Law History Profiles

The Allard Law History Project sat down with Anna Fung, QC in the summer of 2020: listen to the full interview. As of 2021, she is Deputy Chair of the BC Utilities Commission, Chair of the BC Unclaimed Property Society, and a Director of the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals. 

Catherine Anne Murray has been lighting up every room she has walked into since she was a toddler. The courtrooms and judges' chambers wherever she sits will now be the lucky beneficiaries of her ready smile, positive energy and open and friendly attitude. 

But make no mistake: Justice Murray is not just a sparkling personality and friendly face. Rather, she brings a vigorous work ethic, a determination and a matter-of-fact pragmatism to every job she takes on...

Since graduating in 1984, Anne Giardini has had a successful career as a lawyer, executive and writer. Throughout, she said the lessons she learned in law school have always stayed with her. 

Jane Shackell graduated from the law school at UBC with the LLB class of 1984. She currently works as a Partner at the Vancouver office of Miller Thomson LLP (“Miller Thomson”). With over 30 years of experience in business law, Shackell’s legal practice ranges from issues surrounding mergers and acquisitions to the complexities of franchising. Appointed as a Queen’s counsel in 1999, Shackell is a leading name in business law. 

Tim Louis grew up in Vancouver, studying political science at UBC, from where he holds an LLB. Tim has always had a political mind, and ran for elected office in Vancouver multiple times. In 1990 he was elected to the Vancouver Park Board and reelected in 1993. In 1999 he became a City Councillor for Vancouver, and served two terms. He currently runs his own practice, which he started immediately after finishing his articles with former Vancouver City Councillor Harry Rankin in 1984.

Professor Margot Young is passionate about human rights and social justice. She opens up about her recent research into housing justice, and her thoughts on the situation unfolding at Oppenheimer Park. Professor Young began her teaching career at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria in 1992 after doing graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley in the fields of feminist legal theory and reproductive technologies. Her focus quickly shifted to the areas of constitutional law, in particular, equality law and theory, and social welfare law.

"When I became Justice Minister I described myself as a feminist and there was an audible intake of breath across the country, but you know, they got over it. I didn’t know how else to describe someone who was an advocate for equality of women..." 

Nancy Wilhelm-Morden is living proof that dropping everything on a whim to go live on a ski hill is a perfectly good decision. In August of 1973, Nancy came from Ontario to visit her boyfriend (now husband) who was working in Alta Lake, or what is now known as Whistler. She was supposed to stay for two weeks, but her boyfriend's plan to stay for ski season seemed like a much better idea. Forty years later, Nancy is serving the city as their first elected female mayor while continuing to practice law.

In 1991, Judith joined the faculty of law at UBC as a clinical instructor and was coordinator for the faculty's Clinical Legal Program. Once in the academic stream, she taught a variety of courses over the years, including administrative law, criminal law, regulatory state, perspectives on law, disability law, children and the law, and, most recently, legal ethics and professionalism. Judith's passion for teaching lay in the clinical context, as she believed that students learned best by doing, and by engagement with ethical problems as they arise in practice.

Just 13 years after graduating from the Peter A. Allard School of Law, Jeff Lowe, QC—then 33 years old—became the managing partner of British Columbia’s oldest law firm and continues in that role today. 

In more than 30 years with Richards Buell Sutton, Lowe, who was appointed to Queen’s Counsel in 2013, has established a successful corporate law practice while overseeing the business of running the firm. His areas of expertise include intellectual property, franchising, and corporate finance as well as mergers and acquisitions. 

“I came to UBC from the University of Auckland in 1968. This was a period when law faculties in North America were expanding dramatically,” Peter Burns recalls. Burns was one of six young academics hired by UBC Law in that year along with Peter Barton, Barry Slutsky, Chris Carr, Richard Fields and Jerome Atrens. When he arrived, the faculty “was quite small and everybody knew everybody - it was a very tight group.”

Ross A. Macdonald, Q.C., graduated from the law school at UBC in 1982 before being called to the bar in British Columbia in 1983. Macdonald was one of the original six lawyers that opened the Stikeman Elliott LLP Vancouver office in 1988. He currently acts as Senior Partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP after serving as Managing Partner from 1999 to 2019. 

Nicole Byres, QC graduated with the LLB class of 1982 from the law school at UBC. She is a Partner at the Vancouver office of Miller Thomson LLP (“Miller Thomson”). Byres’ legal practice primarily focuses on labour and employment but also includes extensive work in the fields of administrative and regulatory law. She currently leads the Labour and Employment Practice Group at Miller Thomson. 

Sue Paish, QC is a UBC Faculty of Law alumna, Class of 1982, and a respected leader with a track record of success in law, business and philanthropy. As a lawyer, Ms. Paish worked her way from articling student to managing partner at Russell & DuMoulin, one of the nation’s leading law firms, which is now known as Fasken. There, not only was she the youngest and first female managing partner, but Ms. Paish spearheaded the expansion of the firm from one office in Vancouver to an international platform with nine offices in three continents. In 2007, Ms.

Frits Verhoeven is the new president of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch after serving in various other CBA positions since 1999. Frits is a partner and senior litigator at Edwards, Kenny & Bray LLP. He has appeared in a wide range of civil lawsuits and administrative proceedings since his call to the bar in 1983 …

Miriam Kresivo was the secretary treasurer of the Vancouver Bar Association for almost 14 years. Elected a Bencher of the Law Society of BC in May 2012, Miriam held the positions of Chair of the Governance Committee, Vice Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, a member of the Discipline Committee, Executive Committee, and Regulation and Insurance Working Group. In 2018, she became the President of the Law Society of BC. Miriam has been on the executive of both the Canadian Bar Association’s Pension and Corporate Counsel Sections.

Visitors to the Honourable Russ MacKay's judicial chambers in Chilliwack were instantly treated to his famous sense of humour, as they walked across a doormat at the entrance to his office which reads: "Come Back with a Warrant!" Russ was always a practitioner of what is known in 12-Step circles as "Rule 62" (never take yourself too seriously). He took his commitment to his family, his obligation to help others and his duties as a Provincial Court judge seriously, but never himself. For Russ MacKay life was meant to be enjoyed, not endured… 

After completing her LLB, Elizabeth M. Vogt, QC clerked for the BC Court of Appeal and subsequently joined McCarthy Tétrault. While she briefly worked as a litigator, Ms. Vogt quickly transitioned to the real estate department. As a partner, Ms. Vogt went on to hold the titles of head of the Real Property and Planning Group, BC’s Regional Managing Partner, and Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer. 

On January 1, 2012, Bruce LeRose, Q.C., became the new president of the Law Society of British Columbia, and the first, ever, from the Kootenays. He was born in Trail on September 13, 1957, and except for the time he spent pursuing the post-secondary education that culminated in a law degree from UBC in 1982, Trail has been his home ...

Elizabeth Watson graduated from the Allard School of Law in 1981. After 20 years of thriving private practice, Ms. Watson founded Watson Advisors Inc., now Canada’s largest multi-disciplinary governance consultancy working with established and growing companies to recruit exceptional directors and executive leaders and optimize board effectiveness. In addition to her practice, Ms. Watson speaks regularly on governance matters and teaches in the Institute of Corporate Director’s Program on Governance Effectiveness. Ms.