Law History Profiles

“I’ve never done first-year law school!” laughs Victoria Donaldson, a Counsellor with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body Secretariat in Geneva. Her Stanford BA in International Relations, which included a year at the Sorbonne, let her skip the first year of her Bachelor of Laws at Oxford, which in turn put her directly into second-year law at UBC. From there, it was straight into a clerkship at the Supreme Court of Canada and then a Master of Laws at Harvard ...

For most of us, a tough day at work might be trying to meet an impossible deadline, or having to sit through countless meetings in one day.  How about trying to seek justice for a Zimbabwean torture victim who had been submerged in a tub of cold water, electrocuted, and beaten repeatedly on his soles? All because he criticized his government. Or how about trying to help a Congolese war victim who’d been shot numerous times (but miraculously survived) and whose wife and eight children were massacred in their village by government rebels?

As an Allard School of Law alumnus and Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, Cameron Strang (BCom, LLB, 1992) has achieved what many entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts would consider a lifelong dream: he built a record label out of his passion for music, subsequently sold it to Warner Music Group, one of the largest and most renowned music companies in the world, and then stepped into the role of Chairman and CEO of two of its most legendary businesses...

Sharon had a somewhat unruly birth 40-something years ago, and some would say that she has been unruly ever since. There is considerable debate in her family about whether she was “an accident” (she was born several years after the last of her four siblings), but there is absolutely no double she is “special” ... 

Leona Sparrow, the official liaison between the Musqueam Indian Band and the Peter A. Allard School of Law, is no stranger to UBC. Sparrow completed both a BA and MA in Anthropology at UBC. After an esteemed career serving on the Musqueam and Chief Council, Sparrow returned to UBC to pursue a law degree. She graduated with the LLB class of 1992. A notable advocate and spokesperson for the Musqueam and other Indigenous peoples, Sparrow currently acts as Director of Treaty, Lands, and Resources for the Musqueam Band.

Law grads who spent time at UBC in the early 1990s may remember a friendly black shepherd dog named Mike frequently camped outside the George F. Curtis Building. Mike often brought his owner, Deborah Wolfe, to campus with him, waiting faithfully for her as she attended her classes ...

Valli Chettiar has had a very successful legal career since graduating from UBC in 1992: she was a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, acted as general counsel to Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., and is currently Vice-Chair of the Property Assessment Appeal Board and a Member (Mediator/Arbitrator) of the Surface Rights Board in BC. But what stands out the most about Ms. Chettiar is her enduring passion for promoting equity and diversity in the legal profession.

Dawn Boblin's appointment to the Provincial Court bench was met with elation and warm congratulations from her provincial Crown counsel colleagues, who at the same moment felt acutely her loss from the office. Few have a wit as quick and a laugh as infectious as Dawn has. She has been a practical, wise and even-handed colleague and mentor to many Crown counsel over the years. She will be deeply missed in the halls of 222 Main Street and 865 Hornby Street, where she practised most recently as a Crown prosecutor...

Lindsay Lyster graduated as the gold medalist for the Class of 1991, and went on to clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. While working as a research assistant for Dean Peter Burns, she was introduced to Madam Justice McLachlin and offered a job over dinner. “It was completely not the way it’s done now.”

J. Kelly Hoey (LLB ’91): strategic advisor, author, networking expert extraordinaire and this month’s featured alumna. When we learned this Allard School of Law grad was recently named one of the 100 most influential women on Twitter, we jumped at the opportunity to feature her transition from practicing law to inspiring others and publishing her own networking book in order to show just how boundless an Allard School of Law education can be.

Kelly had an adventurous and daring spirit that, prior to law school, saw her working as a camp cook and rock hound in remote areas of British Columbia. Ever proud of her Tsimshian, Haida and Scottish heritage, Kelly sought to carry on the political legacy of her forebears. Kelly, who had developed her political awareness at a young age, continued her social and political activism while in law school at UBC (1988-1991). This activism, which extended throughout her life, was particularly evident in her passion for First Nations and child welfare issues...

David Wotherspoon (LLB '91) is a partner at Dentons and lead of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group in Vancouver. In 2013, he took on a pro bono case, representing homeless people who had set up an encampment on city-owned land in Abbotsford. In a half-day injunction that turned into a six-week trial, David succeeded in advancing the Charter rights of homeless people.

What drove you to pursue law school? Did you always want to go into law?

Associate Professor Karin Mickelson has been with the law school for more than 25 years, first as a student, then as a faculty member. She is a leading international scholar in the area of international environmental law, especially as it relates to global inequity.

Robin Junger is a Partner at the Vancouver office of McMillan LLP (“McMillan”). He also serves as McMillan’s National Co-Chair of the Aboriginal and Environmental Group as well as the Co-Chair for the firm’s Oil and Gas Group. Frequently recognized by Chambers Global, Lexpert, and Best Lawyers, Junger is a leading name in the fields of environmental and Aboriginal law.

In 2009, Janet Winteringham, Q.C. and Andi MacKay opened the doors of a boutique litigation firm in Gastown specializing in criminal, civil and constitutional cases. Janet’s interest in criminal and constitutional matters began at Simon Fraser University as a Criminology major and continued at the University of British Columbia where she obtained her LLB in 1991.

From left to right: Alanna Lee, Lisa Martz, Jason Koshman, and Mary Ainslie with coach Bruce MacDougall receiving the Gale Cup trophy in 1991. 

“In a way, I feel like Forrest Gump.” It’s 9:00 a.m. in Vancouver and midnight in Hong Kong, and this is Olivia Lee on the line, head of the China and Hong Kong Capital Markets practice and the Hong Kong Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate practices for White & Case LLP. Maybe it’s the time difference, or a bad connection. Hello?

“I happened to be [involved] in a lot of things which I didn’t expect at all,” Lee starts to explain, “a lot of memorable events, meeting a lot of very interesting people.” Cue the Prime Ministers. Roll film. Aaand … action.

Kevin Butler and Lori Monk’s love story reads like a law school fairy tale. They met here at UBC in 1990, fell in love, got married on a shoestring budget, and are still happily together and living in Grand Cayman, more than two decades later. They have a healthy eleven-year old daughter, recently finished building a second home in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario, travel all over the world and volunteer their spare time with a literacy organization.

Peter A. Allard School of Law alum, Shari Hosaki (JD ‘90), Vice-President Associate General Counsel at Indigo, forged a path for herself in the corporate field as in-house and general counsel at numerous large companies, standing out as an impressive leader and team manager. We spoke to her about her career so far, how she got her start, and working in a male-dominated field

You have a wide array of experience in the corporate/commercial field. What do you think has made you so successful?

After being called to the bar in 1991, Renée practiced law for a number of years before realizing that a poet’s life was for her. She describes the transition from lawyer to poet as both “difficult and marvelous” at the same time. In 2010, Renée graduated from the Writers Studio of the Continuing Studies Department at Simon Fraser University, which served as the beginning of what proved to be a successful career as a writer.