or source of the informa-tion or to the fact that others may share the knowledge.”

Produced by the CBA’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, the questions and answers follow two earlier practice tools – on new technologies and marketing practices. Law Profes-sor Adam Dodek of University of Ottawa served as research director.

The two earlier sets of guide-lines, along with the CBA Code of Professional Conduct, are all available on the CBA website:

\\ FAQs on Solicitor-Client Privilege and Confidentiality www.cba.org/CBA/activities/code/privilege.aspx

\\ Guidelines for Practising Ethically with New Information Technologies www.cba.org/CBA/activities/pdf/guidelines-eng.pdf

\\ Guidelines for Ethical Marketing Practices Using New Information Technologies www.cba.org/CBA/activities/pdf/ethicsguidelines-eng.pdf

\\ CBA Code of Professional Conduct 2009 www.cba.org/CBA/activities/code/

n You are encouraged to honour a colleague and fellow CBABC member through their nomination for one of the fol-lowing prestigious awards:

The Equality and Diversity Award celebrates the accom-plishments of a CBABC member who has succeeded in advan-cing equality in the legal profes-sion or generally in B.C.

The Harry Rankin, QC Pro Bono Award was established in recognition of the immense con-tribution of Harry Rankin, QC in supporting access to justice for

the poor. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions by a member of the CBABC in the area of pro bono work.

The Work Life Balance Award recognizes a CBABC member, law firm or organization who demonstrates leadership in pro-moting work life balance within the practice of law.

Additional information on these awards and nomination forms are available on the home page at cba.org/bc under “Call for Nominations.”

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

AWARD NOMINATIONS

Call for Nominations

Grant Wong named by Lexpert as one of Canada’s leading lawyers under 40. This honour recognizes Grant, partner at Lang Michener LLP, as a rising star in the Canadian legal industry, and among the next generation of leaders in law. Lexpert, a leading publication on business law in Canada, announced its selection at a gala awards cere-mony on November 25, 2010.

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news&eventsNATIONAL NEWS – ADVOCACY

Bill C-49 Denies Rights of Refugee Claimants n The CBA’s National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section says Bill C-49, Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act, wrongly targets and penalizes refugee claimants rather than the human smugglers who facilitate their arrival.

“The CBA understands the government’s desire to enact legislation that will discourage further irregular, mass arrivals and agrees that it is legitimate to target the activities of human smugglers,” says Gordon May-nard, of Vancouver, a past Chair of the CBA’s National Citizen-ship and Immigration Law Sec-tion. “Unfortunately, little of Bill C-49 is directed at them.”

The CBA cautions that Bill C-49’s mandatory and

long-term detention propos-als deny basic rights to refugee claimants. “Under the proposed scheme, refugee claimants would be denied a review of their detention for 12 months, refused appeal rights, and even recognized refugees would be denied access to permanent residence status for a minimum of five years. These provisions profoundly affect refugees in need of protection and impede their integration into Canadian society,” says the CBA brief.

The CBA concludes that the flaws in Bill C-49 cannot be rectified by modest amend-ments. “For these reasons we do not support Bill C-49,” says Gordon Maynard.

\\ CBA Submission www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/10-78-eng.pdf

NATIONAL NEWS – ADVOCACY

Changes to Bill C-470 Welcomed

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) – Call for Volunteers

n In December 2010, the federal government Standing Committee on Finance modified Bill C-470, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (revocation of registration) with changes that reflect two of the CBA’s principal concerns about the impact of the Bill.

Earlier versions of the private member’s Bill would have amended the Income Tax Act to revoke the registration of a charitable organiz-ation, public foundation or private foundation if the annual compensa-tion it pays to any single executive or employee exceeds $250,000. In its submission presented to the Finance Committee earlier in

December, the CBA’s Charities and Not for Profit Section said the pro-posed salary cap would undermine the work of many large registered charities, by reducing the pool from which they can draw senior staff. The Bill has been modified to remove the compensation cap.

The Finance Committee was also receptive to the CBA’s concern about the impact of the disclosure requirements in Bill C-470 on confidential trans-actions between charities and third parties, including con-tracts for payment of lawyers. In its amended form, Bill C-470 respects solicitor-client privilege

by not requiring disclosure of fees paid to lawyers.

