Kate Bond (JD ’11) has a passion for the outdoors. During the summers of her undergraduate degree at UBC, Bond worked at a fire lookout in northern Alberta and also held positions in the Yukon and northern BC. Following a clerkship at the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) and a subsequent articling year at the Department of Justice in Vancouver, Bond continued working as a litigator at the Department of Justice in the Business and Regulatory Law Section. Even in Vancouver’s bustling cityscape and firm culture Bond’s deep-rooted connection with nature followed her as most of her files involved environmental and natural resource issues. She spent her days researching land use, fishing rights, and human relationships with the land.
On her early morning bus commutes into Vancouver, Bond began writing fiction—both novels and plays. In 2017 she was awarded the Daryl Duke Prize for her first screenplay entitled Trapline. The $25 000 annual prize honours up-and-coming Canadian screenwriters and aids them in turning their manuscripts into realized productions. Trapline evokes Bond’s connection with the wilderness. Set in the remote backcountry of the Yukon, the screenplay follows a 17-year-old teenager as she attempts to take over her grandfather’s abandoned trapline. Bond took part in extensive research exploring the ins and outs of trapping and she plans to take a trapping course in the future to truly understand the craft in its totality.
Bond has since quit her job as litigator in order to devote more time to writing and family. She also works part-time as a research lawyer at On Point Legal Research Law Corp. in Vancouver. The position allows her to pursue two of her passions in life—research and writing. Bond’s roles as both writer and researcher reflect her impressive academic career. She received the Law Society Gold Medal in 2011 and was part of the UBC team at the 2010 Wilson Moot. Her team was awarded with Top Factum distinction.
Bond’s career emphasizes the flexibility of the law degree and the ability for young lawyers to follow their passions, pursue their dreams, and seek alternative career paths while still finding demonstrative success.