Law History Profiles

Franklin Lew was born December 26th, 1936 to Chinese-Canadian parents. He grew up in East Vancouver. He graduated from law school at UBC in 1961, and established his own practice in Vancouver's Chinatown. He was known as a talented lawyer and a successful business person, and devoted much of his time through activities in his community. He was a good friend to many, a devoted husband to his wife Joan, and an inspiring father to his son Derek, who also became a lawyer.

Justice Ross Collver moved from Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1954 to study English and History at UBC. He went on to complete his law degree and graduated in 1960.

After working in general practice for several years, Justice Collver began a judicial career that spanned BC’s Provincial, County and Supreme Courts. His many accomplishments include being a dispute mediator for separated parents and a board member for BC’s Lawyers Assistance Program. He humbly describes his career as “rewarding and fulfilling”.

James (Jim) Horsman, QC, CM has led an extraordinary life, most of which he has dedicated to serving his community. After graduating from law school, Mr. Horsman moved back to his home province of Alberta and embarked on a momentous career in law, politics, higher education, and public service. Mr. Horsman’s can-do attitude and selflessness has led him to take on various roles and his law degree from the Allard School of Law placed him in a position to have a lasting impact on the Medicine Hat community and beyond.

Brian Smith was apparently the first of thirty-three Attorneys General of British Columbia to attempt to delineate publicly the duties of his office. In a paper delivered as the First Annual Hugh Allan MacLean Lecture at the University of Victoria on February 24, 1987 [reproduced in (1988) 46 The Advocate, pp. 255-2621, he reaffirmed the principle that the exercise of the prosecutorial discretion should not be influenced by orders from a Prime Minister, the Cabinet, or anybody else.

Inger Hansen's father, a Danish civil servant, was adamant that he would not send his only child to university, no matter how smart she was, because she was a girl. So Ms. Hansen found her own, rather circuitous, way to a stellar career. After first coming to Canada in 1950-where she took a job as a cook on a farm in the West-she eventually managed to work her way through to a law degree at the University of British Columbia. That credential led to ground-floor roles in three key areas of public life that have now become an integral part of the national dialogue.

Professor J.C. Smith is an Professor Emeritus at the Allard School of Law. He holds a BA (1953) from Brigham Young University, an LLB from UBC (1960) and an LLM from Yale University (1961). Professor Smith joined the Faculty in 1961, where he has held the titles of Instructor (1961-1963), Assistant Professor (1963-1966), Associate Professor (1966-1969), Professor (1969-1995), and finally Professor Emeritus (1995 – present). He was called to the Bar of BC in 1965. From 1989 to 2002, Professor Smith was the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Project at UBC’s law school.

"His favorite client was Harkley Haywood, which sold all manner of hunting and fishing gear," remembers Bryan Baynham, Q.C. "No one received better service nor paid less for their legal advice than the owners of Harkley Haywood."

Terence Crosby O'Brien, or Terry to friends, spent his whole career at Harper Grey LLP (which at the time he was hired for articles was known as Harper, Gilmore, Grey, de Vooght, Levis, van der Hoop, MacKinnon, and Pyper). He practiced general corporate-commercial solicitor work there until his retirement in 1999.

Benjamin Benito Trevino, Q.C., the greatest lawyer, cook, gardener and fly fisherman ever to come from Brownsville, Texas, Nimpo Lake and, soon, Furry Creek, B.C., is about to become our next Treasurer. He almost didn’t make it this far. This has nothing to do with his penchant for smoking (his extra-large, extra-deep ashtrays are designed to cradle at least three lighted cigarettes while the fourth is being smoked); or for martinis, which are kept pre-mixed, in the freezer, in an authentic Bombay Gin bottle: 2 drops of scotch, a sniff of vermouth, never frozen yet …

After receiving his law degree from UBC in 1959, Jack Giles appeared for almost 50 years as trial and appellate counsel in courts throughout Canada, in virtually all areas of the law, as well as appearing before federal and provincial tribunals. Both in practice and through his roles in numerous professional and other organizations throughout his distinguished career, he was a leader in advocating a number of important matters, including access to justice, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, civility to fellow members of the Bar and the independence of the Bar.

Michael Butler graduated from UBC Law in 1959. After articling at a law firm in Calgary, he started working in the Combines Branch of the Department of Justice in Ottawa. He became a trusted policy official in the Privy Council office, working closely with former Prime Ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, before working for the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, Department of Transport, and Department of Indian Affairs on policy and problem solving. He also worked for the Treasury Board, where he negotiated the federal share of the 1985 Calgary Olympics.

The Honourable Kenneth F. Arkell recently reached out to the Allard School of Law to enquire about updating his LLB from 1959 to a JD. When asked why he wanted to make the change, he began sharing his fascinating personal journey from RCMP officer to professional football player to judge. Here are just some of the stories from this alumnus with a passion for the law, a penchant for golf, and a great sense of humor.

After earning his BA and LLB from the University of British Columbia in 1958, Charles Diamond proceeded to have a distinguished business career spanning more than five decades. This includes serving as Chairman of Diamond Investment Ltd., BC Turf Ltd., JET Equipment & Tools Ltd., and Pioneer Protective Products Ltd. Prior business experience also includes directorships with Canada’s Export Development Corporation and John Labatt Limited.

The new Treasurer of the Law Society is Jack L.T. Edwards, Q.C. (The “L” and “T” appear only in the most official of documents, and stand for names unknown to all but a few.) Jack is a commercial solicitor, one of few of that breed to have led the Society ...

Most people will be surprised to know that Bryan Williams, that famous Campbell River fly fisherman, was born (are you ready) in Calgary. Who knows what it was that was put into his genes that made him what he is. Perhaps it was the altitude. One colleague and friend, without reservation, says: “If there were Olympic medals for persistence and tenacity, Bryan Williams would have as many Golds as Mark Spitz.” ...

Speaking through Horace Rumpole, his custom-designed spokesperson, John Mortimer refuses to believe that “those who are entirely sane would undertake the thankless task of judging their fellow human beings” ...

Allan Thackray was born on October 28, 1932, in Moose Jaw,  Saskatchewan. His father had a men’s clothing store called, not surprisingly, Thackray’s Men’s Wear. Allan attended several different grade schools and then Moose Jaw Technical School. It was not an academic institution, so he took sheet metal work, drafting, woodwork, electricity and motor mechanics …

Dave graduated from the Faculty of Law at UBC in 1958. His father was a senior officer in the RCMP and had experienced various criminal cases with the Honourable Angelo Branca. It was through this connection that Dave met Mr. Branca and was accepted as an articled student and later as a lawyer in his firm…

For more, read Profile of David Stanley Nuttall from The Advocate 73 (2015).

William Arthur Esson was born in Vancouver in 1930, and grew up in the city, obtaining an education at fine Vancouver Schools. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Arts in 1953, and spent the following year working in his father's bakery in the city's East End. Seeking the easier life of a student, he enrolled in law school at UBC, and graduated with his LL.B. in 1957. He served his articles at Cecil Merritt, V.C.

On August 22, at the Halifax meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, some time between the law and the lobsters, Alec Robertson will take over from Les Little as the new President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. This represents a fairly rapid promotion, since Alec only joined the Council in 1982, but then Alec’s career has been a succession of rapid promotions ...

The appointment of William Arthur Esson to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia after ten years in the judicial vineyard (at first on the valley floor and then lately on the greener appellate slopes) is well deserved and will serve us well. The qualities of patience and compassion, clear thinking and uncommon good sense that were noted in these pages at the time of his original elevation to the bench have earned him the respect of the bench and bar in the performance of his judicial duties in the trial and appellate courts.