Profiles

“What’s the purpose of being an advocate if it’s not to effect change?”

Born in Victoria in 1968, Peter D. Whyte was a child of immigrants. His formative years were spent in a West Vancouver household which was never quite stereotypically Canadian, yet was not stereotypically anything else either. He did not learn to play hockey, but instead became a tennis ace. He was exposed early to the delights and the burdens of excruciatingly correct English grammar which, as we will discuss below, has found its way into his formal writing style. Oh, the things up with which he had to put! Does one yet detect a vestigial British lilt in his occasional word?

In Sanskrit, there is a word for the perfect integration of livelihood with life’s purpose: dharma. Some of us know from the time we’re kids what we’re going to be when we grow up. Others venture down a few different paths before finding the right one, and still others of us discover our life’s work by accident.

"From the time I was young, I remember just knowing that I was going to be a lawyer. Well, after I gave up the dream of being an astronaut." While class of 2005 graduate Kristy Sim might not be going up in space anytime soon, she certainly has plans to go far in her career in international human rights law.

From working on a case involving an 18^th century Spanish shipwreck filled with treasure to helping Jay-Z resolve his dispute with Bacardi, Allard Law alum Rahim Moloo has become an established name in international disputes.

Agnes Huang, an activist and journalist who has devoted her career to date to championing the causes of women refugees and women of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, served as lay counsel for a number of refugee women before deciding she needed an insider’s perspective on the system she was trying to beat.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Myrna McCallum the recently appointed Director of Investigations at UBC. Myrna is Cree-Métis from northern Saskatchewan. She was a single mom of young children during her time at law school. Racism, exclusion and the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in prisons and the justice system overall in Saskatchewan, prompted her to pursue a career in law. Myrna joined the law school in 1998 and again in 2002. She graduated with her LL.B. in 2005.

“I think of myself as being a left-leaning feminist of Aboriginal heritage,” says Amber Prince. “My philosophies are in line with Atira’s and my outlook informs all of my work with women.” Although she was not aware that this type of work existed when she was a law student, she grew into it with the help of her colleagues. Halfway through her master’s program, she was offered the position of Legal Advocate for Atira. She accepted. 

For many, the thought of going to court over a small claims dispute can be an overwhelming prospect. Allard School of Law alumna Shannon Salter is hoping to make the task a little easier as the chair of the newly-created BC Civil Resolution Tribunal. 

When it opens later this year, the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) will be the first online tribunal in Canada, and one of the first in the world. This tribunal will allow people to make choices about where, when and how they resolve their strata property and small claims disputes. 

Associate Professor Cristie Ford joined the Faculty at the Allard School of Law in 2005, where she is currently the Director of the Centre for Business Law. Professor Ford holds a BA from the University of Alberta, a JD from the University of Victoria, and LLM and JSD degrees from Columbia University. As the recipient of a Killam Faculty Research Fellowship in 2012/2013 and a George Curtis Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence in 2015/2016, Professor Ford is recognized as both an esteemed researcher and educator. 

Sanjeeta Johal graduated with LLB class of 2005 from the law school at UBC. She currently works as an Associate at Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation (“Whitelaw Twining”). Her legal practice primarily focuses on personal injury law. With extensive litigation experience, Johal has appeared before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Provincial Court and the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal. 

Ardith Wal'petko We'dalx Walkem earned an LLB in 1995 and an LLM in 2005, both from UBC. She has built her legal career in areas of Indigenous law including land and resource use and children's rights, as well as access to justice. In 2020, she was appointed as a judge to the BC Supreme Court. She is the first Indigenous woman in BC to hold this position.

Lisa Kerr graduated from UBC Law in 2005. She is currently completing her doctorate at New York University and is planning to become a law professor. We caught up with Lisa in May 2014 to learn more about her, her research, and her time as a law student at UBC.

Hollis Bromley is a Partner at Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP (“Alexander Holburn”), where she is currently a member of the Insurance practice group. Bromley’s own practice has a litigation focus with expertise in both insurance defense and coverage. She largely represents insurers in a variety of capacities and has similarly aided out of province motor vehicle insurers with both representation and legal advice.

Holman Wang graduated from UBC Law in 2005. After working in the legal profession for seven years, he left to pursue his true passion: creating children's books. He and his brother are artists who help visualize literary classics with needle-felt figures. The classics are reduced to 12-words so that parents can share their favourite works with their young children. We recently caught up with Holman to learn more about him, his business, and his time as a law student at UBC.

Lana Shipley is a Partner at the Vancouver office of Lawson Lundell LLP (“Lawson Lundell”). Her law practice involves both commercial and corporate law with a specific focus on Indigenous, environmental, and energy issues. She represents a wide range of clients and frequently deals with a variety of regulatory bodies. Regarding Indigenous law, Shipley regularly assists clients in the negotiation of impact benefit agreements and similar instruments. 

When Steven Brandner practised law in downtown Vancouver, focused on commercial leasing, his clients were mostly lawyers, mid- level managers and organizations. With some, he could send a quick memo to them or their lawyer, get a response, and a deal was sealed ... 

Still in its infancy, animal law is a growing area of practice and one that Rebeka Breder (LLB ’04) is passionate about. Her groundbreaking work in this area has garnered the attention of many and is changing the way we view law as it applies to non-humans ...

Allard Law Professor Joel Bakan writes and researches in the areas of Constitutional Law, socio-legal studies, legal theory and economic law.  He studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and served as Law Clerk in 1985 for Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada.  He joined the Law Faculty in 1990 as Associate Professor after a year's visit from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he had been Assistant Professor since 1987.  Professor Bakan teaches Constitutional Law, Contracts, socio-legal courses and the graduate seminar.  He has won th

Andrea Menard (LLB ’04) has dedicated her career to working towards a better, fairer and reconciled future. In 2022, she was named one of Canadian Lawyer Magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers for her work as an educator who is focused on shedding light on the impact of colonization and systemic discrimination. Recently, Menard was also recognized as one of CIO Magazine’s Top 5 Most Influential Lawyers.