The amended Bill C-470, which will go to the full House of Com-mons for a final vote, requires the disclosure of the name, job title and annual compensation of all em-ployees and executives of Canadian registered charities who receive total annual compensation of more than $100,000 beginning in 2012. In ear-lier versions of the Bill, the disclo-sure requirement applied only to the top five earners in an organization.

\\ CBA submission www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/10-56-eng.pdf

n LSLAP is a non-profit society run by UBC law students that has been providing legal advice and representation to low-income persons throughout the Lower Mainland for more than 40 years. LSLAP is currently seeking volun-teer lawyers to oversee its clinicians in small claims and criminal trials. LSLAP is seeking a commitment from lawyers to attend one or two trials per year, at which they can provide advice and feedback to an LSLAP student. Your involve-ment will support our clinician’s legal education, and will ensure impoverished persons in our community maintain access to cost-effective legal representation. Interested persons may contact our Legal Assistant, Trina Barnes, at [email protected] for further details.

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FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 21

BRANCH & BAR

CalendarCurrent from November 2 to December 31, 2010 Legislative Update is provided as part of the CBABC legislative and law reform program. It is a service funded by CBA membership fees, and is, therefore, provided as a benefit of CBA membership. The full version of Legislative Up-date is now only published online and available to CBA members exclusively at www.cba.org/bc.

�n FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2009, S.B.C. 2009, C. 15 (BILL 5)Sections 16 to 19 and 21 are in force November 19, 2010

�n FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 4 (BILL 6)Sections 53 and 58 are in force January 1, 2011

�n FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 2), 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 18 (BILL 19)Sections 62 to 64 and 68 are in force November 19, 2010

�n GUNSHOT AND STAB WOUND DISCLOSURE ACT, S.B.C. 2010, C. 7 (BILL 12)Act is in force February 1, 2011

�n GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION (RENEWABLE AND LOW CARBON FUEL REQUIREMENTS) ACT, S.B.C. 2008, C. 16 (BILL 16)Sections 8, 10 and 11(3) and (4) are in force January 1, 2011

�n MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2008, S.B.C. 2008, C. 30 (BILL 33)Sections 11, 12 and 13 are in force November 19, 2010

�n MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 2), 2009, S.B.C. 2009, C. 34 (BILL 20)Section 22 except paragraph (b) and sections 23 to 35 and 40 to 42 are in force January 1, 2011. Sections 22(b) and 36 to 39 are in force January 1, 2012

�n MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 3), 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 21 (BILL 20)Sections 47, 50, 52, 53 and 59 are in force November 26, 2010. Sections 91 to 93, 98 and 112(c) are in force

December 7, 2010. Sections 76(a) and (b) and 81(d) are in force

December 20, 2010

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

ACTS IN FORCE

FEBRUARY 5-9 17th Commonwealth Law Conference in India

8 CBABC PD/NWBA Seminar: Ethics in Action: Practice and Community in New Westminster

9 & 23 LAP: Overcoming Procrastination

18-20 CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council in Charlevoix, QC

23-24 Just a Click Away Conference in Vancouver

MARCH 2, 9 & 23 LAP: Overcoming Procrastination

9 Women and the Law Dinner in Vancouver

12 Provincial Council Meeting in Richmond

17 CBABC PD/TRU Seminar/Webcast: The Top Ten Causes of Claims

n Law Week 2011 events will be held in communities throughout British Columbia. The Vancouver Law Week Open House will be held on April 16, 2011 at the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre

in Vancouver. The Vancouver Fun Run is tentatively scheduled for April 10, 2011. \\ For more information on

Law Week 2011 events visit www.bclawweek.org.

n Two candidates are vying for the position of Second Vice-President of the CBA for 2011-2012. Once elected, the Second Vice-President goes on to be-come the First Vice-President a year later, and then President of the CBA a year after that.

The candidates are Lukasz Granosik of Montreal and Fred Headon of Montreal. According to CBA bylaws, only members of

Council are eligible to vote. Mem-bers will cast their ballots online using secure voting technology. The winner will be announced once the votes are tallied.

