Profiles

Madam Justice Linda Ann Loo obtained her law degree from UBC in 1974, and was called to the Bar in 1975. She was practicing law as in-house Counsel for BC Hydro from 1975 to 1986, before becoming an associate (and later, a managing partner) with the law firm Singleton Urquhart, where she stayed from 1986 to 1996.

Madam Justice Mary Victoria Newbury practised principally as a corporate commercial lawyer. However, she was best known as a "lawyers' lawyer". At both her former firm, Ladner Downs, and her last firm, Fraser & Beatty, her partners looked to her when they were confronted with legal problems of exceptional difficulty. Her vast legal knowledge, her superb analytical skills and her ability to reach a conclusion speedily were renowned.

“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.

Mexico City, October, 1968. It’s the year of the Fosbury Flop, the first doping tests, the first woman to light the Olympic cauldron— and all at 2,240 metres above sea level. Olympic and world records are set and broken and broken again in the rarefied air: long jump, high jump, triple jump, pole vault and sprints. But for the middle- and long-distance runners, the altitude has the reverse effect. “It was a huge factor,” says Trerise, the memories flooding back. “The feeling is that you just want to lie down and go to sleep.

Rick's practice has focused on criminal defence, and his professional life's work has been rooted in the firm belief that defence counsel fulfills a vital function in society. It is a role that can be carried out in a way that not only serves the client, but also befits a noble profession and enhances the administration of justice. He speaks frequently and passionately about the importance of an independent bar, civility and professionalism, and he practises what he speaks...

Having known Gordon Turriff, Q.C., for more than a collective century, it is somewhat remarkable that we cannot easily describe the Law Society’s new president in simple terms. Gordon is first, and truly, a British Columbian and Vancouverite. He was born and raised on the west side of Vancouver, the younger of two children of Les and Mary Turriff. His father was a manager with an international transportation firm, and his mother, after raising their family, was secretary to the chancellor of UBC …

Thanks largely to Derek’s efforts the attitude of the profession toward alcohol and drug problems has changed dramatically. People are more open about their problems and the problems of others and are much more inclined to seek help and deal with their problems. [The Lawyers Assistance Program (“LAP”)] now has a case load of about 500 people at any given time. It has approximately 300 volunteers and three full-time and one part-time lawyers/counselors. It has also opened a satellite office in Victoria.

On December 16, 1985, Mary Ellen Boyd took her seat on the Bench of the County Court of Vancouver. There, she will no doubt continue to hold that professional respondent which she so deservedly earned in her practice at the Bar. Her Honour was born in Saskatoon ...

Madam Justice Mary Victoria Newbury practised principally as a corporate commercial lawyer. However, she was best known as a "lawyers' lawyer". At both her former firm, Ladner Downs, and her last firm, Fraser & Beatty, her partners looked to her when they were confronted with legal problems of exceptional difficulty. Her vast legal knowledge, her superb analytical skills and her ability to reach a conclusion speedily were renowned.

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.

In federal law, he has a remarkable distinction: he helped to draft the first and only amendment to Canada’s Constitution. Locally, he helped start a 40-year tradition at the law school that still requires no studying or exams. Sure, up until a few years ago, you might have found cases involved, but they were the kind that held beer. His memorable contribution began with a ramp, water and a kiddies’ pool...

In 1973, Robert S. Angus graduated from the law school at UBC and was called to the BC Bar in 1974. He carried on a global mining practice until 2003 when he retired from the Law Society of BC. For more than 40 years, Mr. Angus has focused on the structuring and financing of significant international exploration, development and mining ventures. 

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.”

He’s a natural storyteller. His recollections of law school, of colleagues and of trials take shape as fully formed narratives. He speaks with a hint of laughter in his voice and as though he has all the time in the world for these tales; you’d never guess he had 45 volumes of material on a construction case vying for his attention.

Joe was the youngest of four children born to Motoharu and Sayoko (Tanaka) Hattori. His parents married in 1938 in Vancouver. Interestingly, Joe's grandparents were among the earliest Japanese immigrants to arrive in Canada. Sayoko's father, Ichijiro Tanaka (1886- 1982), came to Canada in 1903. He married Miki (Tsuji) Tanaka (1891- 1981) in 1911 in Victoria, B.C. They had eight children, Sayoko being the eldest. The Tanaka family ran a very successful tofu business in the Powell Street area of the Japanese community in Vancouver until the uprooting of 1942.

The recent unexpected retirement of Richard R. Sugden, Q.C., from the practice of law is a loss to the legal profession in British Columbia. Rick made truly exceptional contributions during his 34 years at the bar. He rose to the pinnacle of the profession and is universally acknowledged as one of the finest advocates and civil litigators to ever grace the courts of this province ... 

Jon Sigurdson arrived at law school in the fall of 1970 amidst great change. “I was one of the first Canadian students to write the LSAT,” he recalls. “Law school then was really focused on case study and the Socratic method,” Sigurdson said, but added that a number of younger professors - Chris Carr, Bill Black and Michael Jackson, among others - aimed to give their students a broader, more socially conscious, view of the law.

Climaxing several years of participation in Canadian Bar activities, James Dimitri Vilvang becomes President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association at the next annual meeting in August at Montreal. Jim, well known in athletic circles in British Columbia, was born in Vancouver in 1950 but grew up in New Westminster and attended New Westminster High School …

Although Jack enjoyed the practice of law, his real love was the world of politics. At Jack's funeral, his brother told the story that when Jack was a youngster his mother commented that one day he would be the Prime Minister of Canada. Jack did not make it to Ottawa, but many regarded Jack as the "Prime Minister of Terrace". In 1979 Jack became a councillor for the City of Terrace and remained in that position until he was elected as mayor in 1985. He remained in the position of mayor until 2008 and in so doing became one of the longest serving mayors in British Columbia.

Trudi L. Brown, QC graduated from UBC’s law school in 1973. She is a family law litigator, mediator, and arbitrator based in Victoria, BC. After being called to the BC bar in 1974, Ms. Brown worked at the BC Crown Counsel office in Victoria for 4 years. In 1978, she started her own firm, Buckler Metzger Brown and Miliken. She formed another firm, Brown and Kay in 1984, which went on to become Brown Acheson Henderson - better known as “Broads on Broad Street.” From 1988 to 2001, Ms. Brown worked at Horne Coupar. She now practices family law at her firm Brown Henderson Melbye.