Nancy Wiggs began her career at UBC in 1973 in the Department of Economics and then the Faculty of Education. In 1976, Nancy accepted a position as a secretary in the Faculty of Law when Jim Taylor hired her to work in the UBC Legal Clinic. When Nancy asked about what the job entailed, Jim said that he had no idea but he needed someone willing to jump in, figure it out and do it. That marked the beginning of a 36 year career with the law school. Nancy served as Law Clinic Administrator and Para Legal until 1993 when she was named Administrator for the Faculty of Law, a position she held until her retirement in 2012.
Nancy demonstrated a tireless commitment to the law school’s legal clinics in her role as Law Clinic Administrator. A single clinic is responsible for overseeing several hundred cases a year with many cases requiring students to represent clients in court. She ensured the UBC Legal Clinic and the Criminal Clinics ran efficiently, screening cases and providing a never ending stream of advice and support to the hundreds of students who went through the programs. She also worked with the Law Society and Professor Delloyd Guth in creating guidelines for Canadian Clinical programs for the retention of client files.
In 1993, Nancy transitioned into her new role as Administrator for the Faculty of Law. She supervised a large staff team, worked closely with the faculty and with the hundreds of notable Vancouver judges and lawyers who work as adjunct professors with the law school. Nancy was also responsible for the care and maintenance of the building which kept her in constant contact with many other departments on campus and led to her service of several University-wide committees.
In 2001 Nancy assisted in contacting lawyers and researchers for the publication of Lawyers with Disabilities: Identifying Barriers to Equality, a noteworthy report from the Disability Research Working Group prepared for the Equity and Diversity Committee of the Law Society of British Columbia. Numerous legal scholars have also commended Nancy for her assistance and expertise with various projects thereby further demonstrating her dedication to both the law school and the legal community at large.
Nancy’s many skills for administrative efficiency and organization led to her appointment as Special Project Manager at the Vice President Academic and Provost’s Office in 2007 to be the liaison manager with one of the largest academic conferences in the world with UBC’s hosting of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. While at the Office of the VP Academic, Nancy was also called upon to coordinate the University’s first “Celebrate Learning” week. The Faculty of Law also called on her expertise during the 2008 swing space planning and new building project. Her years of service to the law school actively contributed to a thriving academic and professional environment.