Find out more about the candidates:

\\ Lukasz Granosik www.lukaszgranosik.ca

\\ Fred Headon www.fredheadon.ca

EVENT REMINDER

NATIONAL NEWS – ELECTIONS

Law Week – April 9 to 16, 2011

Two candidates for National Second Vice-President

Page 22: BarTalk | February 2011

22 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

news&eventsHealth & Wellness TIP

COURTESY OF PPC CANADA www.ppconline.info

Small Changes We Can Make to Live a Healthier Lifestyle Exercise – Who has time for it? It is important to never lose sight of the physical and mental benefits of exercise. Even just 30 minutes a day of brisk walking will impact your ability to think more clearly and rest easier. Try to build in 20-30 minutes of exercise, at least three times a week – doing this can help your body to release some of the stress it endures. You will feel much better as a result!

CLEBC ONLINE PUBLICATIONS AND SEARCH ENGINE Here at CLEBC, we have been working on a major upgrade to our online publications and to our search engine. The features and speed of the online publica-tions and the search engine have all been significantly improved.

We’ve been working with LexUM, the software

developer behind CanLII, on both these projects. LexUM’s sophis-ticated understanding of the presentation of legal material has been enormously helpful to us in our work.

Not only has the functional-ity been improved, but the new online publications design also included a commenting feature. Users will be able to comment on the content of CLEBC publi-cations, as will authors, editorial boards and CLEBC editorial staff. In this way, the B.C. legal com-munity will be able to share rel-evant late-breaking news on B.C.

law and practice, as well as differ-ent perspectives and approaches to the content of our manuals.

We’re now working on the final touches to these upgrades. Look for the new and improved fea-tures this spring. And we’re very grateful to the Law Foundation for their support of this project.

For further information contact CLEBC customer service at 604-893-2121 (toll-free in Canada at 1-800-663-0437) or at www.cle.bc.ca.

UPGRADE

CLEBC Update

n On February 25, 2011, the WLF will hold a luncheon to honour the newest recipients of the WLF Award of Excellence and the Debra Van Ginkel, QC Mentoring Award. The Honourable Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie, Associate Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court will be our featured guest speaker.

Margaret Ostrowski, QC is this year’s recipient of the WLF Award of Excellence. This award recognizes women lawyers with distinguished career achievements

who have also made outstand-ing contributions to women in the legal profession as a change agent, leader and mentor.

Joan M. Gordon is this year’s recipient of the Debra Van Gin-kel, QC Mentoring Award. This award, named after the late De-bra Van Ginkel, QC, recognizes women lawyers who have dem-onstrated an exceptional commit-ment to mentoring other lawyers.

These two awards support the WLF’s mandate to promote,

support and advance women in the legal profession. By recogniz-ing those who have made import-ant contributions to women in law, we hope to inspire a new generation to become involved in mentoring and leadership roles in the legal profession.

The February 25th awards lunch-eon will be held at Sutton Place Hotel. More information about the WLF Award recipients and lunch-eon (including how to register) can be found at www.cba.org/bc.

EVENT

CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Honours Outstanding Women Lawyers

Page 23: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 23

LAW FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIALAW FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

grantsapproved

The Board of Governors of the Law Foundation of B.C. met on November 20, 2010 and approved funding for a number of continuing programs and projects. Chair Margaret Sasges is pleased to announce that funding totalling $7,069,600 was approved for the following 42 programs and projects:

Funding totalling $5,759,190 was approved for the follow-ing 21 continuing programs:

$3,599,750LEGAL SERVICES SOCIETYOperating Grant

$257,180LAW SOCIETY OF B.C.Professional Legal Training Course

$250,000MEDIATE B.C. SOCIETYOperational Funding

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA$167,000 – First Nations Clinical Program

$120,000 – Graduate Fellowship 2011-2012

$58,000 – Undergraduate Scholarships

$27,500 – Legal Education and Research Projects 2011-2012

$27,000 – Entrance Awards 2011/2012

$153,590B.C. COALITION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESAdvocacy Access: Appeals Program

$150,000JUSTICE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF B.C.Expanded Core Services

$141,920GREATER VANCOUVER LAW STUDENTS’ LEGAL ADVICE SOCIETYLaw Students’ Legal Advice Program

$131,250ABBOTSFORD COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETYPoverty Law Advocacy Initiative

$76,000JUSTICE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF B.C.Northern Public Legal Education Program for First Nations Communities

