Profiles

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.

Lisa Kerr graduated from UBC 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.

What is your research on?

Holman Wang graduated from UBC 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.

Why did you get into this unique line of work?

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 ... 

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.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day. This is the motto that Drew Lawrenson lives by, and it is with this energy and love of life that he came to be where he is today. As Vice President, General Counsel of the Eminata Group, the largest provider of post-secondary education in Canada with 43 campuses enrolling more than 15 000 students, Drew engages with stakeholders to build consensus and works with students, employees, governments, businesses and community leaders from across Canada.

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. 

Long before she was an academic, UBC Law faculty member Associate Professsor Natasha Affolder was actively advocating for the importance of environmental issues. Now, as a leading scholar in the field of the environment and the law, she talks about current trends in environmentalism and what concepts as diverse as transnationalism, human rights and behaviourial psychology have to do with environmental law. 

What are you working on at the moment?

When Lutz Reide (LL.M. ’04) first visited Vancouver to study English in 2000, he was so drawn to the city’s West Coast lifestyle that he knew he’d return one day. Three years later, after earning his law diploma at Vienna University, the German native found himself back in Vancouver ...

Professor Gordon Christie joined the Faculty in 2004 and held the position of Academic Director of the Indigenous Legal Studies Program at the Allard School of Law from 2005 to 2016. During this time, the Allard School of Law generated a specialization in Aboriginal Law.

Sharon MacMillian is a Partner at the Vancouver office of Miller Thomson LLP (“Miller Thomson”). Her legal practice primarily focuses on real estate law and its connection with a variety of other sectors including environmental and commercial law. Acritas Stars recognized MacMillan in its 2018 global survey of “stand-out” lawyers.

Still in its infancy, animal law is a growing area of practice and one that Rebeka Breder (class of ’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. 

Bob Delamar, Director of Business Development for Raysat, Inc. in Vienna, Virginia, thinks big. Always has. No inside-the-box for him. Who knows—maybe it’s the traveling. The next two weeks include stops in Nashville, Vancouver, Tokyo and Beijing—an itinerary mapped in the latitudes and longitudes of the entire globe.

Maybe it’s the influence of larger-than-life former Senator Ray Perrault, a maternal cousin and hero to the young Delamar, who said, “You know, son, I think you’d make a fine lawyer someday.”

Ryan Dalziel is a partner at Norton Rose Fullbright and a member of the LLB class of 2003. He has clerked for Justice William Esson and Justice Mary Newbury at the BC Court of Appeal and for Justice Rosalie Abella at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Jamie Maclaren, QC has a demonstrated dedication to increasing access to justice and has been significantly involved in pro bono organizations. He is the founding Executive Director of Access Pro Bono, a Vancouver-based organization that provides free legal advice to BC’s low income individuals and non-profit organizations. Furthermore, he is the former Executive Director of Pro Bono Law of BC and of Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) at the Allard School of Law, where he currently volunteers as a supervising trial lawyer and Director. Mr.

Mary Anne Bobinski, BA, JD, LLM, served as dean of the Allard School of Law from 2003 until 2015. Under her leadership, the law school experienced more than a decade of sustained renewal and growth marked by new programs, enhanced teaching and research, and expanded international reach.

Mandeep Gill graduated with LLB class of 2003 from the law school at UBC. She currently works as an Associate at Harper Grey LLP (“Harper Grey”) in Vancouver. As a member of the firm’s Health Law, Professional Regulation, and Critical Injury Law Groups, Gill’s primary focus is on representing clients in civil and disciplinary matters.

Jari was an elite speed skater and competed in community, regional, provincial, national and international competitions during his competitive career from 1983 to 2000. Following his retirement from competitive speed skating, Jari coached athletes ranging in age from 3 to 75 and from beginner to national/elite level at the Burnaby Haida Speed Skating Club and six Fraser Valley speed skating clubs from 2000 to 2005...