Profiles

When Allard School of Law Associate Professor Wei Cui saw a posting for an appointment at UBC in 2012, he suspected that the job was perfectly suited to him. Describing a tax law specialist along with expertise in comparative law in Asian countries, the posting couldn’t have been a better fit, and Cui’s colleagues at the time agreed.

The school’s search for such a scholar coincided with Cui’s desire to relocate from China to North America, where he wanted to pursue academic work more exclusively after several years as a government advisor and senior tax practitioner.

Derek Frenette is a Partner at Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP (“Alexander Holburn”). At Alexander Holburn, Frenette’s practice is largely litigation focused with a concentration in wills and estates, employment, and commercial law. Frenette works alongside numerous teams at Alexander Holburn, ranging from the Wills, Estates, and Trusts team to the Intellectual Property and Technology working group. Over the course of his practice Frenette has appeared before the British Columbia Supreme Court, the British Columbia Provincial Court, and a variety of administrative tribunals.

Dr. Russo obtained his LLB, LLM and PhD degrees from the Peter A. Allard School of Law, where he is currently a Lecturer. His research has been primarily in the area of immigration and labour law and he has published several peer-reviewed articles in this field. He has also held previous teaching appointments at the law school, and has taught first-year Torts, Transnational Law and Public Law in the JD program, as well as Advanced Legal Research and Writing and subjects in the LLM CL and Distance Learning programs.

Camille Chisholm is a graduate from the JD class of 2012 from the law school at UBC. Prior to attending law school she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UBC in 2007. She currently works as an Associate at Lawson Lundell LLP (“Lawson Lundell”) in the firm’s Litigation and Disputes Group. Her practice primarily focuses on commercial and real estate litigation and she has experience appearing before all levels of court in British Columbia.

Jon Conlin is an alumnus of the Class of 2011 and graduate of the Business Law Concentration program. Originally from Vancouver, Conlin attended Washington State University where he received a BA in Political Science and played NCAA football for the Washington State Cougars. After graduation he began working for Fasken in Vancouver as a member of the Technology group. He currently works as a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M & A) team at Fasken with a focus on companies in the technology and health sciences sectors.

Kate Bond (JD ’11) has a passion for the outdoors. During the summers of her undergraduate degree at UBC, Bond worked at a fire lookout in northern Alberta and also held positions in the Yukon and northern BC. Following a clerkship at the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) and a subsequent articling year at the Department of Justice in Vancouver, Bond continued working as a litigator at the Department of Justice in the Business and Regulatory Law Section.

Affectionately referred to as “aunty” amongst Indigenous students at the Allard School of Law, Dana-Lyn Mackenzie is the Associate Director of the Indigenous Legal Studies Program. Whether it’s advising Indigenous students on course selection, connecting students with alumni or advocating for the Indigenous community within the law school and the University, Dana-Lyn plays an important role amongst the Indigenous study body. Her efforts were recognized in the summer of 2016 with the prestigious President’s Staff Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion.

Kyla Lee (JD ’11) is a criminal defence lawyer with Acumen Law Corporation in Vancouver, focusing on drinking and driving offences. Kyla hosts a podcast, Driving Law, which discusses current criminal law matters in BC and Canada. As well, Kyla generously supports one Allard School of Law student each year through the Kyla Lee Indigenous Law Students Award.

Note: Responses are paraphrased

What drove you to pursue law school and what inspired you to practice criminal law?

Patricia Barkaskas is the Academic Director of the Allard School of Law (“Allard”) Indigenous Community Legal Clinic, and the incoming director of the Allard Judicial Externship Program. In addition to working closely with law students in these capacities, Barkaskas is a sole practitioner, practicing in the areas of child protection (as parent’s counsel) as well as criminal and family law.

Emigrating from Poland at the age of 9, Alice Davidson worked hard in her youth leading to a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University before graduating from the law school at UBC in the Class of 2011 from the JD Program. Prior to pursuing her legal education, Davidson worked as a Contracts Associate at Schneider Electric in Burnaby, British Columbia.

UBC alumnus Carlos Mendes has always loved beer. He has found a niche career, bringing together his love of the law and his love of beer. He talks about his work ... and his favourite beer. He is known as the "beer guy", being the only lawyer in B.C. who specializes in representing clients in our province’s craft beer industry. He also writes about the industry and beer in general on his blog, www.bcbeerlaw.com, and in various publications.

"Plus, I’ve been known to enjoy a beer or two, now and then," says Carlos.

Vandana Sood (JD ’10) found herself drawn to law after working over a decade in the sciences. “I was always interested in being of service to others, in particular helping with matters related to women and social justice,” explains Sood. “That’s why I decided to apply to law school.”

For many third year law students, post-graduation plans are focused on obtaining an articling position in the Lower Mainland or securing a judicial internship. But for some students, the most interesting opportunities are in smaller, close-knit communities. When Ryan Scorgie graduated, he decided to leave Vancouver and return home to Kamloops.

After learning about the tragic death of a woman (potentially due to a drug overdose) at the Occupy Vancouver protest site in November 2011, Michael McCubbin saw the writing on the wall and knew that an eviction notice from the City was inevitable. He had to get involved.

For McCubbin, the heart of the issue before the City was about providing a safe environment for the many homeless people who had set up shelters in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery during the Occupy Vancouver protests.

Joel Morris is a graduate from the LLB class of 2010 from the law school at UBC. Prior to attending law school Morris obtained an Honors Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University in 2006. He currently works as a Partner in the Health Law, Commercial Litigation, Professional Regulation, and Insurance Law practice groups at Harper Grey LLP (“Harper Grey”) in Vancouver.

When asked to identify what he loves about his work, Professor Benjamin J. Goold identifies two things. Firstly, "thinking about theory." He enjoys that law forces him to "think about the underlying structures of how things work." Secondly, he embraces that law facilitates "talking to people" and being pushed to think about practical implications.

A day in the life of an Executive Producer involves story meetings, conversations to decide what will be on that day’s news broadcasts, debates about how those stories will be reported, and the constant knowledge that a breaking story could change your day in an instant. As exciting as a last minute dash to a courthouse registry might be, it seems hard to imagine that a career in law could ever be as interesting as one in journalism.

Allyson Marta is a graduate from the JD class of 2009 from the law school at UBC. She currently works as an Associate in the Pensions & Benefits Group at the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott LLP (“Stikeman Elliott”).

On September 21, 2009, the Honourable Mr. Justice Robert Bauman was sworn in as the 15th Chief Justice of Supreme Court of British Columbia. A well-respected judge, he had served for 13 years on the trial and appellate courts of this province. His appointment by the Prime Minister was universally well received by the public and the court.