Law History Profiles

When it comes to the environment, Gregory McDade pulls no punches. “I think the battle for climate change is largely lost. Our kids will inherit a very different world than the one we live in.” Spoken by one of Canada’s top environmental lawyers, these words must not be taken lightly.

Justice Alnashir Visram (LL.B. ’78) was born and raised in Kenya, and in the mid-70s, he wanted to start a new life in Canada. Already a practicing Kenyan lawyer, Visram decided to repeat law school so he could start a new legal career in Canada. But nine years after graduating from law school at UBC, Visram found himself back in Kenya. Visram is now a judge in the Kenyan Court of Appeal, the highest court in Kenya. Here he talks about his journey from Kenya to Canada, and back again ...

As a native Vancouverite interested in business and law, UBC was the natural choice for Ron. He completed the seven-year combined Commerce/Law program in 1978 and found the legal education he received at UBC to be indispensable preparation for his employment at Farris & Company. However, his foray into the legal world did not last long. A year after being called to the bar in 1979, Ron decided to enroll in the MBA program at the University of Western Ontario.

Dorothy Joan Beck was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1930. She attended the University of British Columbia, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Social Work, and Master's Degree in Social Work. This training launched Beck on a career advocating for children's rights, working at the Child Guidance Clinic and volunteering as President of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver.

The Honourable Madam Justice Risa E. Levine holds a BA (Honours) and an MA in Sociology from the University of Toronto and an LLB from the University of British Columbia's law school. She received the Law Society Gold Medal and Prize for the LLB class of 1977, in recognition of achieving the highest cumulative grade point average over three years of study at the Allard School of Law. She would later join the Faculty as an adjunct professor and join the Dean's Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law.

Leigh Harrison has succeeded Barbara Nelson as President of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association on August 27th. He was born in Vancouver in 1949 and graduated from Point Grey High School. He took first year Arts at UBC and then began three years of education by travelling, visiting and working in New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and India ... 

On April 23, 2010, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Anne Winter Mackenzie as Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to “replace” (if such is possible) the Honourable Patrick D. Dohm, who retired after serving in that role for 15 years. She is the first woman to occupy that position …

Peter Csiszar is a Partner at Harris & Company LLP (“Harris”), a well-regarded labour and employment firm located in Vancouver. His legal practice involves a variety of matters related to labour law, employment law, and human rights law, including collective agreement interpretation and collective bargaining strategies. Over his career Csiszar has appeared before a variety of courts and administrative bodies including the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, human rights tribunals, labour arbitration boards, and the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

This issue of the Advocate honours Robert Brun, who assumed the position of president of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association in August 2003, for a one-year term. Robert Charles Brun was born in 1952 to Mona and Paul. Many may recognize Mona Brun as local media personality who hosted the Woodward’s cooking show on BCTV for many years ... 

Melvin Hunt began his life in an orphanage in Toronto, taken from his unwed mother after his birth in 1942. His early years in orphanages and foster homes were not encouraging for academic pursuits, and instead Melvin engaged in his own entrepreneurial ventures before dropping out in grade 10 to be independent. He worked a variety of heavy-labour jobs until mid-day during a construction job at age 17 he visited a Canadian Forces recruiting office, a decision that would be life-changing.

Pamela Ann Kirkpatrick received a telephone call from Kim Campbell, the Minister of Justice, on Thursday afternoon, November 26, 1992, to offer her an appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia sitting

barbara, as a first year student, consulted the student health service psychologist. She told him that either something was wrong with the world, or something was wrong with her, and she hoped that it was the latter as it would be much easier to fix.

Nancy Wiggs began her career at UBC in 1973 in the Department of Economics and then the Faculty of Education. In 1976, Nancy accepted a position as a secretary in the Faculty of Law when Jim Taylor hired her to work in the UBC Legal Clinic. When Nancy asked about what the job entailed, Jim said that he had no idea but he needed someone willing to jump in, figure it out and do it. That marked the beginning of a 36 year career with the law school.

The Honourable Kenneth Martin Lysyk was born in Saskatchewan. He took a BA at McGill, an LL.B. at the University of Saskatchewan and a B.C.L. at Oxford University. He was a member of the Faculty of Law at UBC from 1960 to 1970 and of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto from 1970 to 1972. He served as Deputy Attorney General for the Province of Saskatchewan from 1972 to 1976, and then returned to UBC as Dean, succeeding Bertie McClean, a position he held from 1976 to 1982.

Justice Catherine Bruce is a woman of many talents and great energy. She has a distinguished record of professional achievement and service. She graduated from UBC in 1976, second in her class, and then articled at Shrum Liddle & Hebenton (as it then was). Yearning for academe, she attended LSE to take an LL.M. in 1978. On return to Canada, she spent three years as in-house counsel for the Canadian Airline Flight Attendants' Association, which post she left in 1981 to join Braidwood &Co., where she practised labour, criminal and civil litigation.

Kenneth Stephen Tessovitch was born in The Pas, Manitoba on March 15, 1947. He was vague about his antecedents, describing himself only as "White Russian". While no doubt this was in reference to the legendary cocktail, Ken's taste ran more to cold beer and homemade red wine. Although his ancestors may or may not have hailed
from Eastern Europe, he certainly seemed built to withstand the type of weather one might experience in that part of the world. His parents eventually relocated to Prince George which had an equally inhospitable climate in wintertime.

“We buried my aunt yesterday,” Leslie Pinder begins. “I was reflecting at the service that she was actually the one who got me into all of this. [She] was a very beautiful but rather stern, matriarchal kind of woman. She said, ‘And what are you going to do in your life?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m going to become a writer.’ She said, ‘Oh, no, no, no, you can’t become a writer. You have no experience! Why don’t you get a job at the police department? You’ll get experience there!’ For some reason, I picked up the challenge and thought, ‘Well, you know, she’s probably right.’”

“[Law school] was a conservative place. But I mean, it’s funny, when you ask about law and politics. For me, I went into law, basically, because I knew that I had the political bug. I was originally going to go into medicine. I did pre-med at UBC. I was in the Faculty of Sciences. In fact, I was on the AMS – the Alma Mater Society, the Student’s Council - and then I was on the Senate of the University representing medical and science students,” says Svend Robinson ...

As the Secretary to the Dean of the law school at UBC in the late 1970s, Lorraine was appreciated by both faculty and students. During her time at UBC, Lorraine extended her love of the law school and UBC by establishing the Lorraine Douglass Prize in Real Estate Law, for students who have obtained high academic standing in Real Estate or Condominium Law coursework. This endowment has helped over 18 law students to date.

David Crossin is the newly appointed president of the Law Society. He is also a masterful advocate whose every word in the courtroom is obviously carefully chosen - he thus commands the absolute attention of the court whenever he rises to speak. He also commands the respect of all who are present by virtue of his attitude and the manner in which he carries himself...