Law History Profiles

Deans Faculty Members Alumni Year

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Wilf Wakely, most commonly pronounced "Wirofu Waekuri" in his beloved and enchanting Japan, died peacefully in Tokyo on February 2, 2021 after a two year battle with brain cancer.

“Having come from a very hardworking family that was disrupted by my father and his siblings being forced into residential school, and subsequently, me and my siblings ending up in foster care, then later residential school, I didn’t understand what was happening. I didn’t understand the mechanisms that were at play that resulted in children, at times, being homeless, or not having parents, a community, or guidance,” says Judge Tina Dion.

“Too many people in BC face legal issues without the benefit of legal advice,” says Craig Ferris, QC, FCIArb. “As lawyers, we have a duty to help fix this problem.”

“To me, law school wasn't just about reading cases, books, and case law,” says Harjit Sangra. “Law school teaches you a way of thinking, analyzing, organizing, attacking, and hopefully solving problems, which gives you a tremendous footstool to pursue your dreams.”

“I’m passionate about corporate culture, diversity and inclusion, and how organizations can make a positive impact in communities,” says Emiko Ando, General Counsel at BlueShore Financial Credit Union. Emiko has made it her mission to help organizations do just that.

“The work we do as lawyers is based on humility — excellence through humility is important,” says Bruce McIvor, founder and partner at First Peoples Law LLP. At First Peoples Law, Bruce is dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of Indigenous people. Bruce, who is Métis, grew up in Manitoba. His family was displaced from their lands, leaving his grandparents to farm in between rocks and swamp. “When I was a young boy on the farm, I picked a lot of rocks, but I decided that there had to be something better to do than picking rocks for the rest of my life,” he recalls.

Gigi Chen-Kuo, LLB 1990, was named interim CEO of TransLink beginning in February 2021, after a long record of service to the organization in executive leadership and in-house counsel roles. In January, we had the chance to ask Ms. Chen-Kuo a few questions about her career path and law school experience.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Photo credit: Chung Chow, courtesy of Business in Vancouver.

Dr. Carol Liao has played a pivotal role in Allard Law since she joined in 2017. In addition to her role as Faculty member and instructor, she is the UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, Director of the Centre for Business Law, and Principal Co-investigator of the Canada Climate Law Initiative.

In 2019, the Honourable Justice Joe Williams (LLM Hons, 1988) made history as New Zealand’s first Māori Supreme Court judge. An accomplished expert in Indigenous law, he has served in various judicial roles: first, on New Zealand’s specialized Indigenous courts (the Māori Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal), then the High Court, and Court of Appeal. He is of Ngati Pūkenga, Waitaha and Tapuika nation.

After growing up in Kingston, Ontario and earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University, James Reid knew he wanted to go to law school and knew he wanted to do it on the West Coast.

“I was so excited to be in Vancouver. Just the vibe of Vancouver—it felt very new and fresh,” he said. “It just felt, at least at that time, like it was the place to be … young people like me just seemed to be moving there.”

James Struthers (JD 2017), at a crossroads in his career, pursued law school for the intellectual challenge and the ability to contribute to society. Now, as founder of macushlaw and 253 Columbia, he is helping rethink how lawyers work and provide their services to the public.

Founded in 2020, macushlaw specializes in corporate, commercial and real estate services to SMEs, non-profits, and Indigenous groups and individuals. The macushlaw team prides itself on providing affordable and approachable legal services without sacrificing quality.

When Jeremy Dong was quite young, a family friend shared with him a story of his dad, Barry, acting on their behalf on a pro bono basis to help save their life savings. Barry would never tell such stories himself, but for Jeremy, these stories—where the law was used to make the world a little better—were great motivators for him.

There is little that Professor Emeritus Joost Blom has not done at Allard Law. Professor Blom completed his law degree at the law school in 1970, joined the faculty in 1972, served as Dean from 1997 to 2003, and retired in 2017, but continues to maintain an active presence at Allard Law as well as in the university more broadly.

For only one example of his active current involvement in the UBC community, Professor Blom takes on a new role this upcoming academic year as Principal of the UBC Emeritus College.

Judge David St. Pierre put himself through school, in part, by playing guitar in a band. When he was about 18, he was arrested for allegedly being in possession of a “prohibited weapon”: St. Pierre had just come off the stage at a big show and was wearing a studded wristband.

“Social movements need more access to lawyers,” says lawyer and mediator Katrina Pacey. This realization, her passion for social justice and desire to fill this gap, motivated Katrina to pursue a law degree.

Professor Pitman Potter retired in June 2020 after 30 years at the Allard School of Law. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1990, before being appointed to associate professor in 1992 and full professor in 1999. During his time with the law school, Professor Potter served in a number of leadership roles, including as Director of Chinese Legal Studies. He held the position of HSBC Chair in Asian Research at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC, where he was also the Director from 1999 to 2008.

Professor Tony Sheppard spent more than 50 years with the Allard School of Law before retiring in June of 2020.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics from UBC in 1964, Professor Sheppard went on to an LLB from the school in 1967. Once he completed his articles with Guild, Yule and Company, he was called to the British Columbia bar in 1969 and appointed as an Assistant Professor at UBC that same year. Professor Sheppard became an Associate Professor in 1972 and a full Professor in 1976. He also holds an LLM from the London School of Economics.

Andrew Gay, QC is a partner at Gudmundseth Mickelson LLP where he practices litigation with an emphasis on government liability, regulatory disputes, professional discipline, commercial litigation, and tort litigation. He is also an expert in the area of judicial review of administrative decisions.

For eight years, Mr. Gay was involved with the Allard School of Law as an Adjunct Professor, teaching an upper-year seminar on government liability—an idea that was first suggested by then-government lawyer and now-British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Karen Horsman.

Shawnee Monchalin graduated from the Allard School of Law in 2020 and is one of four students completing her articles at the Vancouver offices of Miller Thompson LLP in 2020-2021.

During her time in law school, Monchalin was the Vice-President of the Indigenous Law Students’ Association (ILSA) as well as its representative at the Allard Women’s Caucus. She also competed on the Allard rugby team.

Bob Dick, QC graduated with a Bachelor of Laws Degree from UBC in 1966. Soon after, he became a partner at the Prince George law firm Wilson King, where he practiced until he retired in 2014.

During his nearly 50 years in practice, Dick held a wide variety of roles, including being retained as City Solicitor for Prince George for more than 30 years as well as a number of positions with the Canadian Bar Association.

Dick was recognized with the Queen’s Counsel designation in 1986 and was elected president of the Law Society of British Columbia in 1991.


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