$75,000CHIMO CRISIS SERVICES SOCIETYOutreach and Advocacy in Richmond

$75,000FORT ST. JOHN WOMEN’S RESOURCE SOCIETYPoverty Law Advocate

$75,000HAIDA GWAII LEGAL PROJECT SOCIETYLegal Education/ Advocacy Program

$75,000NICOLA VALLEY COMMUNITY JUSTICE SERVICES SOCIETYLegal Advocacy Program

$75,000PENTICTON AND AREA WOMEN’S CENTRELegal Advocacy Program

$75,000POWELL RIVER COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSOCIATIONPoverty Law Advocate Program

$75,000ATIRA WOMEN’S RESOURCE SOCIETYLegal Advocacy Services in the Downtown Eastside

$75,000KAMLOOPS AND DISTRICT ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETYPoverty Law Advocacy

\\ For full details of the programs and projects that received funding, please visit www.lawfoundationbc.org.

Continuing Programs and Projects

Margaret Sasges

The Board of Gov-ernors is pleased to announce that Margaret Sasges of Victoria has been elected as Chair of the Law Foundation for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2011. Ms. Sasges succeeds Mary Mouat of Victoria

who has been Chair of the Law Foundation since 2009.

Ms. Sasges earned her law degree from the University of Victoria and was called to the Bar in 1990. She is a partner at the firm of Clay & Company in Victoria where she practises in the areas of wills and estates, trusts, environmental covenants, and business and societies.

Ms. Sasges has been a Director of the Lawyer’s Benevolent Society since 2006 and was a member of the Provincial Council of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association from 1990 to 2004. She served the CBA in a number of capacities and was on the Executive Committee from 1999 to 2001. She is currently a member of the Probate Rules Committee for the British Columbia Law Institute and was formerly a member of the Estate Administration Subcommittee.

She has been a Governor of the Law Foundation since 2006 and has served on the Finance Committee as member (since 2006) and as Chair (2010). She was also the Chair of the Fellowships and Research Committee (2009-2010). Ms. Sasges has also served as a member of the Policy and Planning and the Funding Strategies Committees in her time as a governor.

Page 24: BarTalk | February 2011

24 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

\\ WEBSITE: CBA.ORG/PD EMAIL: [email protected]

professionaldevelopmentThe B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association is recognized by the Law Society of British Columbia as a provider of professional development activities. CBABC is committed to providing relevant and cost-effective ways to obtain your mandatory professional development hours.

Attendance at any of the seminars listed below will provide you with 100 per cent of the required two hour professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and practice management component for 2011 Law Society of British Columbia reporting.

Upcoming Seminars

The New Westminster Bar Association and the CBABC Present: ETHICS IN ACTION: PRACTICE AND COMMUNITY

Speakers: Patricia Bond, Vancouver Bencher and Philip Riddell, Local LawyerDate: February 8, 2011 Time: Registration 3:30 p.m. Seminar 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.Location: Room “Hyack South,” Inn at the Quay, 900 Quayside Drive, New Westminster, B.C.

Thompson Rivers University Law School and the CBABC Present: THE TOP TEN CAUSES OF CLAIMS: BUMPS, POTHOLES AND FLATS ON THE ROAD TO AN ACCIDENT-FREE PRACTICE

Speakers: Susan Forbes, QC, Lawyers Insurance Fund and Margrett George, Lawyers Insurance FundDate: March 17, 2011Time: Registration 3:30 p.m. Seminar/Webcast 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Location: Thompson Rivers University Law School – 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, B.C. *Reception to follow hosted by Thompson Rivers University Law School.*This seminar is available both in-person and via webcast.

EMAIL: [email protected]

memberservicesMember Services has seasonal promotions and special offers to our members. Visit the CBABC website for links to various activities and promotions on the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP.

\\ B.C. Ski Resorts Special Offer Winners David Lunny and his wife Maureen Baird are winners of the Whistler Prize Package valued at more than $650. They took advantage of savings on Pre-Season Lift Tickets circulated in November.

\\ Chocolates Take advantage of the “sweet” discounts from Lindt & Sprüngli (Canada) for CBA members when you visit the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP.

\\ CBABC provides conferences, workshops and webinars designed to meet the needs of lawyers while still maintaining the opportunity to network, advance your career, your practice and your business. If you are interested in having any Professional Development programs come to your area, please contact us by email: [email protected] or by phone 604-646-7866 / 1-888-687-3404 x. 329.

