Law History Profiles

Born and raised in New Zealand, Professor Paterson attained a law degree in 1969 (coming first in his year) from the Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand’s first Maori woman lawyer was a classmate). His next step was graduate school at Stanford University in California, followed by a professorship at Allard School of Law in 1975.

“I grew up in, well we called it ‘Haney’ in my day, it became Maple Ridge Later. It was a district in Maple Ridge but it was compromised of Haney, Hammond … I grew up there and went to Maple Ridge High school. I graduated in 1959. My dad was in shoe repair until he passed away in ’88. He was working still, he passed away from a heart attack. My mother was the owner of a fabric store – she co-owned the fabric store for years. I  was the eldest of four, I had two brothers and a baby sister. I was involved… In those days, I was like everyone else.

The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., C.C. was the first woman to hold the distinguished position of Chief Justice of Canada. Her vision for Canada reflected her adept interpretation of Canadian constitutional law and her groundbreaking decisions and rulings, which significantly contributed to the evolution of our country. 

Professor Joseph Weiler joined the UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law as Assistant Professor in 1974. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1979, and became a Full Professor in 1987. He earned his BA with Honors at the University of Toronto in 1969, his LLB at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University in 1972 and his LLM at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1974.

After receiving his LLB in 1973, Professor Robin Elliot, QC, returned to the Allard School of Law in 1976 as Assistant Professor, after he was called to the Bar of BC in 1975. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1983 and to Professor in 1991. He has written extensively in the area of Constitutional Law, including works on both the Charter and Canadian federalism, and adjudicated cases under provincial and federal human rights legislation. During his fruitful career, he has been involved in the litigation of several important Charter and other constitutional cases.

Asked why she decided to study law, Madam Justice Lynn Smith answers, “Who knows?” Uncertainty of motive, however, does not seem to have inhibited either her abilities or her commitment. Her decision to study law seems to have stemmed from her interest in social change and because, in her words: “it seemed like a good fit, especially with a philosophical undergraduate background.”

There is little that Professor Emeritus Joost Blom has not done at Allard Law. Professor Blom completed his law degree at the law school in 1970, joined the faculty in 1972, served as Dean from 1997 to 2003, and retired in 2017, but continues to maintain an active presence at Allard Law as well as in the university more broadly. 

For only one example of his active current involvement in the UBC community, Professor Blom takes on a new role this upcoming academic year as Principal of the UBC Emeritus College. 

At the University of British Columbia, Bertie McClean was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1971 to 1976, and Associate Vice-President Academic from 1984 to 1995. His main legal areas of interest are trusts and estates, property law and pensions. He has written and lectured extensively in those fields, and has provided opinions on them to both the private sector and to government. 

Donald J. Sorochan obtained his BA from the University of Alberta in 1966. Following graduation he was employed by Canadian Pacific Airways at the Edmonton Airport. Enrolling at the University of British Columbia to study law in 1968, he remained employed with the company at the Vancouver Airport. He graduated with his LL.B. in 1971 and obtained articles at Swinton & Company in Vancouver, the predecessor of Miller Thomson. He would spend his entire career in practice with the firm, and served two terms as managing partner (1981-1984, 1996-2000).

After graduating from Harvard Law School, it soon became clear to Professor Bill Black that he would rather teach law than practice it, and the Allard School of Law was the ideal place to do so. 

“I once had an interview with a big, corporate law firm in Seattle … I remember thinking at the time, ‘I’m not sure I can hold out the hour of the interview, much less 20 years,’” he said. “Perhaps if I had interviewed with a firm that had focused on my areas of interest, I would have had a different response. But I have never regretted choosing an academic career.” 

Joost Blom was born in Pitt Meadows and received his BA from UBC in 1967. He went on to complete a LLB at UBC in 1970 before pursuing a BCL from Oxford in 1972. Universities were vigorously expanding throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s: more students were coming and more professors were needed. When UBC Law opened in 1945, there were only two full-time faculty members, Dean George Curtis and Frederick “Pappy” Read, with much of the teaching duties falling on practicing members of the local bar.

Professor Michael Jackson is looking for justice. Professor Jackson, who has just won a national award for his work in advancing human rights and correctional practice in Canada, advocates on behalf of prisoners. The nature of the prisoners’ crimes – from robbery to murder – has often given the public an excuse to turn a blind eye to the suffering and discrimination prisoners may face both in and out of prison: assault by guards and other inmates, long stretches in solitary confinement, intimidation and threats of vigilante justice in the community. 

Allen Soroka attended law school at the University of Virginia, where he recalls that every second student was the son of a governor. He worked as a criminal defense lawyer for four years before relocating to New York and working at the Federal Reserve Bank. Wanting to raise a family, he took night classes at Columbia University to obtain a Master of Library Science degree, and subsequently relocated to Vancouver to take up a position in the Law Library at UBC in October of 1969.

“I was born in Bulawayo, what was then Rhodesia, and what is now Zimbabwe, in 1945 ... December 12, 1945,” says Dennis Pavlich, “I had a great education. I went to a Jesuit college and was actually a boarder there. The Jesuits, despite some of the negative legendary stuff around them, were superb educators. They were superb educators because, in a rather subtle way, they were very much into expanding the mind” …

James “Jim” P. Taylor, Q.C. graduated with an LLB from UBC in 1968 and returned to the law school as a member of the faculty in 1974. He was awarded the Allard Law Alumni Association Alumni Award of Distinction in 2007 in recognition of his outstanding achievements and endeavours in the practice of law, government service, the judiciary, business, legal academe, community service or other areas that have brought honour to the law school.

The following profile was created by the law school in 2012.

According to Elizabeth (Liz) Edinger - and there is little reason to doubt her assertion - she holds the distinction of being the first law student in UBC history to give birth in the midst of her studies. Edinger’s decision to study law was pragmatic; law promised an income. She says that “in those days…jobs were plentiful after law school…my class had until the spring of their final year [to find a job].”

Tom Shorthouse has played many roles in his life. The one for which he is best known to the legal profession is head librarian at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia. For 32 years, Tom nurtured and guided the law library to its current position as one of the best in Canada …

Donald J MacDougall was a dedicated student of the law, as well as a gift to his own students. He was first admitted to study law in 1952 on scholarship to the Universtiy of Melbourne, where he received awards of distinction in no less than six subjects over the course of his studies. He continued his legal education over the academic year of 1958-1959 as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Chicago, where he obtained his J.D. 

"When Terry told me that he was to receive this degree and that it would be conferred in London by the Queen Mother, he seemed incredulous that I would expect that he would travel to England for the event," recalls Connie Munro, "[Terry said] 'It is not required. They will mail it to me.'" 

Leon Getz grew up in a liberal household in South Africa where his parents strongly encouraged argumentation and debate. His father had an interest in the law and encouraged both Leon and his brother to study law. At the beginning of his career, Getz was a faculty member of UBC Law from 1962-1969 and again from 1978-1979. Looking back on his time at UBC Law, Getz, now partner at Getz Prince Wells LLP, remarks that the quality of the faculty is second to none.