Law History Profiles

If Brodie Swartz had been asked while attending law school in what capacity he planned to work after graduation, one would have been surprised by his answer, given his success as Vice President, Legal at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) Administration Corporation in downtown Toronto.

“I never would have thought in a million years that I’d be working at a pension plan and enjoying it,” he said in a phone interview.

Just like the many ski destinations that his company manages, Allard School of Law alumnus Trevor Bruno’s’ career has seen its fair share of adventure. In 2007, Trevor joined Intrawest, the largest developer and operator of ski resort properties in North America, as Legal Counsel. Over the years, through a series of challenging events and rewarding opportunities, Trevor worked his way up to serve as the President of Intrawest Resort Club Group and Intrawest Hospitality Management.

Class of 2002 
Lee Schmidt is an Allard Alumnus from 2002. She worked as an Indigenous rights lawyer at a Vancouver firm before joining the Peter A. Allard School of Law in 2017 as the Associate Director Indigenous Legal Studies. She maintains a part-time law practice and is called to the Bar of British Columbia. Schmidt is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. She

Graduates from the Peter A. Allard School of Law can be found in some pretty unexpected places—Curt Howard is one of those graduates; we found him working at Google Canada. As Head Legal Counsel for Google Canada (based in Toronto), Curt is part of an ever-evolving and nascent field of law. We had the opportunity to talk to Curt about his career path since leaving the Peter A. Allard School of law and his dynamic journey. Curt explains what led him toward this exciting career opportunity and how his experiences have shaped his legal interests.

Neil Davie is one of those guys for whom success appears to have come easily.

With more than a dozen years of practice under his belt, one of the leading real estate lawyers in Canada and one of Lexpert Magazine's "rising starts" under 40, Davie is unassuming, jovial and genuinely curious as to why he has been tapped to do an interview for Your Alumni News.

Karey Brooks views the law "as a potential tool or instrument to advance social justice causes." She currently practices civil litigation with a focus on aboriginal, constitutional and administrative law, and has acted on many landmark Aboriginal cases, including as co-counsel for the trial and appeal of Grassy Narrows (Keewatin v. Ontario (Minister of Natural Resources) (SCC, 2014)).

Carmine Boskovich is a graduate of the LLB Class of 2001 from the law school at UBC. Prior to law school, Boskovich obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Environmental Studies from UBC in 1996. She joined Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (“Fasken”) in 2002 after clerking at the British Columbia Supreme Court. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2003. Boskovich is currently a Partner in the Indigenous Group and the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Fasken’s Vancouver office.

Angela Austman is a Partner at the Vancouver office of Lawson Lundell LLP (“Lawson Lundell”). Austman’s legal practice primarily focuses on corporate finance and securities law and she works as a member of the Private Equity Practice Group at Lawson Lundell. BC Business Magazine named Austman as one of BC’s Most Influential Women in Finance in its March 2019 issue.

“I was always looking to leave a legacy, and when I started I thought it would be the books I write, and then I thought later it would be the court cases I argue. I think the proudest achievement in my career is the day I had my family, and you start to realize that’s the legacy.”

If juggling a law career and a family with two children isn’t enough, try throwing part-time business owner of a successful dress shop into the mix. In 2006, Deb Viccars, along with her business partner and friend Catherine Staveley, launched Frocks Modern Bridesmaids, a bridal boutique in Kitsilano, Vancouver targeting those ladies on the edge of the spotlight.

When Ljiljana Biukovic was studying law in her native Yugoslavia in the mid-1980s, Europe was a far different place than it is now. The tensions of the Cold War weighed on everyone’s minds, the USSR exerted great influence behind the so-called Iron Curtain, and the contemporary notion of a European Union where goods and people travel freely across most of the continent’s borders was still years in the future ... 

Jyotika Reddy is a graduate of the JD Class of 2000 from the law school at UBC, having first completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 at UBC. While at law school, Reddy served on the Board of Directors of the UBC Law Review. She currently works as a Partner at the Vancouver office of Lawson Lundell LLP, having joined the firm in 2016.

Reddy was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 2001. From 2008 to 2013, she worked as an Associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and as a Partner at Clark Wilson LLP from 2013 to 2016 before transitioning to Lawson Lundell LLP.

In the opinion of Louis Marquis (Ph.D. ’00), participatory justice brings a new way of thinking about law and justice, one that’s progressive, empowering, dynamic. Simply put, participatory justice is the use of mediation and conciliation that engages everyone involved, in order to find a satisfactory solution ...

Stuart Breen is a Partner at Lawson Lundell LLP (“Lawson Lundell”) in Vancouver where he acts as the head of the Corporate Finance and Securities Group. His legal practice primarily focuses on corporate finance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions. Regarding industry, Breen often represents clients in the mining sector.

Matt Westphal has enjoyed a legal career any student would envy: A Law Society Gold Medal, a clerkship with the Supreme Court of Canada, and an offer from a prestigious New York firm. Now a high-school teacher in Surrey, where he teaches Law, French, and Social Studies, Westphal is using his law training in a way he never imagined when he was in practice...

For more, read the full profile of Matthew Westphal in the Allard Law Alumni Magazine, Spring 2014.

John-Paul Boyd (LLB ’99) was half way through completing a master’s degree in philosophy when he first realized his interest in speculative epistemology was so far removed from his roots as a social activist that he could no longer justify his pursuit of it. Believe it or not, prior to attending law school, he had marched in anti-nuke parades and lobbied for affordable post-secondary education.

Litigator turned “wellness lawyer” Andy Clark worked for the largest firm in Atlantic Canada when he started tagging along with his wife to professional wellness conferences and seminars. Interested in what he was learning, he began blogging about health, wellness, and the challenge of living healthily as a working lawyer. Several years later he is a published author, consultant, speaker and leader in the niche field of lawyer wellness education and awareness.

Andi is a trial and appeal lawyer at Winteringham MacKay. She has appeared at all court levels and is regularly involved in trials dealing with professional liability, criminal cases (both prosecutions and defense), commercial litigation, employment law, products liability, tavern liability, constitutional law, complex insurance litigation and tort litigation. Andi has been involved in many leading cases defining the scope of fiduciary duty and constructive trusts. In the criminal realm, Andi has been a prosecutor of complex criminal cases.

Most people would be happy to have a career in law. How about adding a stint as an award-winning filmmaker? Then add time as a criminal law university instructor. Oh, add another career as a heavy-weight champion pro-wrestler. Now, you’re starting to get a picture of the multi-disciplined, multi-talented, multi-everything Peter Smith (a.k.a. “The Rocket” Randy Tyler to wrestling fans) ... 

Doran Chandler, a folk-rock musician turned lawyer has been recognized by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Who’s Who Legal: Canada (Sports & Entertainment) as one of Canada’s preeminent entertainment lawyers. He is co-founder of Chandler Fogden Aldous, a Vancouver-based firm specializing in entertainment law, and his practice focuses on advising clients on all aspects of film, television, and new media projects.