\\ Don’t forget to visit our one-stop PD resource site www.cba.org/pd to create a personalised account based on your PD needs! Go to www.cba.org/bc for updates on Professional Development seminars.

Page 25: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 25

EMAIL: [email protected]

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Page 26: BarTalk | February 2011

26 BARTALK / FEBRUARY 2011

Who’s Moving Where and When

barmoves

Gwun Yee joined Lang Michener’s Vancouver of-fice as an associate in their Securities group. He articled with Lang Michener in 1999 and practised there until 2002.

Etienne Orr-Ewinghas joined Collette Parsons Lawyers as an associate. His practice is litigation-based and focuses on Personal Injury. Etienne completed his LL.B. at the University of New Brunswick in 2009.

Peter Senkpiel joined Nathanson, Schachter & Thomp-son LLP as an associate after complet-ing his articles with the firm. Peter served as law clerk to the Chief Justice of British Columbia in 2009-2010.

Richard Pesklevitsjoined White Raven Law Corporation as a staff lawyer after completing his articles with the firm. Richard completed his LL.B. from Queens University, Faculty of Law in 1997.

Gerry Cuttlerhas moved from Getz Prince Wells LLP to Cuttler & Company. Gerry’s practice focuses on Litigation and Dispute Resolution.

Itti K.L. Ma has joined Heddema & Partners LLP as an associate lawyer. Itti’s practice involves tax planning in Corporate, Commercial, Trust and Real Estate areas.

Aaron Lightman has joined Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP’s Vancouver office as an associate in the firm’s Corporate Commercial, Securities & Mergers and Acquisitions practice groups.

Rajinder S. Sahotahas simultaneously founded and joined Sahota Barristers & Solicitors after having previously practised with Allen & Overy LLP in New York City. Rajinder looks to provide his clients with comprehensive legal services.

Who’s Moving Where and When

Page 27: BarTalk | February 2011

FEBRUARY 2011 / BARTALK 27

Who’s Moving Where and When

newmembers

Warren Beil formerly of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, has joined Pathway Capital Ltd. as general counsel.

Michal Jaworski has joined Richards Buell Sutton LLP. He will be practising with the Commercial Real Estate team, focusing on Development and the Corporate department.

Eric Goodmanhas moved from Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP and joined Murphy, Battista – Lawyers where he specializes in Plaintiff Personal Injury.

Jeffrey Robinson has passed the patent agent examina-tions, and is now a registered Can-adian patent agent, as well as regis-tered Canadian trademark agent. He practises intellectual property law at Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP.

November & December 2010Regular Members

Timothy F. Cox, J.D.Vancouver

Jyoti Dasanjh Smart & Biggar Vancouver

Scott R. Harcus Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP Vancouver

Nicholas Isaacs McCarthy Tétrault LLP Vancouver

Douglas C.S. King Pivot Legal Society Vancouver

Matthew M. KlasenMatthew Klasen Law Office Victoria

Sean R. Mason Goodmans Vancouver

Kevin A. McLeanSmetheram & Company Vancouver

Daylyn J. Miller Jones & Company Garibaldi Highlands

Emily Pitcher Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Vancouver

Elsa G. Sardinha Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Vancouver

Monika A. SawickaLesperance Mendes Vancouver

Dana L. Siddle Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Vancouver

Jack Wang Buckley Hogan Surrey

Jennifer Wong Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Vancouver

Associate Member

Gal J. Smolar Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Vancouver

Articling StudentsMagrieta Cornelia Abbey Celeste ChamberlainFarris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP Vancouver

Tamara Chirovsky

Uphar Dhaliwal Dhanu Law Abbotsford

Rahim Esmail Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Vancouver

Hamish FlanaganVictoria

Sarah Glickman Lawson Lundell LLP Vancouver

Karl Hauer MacIsaac & MacIsaac Victoria

Vincent Keramat

Emma Lehrer Miller Thomson LLP Vancouver

Michael James McCubbin Community Legal Assistance Society Vancouver

Nathaniel Misri Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP Vancouver

Keven Schecter Ewan & McKenzie Golden

Samantha Simpson Edwards, Kenny & Bray LLP Vancouver

Diego Solimano

Chad Travis Lawson Lundell LLP Vancouver

Sukhminder Singh Virk

Jie Wang Larlee Rosenberg Vancouver

Law Students

Victor Barta Vancouver

Fathima Cader

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Page 28: BarTalk | February 2011

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