Law History Profiles

John D'Arcy Gardner was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan in 1950 near his grandparents Midale, Saskatchewan wheat farm. The family moved along with Gardner's father's mining work, from New York City to Arizona, Peru, and finally Los Altos, California. He enrolled at Grinnell, a highly-ranked liberal arts college in Iowa. At the time, the Vietnam War had ensnared the United States, and on a trip with classmates to Winnipeg he formally renounced his U.S. Citizenship. 

Howard Ehrlich was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to David Ehrlich, an Auschwitz survivor, and his wife Grace. He studied at the University of British Columbia, where he obtained his undergraduate degree, before obtaining his law degree in 1981. He continued legal studies at Southern Methodist University in Texas, obtaining an LLM before returning to practice in Vancouver. 

Theresa Arsenault, QC knew in the early 1980s that she wanted to do corporate law but considered Vernon, where she practised for four years, too small for that. So was Salmon Arm, where she had attended high school. Vancouver, where she did her UBC arts under- grad and law degrees (Class of ’81), was too big. This outdoor enthusiast was looking for that just-right place – like Goldilocks, she says by phone with a laugh ... 

Born to an Inuk mother in 1936 and raised in Edmonton, Kiviaq holds the distinction of being Canada’s first Inuit lawyer. As a child, Kiviaq endured the racism of schoolyard bullies, and developed prowess as a fighter. As a young man, he had a distinguished athletic career that included boxing and football. 

"Throughout my youth, everyone either knew I was going to be a lawyer or they were telling me that I should become one," explained the Honourable Gary Cohen, a Surrey Provincial Court judge whose interest in law was noticed by everyone, including his mother and teacher who gave him permission to skip class in high school to watch court proceedings.

Adriana Wills is a Partner at Harris & Company LLP (“Harris”) in Vancouver. Her legal practice primarily focuses on workplace law as well as employment law, labour law, and human rights law. With over 30 years of experience, Wills has appeared before the British Columbia Supreme Court and the British Columbia Court of Appeal, as well as the Labour Relations Board and the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Since 2010 she has been annually recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada in the Labour and Employment Law sectors. 

July is a cold, wintry month in Melbourne, Australia. That is when, and where, approximately 46 years ago, Richard S. Margetts, president of the Law Society of British Columbia, was introduced to the world. A contrarian by both inclination and genetics, it is fitting that Richard should now thrive in a land on the opposite side of the globe, where July is part of a warmer and more hospitable season ... 

Jan Lindsay, Q.C., the new president of the Law Society of British Columbia, is smart, warm and genuine. Jan has risen to her position as president as a result of hard work, determination and a bucketload of talent. The profession will be well served by her leadership. Jan has lived her entire life in the Lower Mainland. She was born at the Vancouver Grace Hospital on January 20, 1955, the first-born child of Abie and Carol Klassen. As the eldest offspring and only daughter, Jan was expected to set a good example for her younger brothers, Stan, Lory and Glen.

“I was actually a counsel on the first Charter case filed and argued on the first day in which the Charter came into force…” 

Michael F. Welsh, QC is a member of the LLB class of 1980. He is a professionally certified mediator and arbitrator and a partner at the litigation and mediation firm Mott Welsh & Associates, based in Penticton, BC. 

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Welsh graduated with a BA philosophy, cum laude, from Cornell University (1975). Following graduation from UBC’s law school, Mr. Welsh clerked at the BC Supreme Court. He went on to complete his articles at Russel & DuMoulin (now known as Fasken). 

Professor L. Michelle LeBaron joined the Allard School of Law in 2003. She directed the UBC Program on Dispute Resolution from 2003 to 2012. She is also a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at UBC. 

“One of these things is not like the others; one of these things just doesn’t belong...” Judith Bellis sings behind the closed door of her Department of Justice office in Ottawa. It’s an old Sesame Street ditty, and Bellis’s response to being told she’s been selected as a subject for this feature.

Mitch Taylor is a family man. His son Patrick is studying sciences at UBC and his daughter Samantha is a member of Canada’s Equestrian Team and a 2008 Olympic hopeful. His wife Nora, Senior Investment Executive with Scotia McLeod, comes up twice in conversation; they have been married for 31 years. So when Taylor says he “kind of fell into law,” it sounds less like an accident than like falling in love: a wholehearted, lifelong commitment to the work he was meant for.

Cheryl Tobias is Senior General Counsel in the Vancouver Regional Office for the Department of Justice. Her practice consists largely of appeals up to and including the Supreme Court of Canada dealing with constitutional, criminal and Aboriginal rights issues.

What started as road trip to Alaska turned into a lifelong career in the Canadian North for retired Nunavut Chief Justice Robert Kilpatrick. Justice Kilpatrick fondly looks back on the adventure he embarked on following his graduation from law school at UBC in 1980. He reflects on the emerald lakes, towering mountains, friendly people, and all that inspired him to build his career in the “land of the midnight sun.”

Brian Higgins, Class of 1979, has the unique quality of having greatly impacted the lives of countless law students at the University of British Columbia without ever having been their professor. Higgins was the longest serving Supervisor Lawyer of the Law Students' Legal Advice Program, working with the Program from 1988 until his retirement in 2011.

On May 7, 2009, British Columbia Provincial Court Chief Judge Hugh Stansfield (LLB '79), died from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells. An intelligent, dynamic and open-minded judge, he was involved in or directly responsible for many of the significant reforms in BC’s provincial court over the past 15 years. He was 56 years old ... 

His father was a member of Dean George Curtis’s second graduating class in 1949. He attended University Hill School and played field hockey, where Gage Towers now sit, urged into the sport at age six by Dr. Harry Warren, an Olympic sprinter, Rhodes Scholar geology professor and friend of Dean Curtis. Two of Curtis’s boys were teammates.

Grand Chief Edward John was born at Nak'al Bun (Stuart Lake), in northern British Columbia in 1949. He was taken to the Lejac Residential School on Fraser Lake, but completed high school at Prince George College, where he was elected class president. He attended the University of Victoria, graduating in 1974 with a BA in Sociology. After a year as the executive director of the Prince George Indian Friendship Centre and a year as education director for the Tl'azt'en First Nation, he enrolled in the law school at the University of British Columbia.

Ross Beaty is a graduate of geology and law, and holds a Master’s from Imperial College London. He has founded and divested several resource companies and is currently the chairman of Pan American Silver Corp and Alterra Power Corp. Mr. Beaty is also a passionate environmental philanthropist. Through his work with the Sitka Foundation he aims to promote biodiversity and protect the environment through the support of environmental research, education and public policy.