Law History Profiles

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.

In addition to being a criminal defence lawyer, Mark Gervin is a Lecturer at the Allard School of Law and Director of Legal Services for the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (ICLC). For the past 25 years, the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic has played an important role in the Indigenous community throughout the province. The ICLC provides free legal services to those in need while also providing students with practical work experience.

We recently chatted with Mark to learn more about him, his time at the Clinic and his passion for criminal defence.

Nigel Beckmann graduated from the law school at UBC with the LLB class of 1999. Prior to attending law school he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Queen’s University in 1984. He currently works as a Director at Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation (“Whitelaw Twining”) in Vancouver. His legal practice is litigation based with a core emphasis on insurance and personal injury defence. He leads the Defamation and Abuse Litigation groups at Whitelaw Twining.

Duncan McCue is a national reporter for CBC-TV News in Vancouver, and his current affairs documentaries are featured on the CBC’s The National. His work has been nominated for Gemini and Webster awards, and he received an RTNDA Award for investigative reporting and multiple honours from the Native American Journalists Association for investigative, news and feature reporting. McCue is Anishinaabe and a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nations in southern Ontario. Throughout his career, he has worked diligently to bring Native stories into the mainstream media.

Isabel Jackson is a member of the Gitxsan First Nation. She grew up in coastal British Columbia, mainly in Prince Rupert. As a young student, Jackson developed an affinity for the sciences, and pursued this interest by enrolling in undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Michael (Mike) McDonald, QC (LLB 1988), is a partner at Clark Wilson and Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Business Group. He originates from a small Aboriginal community in northern Manitoba. His parents instilled in him the values of dedication and humility such that his success is measured by the people he serves. He is proud to be a part of the solution to helping Aboriginal communities and businesses engage meaningfully and successfully. Mike is a member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.

“I think probably what I am most proud of is charting my own path and putting together each of my experiences to create what for me is a job that is completely in alignment with my core values. I am somebody that truly loves what I do and I am excited to come to work every day …” – Jennifer McNaught, Legal Personnel & Professional Development Director, Class of 1997.

Euan was born in Bromborough, U.K., which is why he always sounded so smart. Not one for style over substance, he backed up his English accent with an undergraduate degree earned from Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in molecular and developmental biology from the University of London. Trading London for Winnipeg, he held postdoctoral fellowships in cell biology and agricultural biology at the University of Manitoba.

Evelyn Ackah is the founder and managing lawyer at Ackah Business Immigration Law, which currently has offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. People and relationships are at the heart of Evelyn’s work, which is why she’s so passionate about immigration law. Learn more about Evelyn, her work and what inspires her.

You graduated from law school in 1997. Looking back now, what would you say was the highlight of your time here?

How does one join the Scottish Football Association as its first full-time Compliance Officer? As Vincent Lunny puts it, "Pure luck! Apart from getting paid to watch football, [the best part of my job is] working with the crowd here at Hampden, Scotland's national stadium . . . [My colleagues] have quickly become friends as well as colleagues and we play football every week. I've lost twenty pounds since Christmas."

“I’ve been wanting to be a lawyer since I was a kid. Nobody in my family or relatives were shocked whatsoever when I became a lawyer…People want to be cops, firemen, others asked me ‘What do you wanna be?’ ‘I wanna be a lawyer.’ I always did. – TJ Dhillon, Coca-Cola delivery trucker, real estate lawyer, car enthusiast, immigrant, father, Class of 1997.

Whether or not you have an interest in tax law, one thing is for certain, after talking to Kim Brooks you’ll want to sign up for a tax law class. Brooks is passionate about the subject, so much so that she decided to leave the tax law practice and teach and inspire others to pursue the profession ...

On December 29, 2017 Francesca Marzari was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia before a small gathering of family members, old and new colleagues and courthouse staff she had met during her term as a law clerk.

Keith Chatwine graduated from law school at UBC with the LLB class of 1997. He also received both a Bachelor of Science in 1993 and an MBA in 1997 from UBC. He currently works as a Partner in the Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups at the Calgary office of Stikeman Elliott LLP (“Stikeman Elliott”). Chatwine’s legal practice is diverse and deals with a variety of aspects of corporate law.

Matthew Nathanson earned his LLB from UBC in 1997 and is now a practicing criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver, as well as an active volunteer and mentor for students at Allard Law.

Matthew knew he wanted to become a lawyer at a very early age. His father is a lawyer, so Matthew’s interest in the law was sparked by early family conversations around the dinner table about the law.

E. Louise Logan, Class of 1996, saw the potential of public policy to ignite positive social change before even attending her first class at UBC’s law school. “The power of the law and the power of public policy to both cause harm and to ameliorate” not only inspired Louise to law attend school, it has also motivated her two-decade career in public policy.

Victoria Shroff is credited as being one of the first and longest serving animal law lawyers in Canada. In addition to running her Vancouver-based law firm Shroff & Associates, Victoria has served as an adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law, teaching the animal law seminar. Victoria is often approached by the media to comment on animal law issues and is the founder of a social literacy and animal law program called 'Paws of Empathy’.