Law History Profiles

Peeter Wesik is a proud UBC alumnus. He first graduated with a BA in political science in 1973, and then with an LLB in 1976. Mr. Wesik has been a long-time supporter of UBC, making donations to Athletics, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Law. A student lounge is named in Mr. Wesik's honour through a generous gift by the Wesik family to the Building Project.

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.

When J. Parker MacCarthy left lovely Cobble Hill for Quebec City in mid-August this year, he went as one of Vancouver Island’s more experienced and admired general practitioners. He returned a little later as President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association – a fitting tribute for a fine person. He is the first President from the Island and only the second from outside the Lower Mainland … 

"One of the things as a lawyer is you don't often get to see physical manifestations of what you've done...but to see a physical manifestation, whether it's that I go up to Whistler and drive along the Sea to Sky Highway, or I go to a hospital or a school that I was involved in, it's really satisfying. It justifies the hard work." - Anne Stewart, QC, YMCA Woman of Distinction, Canada's Top 25 Woman Lawyers, Public-Private Partnership Projects Pioneer, Class of 1975.

The current president of the law society was recognized, early in life, as a person of considerable intellect when at the tender age of 17 he led to the Burnaby Central High School “Reach for the Top” team. His athletic skills were not quite as remarkable, although it may be that the number of times he banged his head on the mat in wrestling matches was part of the process through which sense was knocked into it …

Born and raised in New Zealand, Professor Paterson attained a law degree in 1969 (coming first in his year) from the Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand’s first Maori woman lawyer was a classmate). His next step was graduate school at Stanford University in California, followed by a professorship at Allard School of Law in 1975.

Each of Brad's three names is rooted in that family history: "Bradford" is after Governor Bradford, an early governor of the Plymouth colony; Mr.

Wanda Dorosz is founder, president and chief executive officer of the Quorum Group of Companies, a Toronto-based funds manager that has specialized in technology-based investing, real estate funds management and growth capital investing since 1987. Ms. Dorosz is the first Canadian woman ever to launch a venture capital firm.

The journey to the president’s desk is long and arduous for any bencher and particularly so for a sole practitioner, barrister, father of six and aspiring farmer from Prince George. We have known and enjoyed Richard for many years here in Cariboo County and have seen first-hand the scrupulous and unstinting effort and energy that he devotes to his bencher duties and Law Society initiatives. Our members and the public have a tireless worker in this president ...

After graduating from UBC in 1971 with a BA in Film Production and English and then traveling through Europe and Asia for a year, Peter Grant was without work. An employment counselor asked him what he was trained to do, and he answered, “‘I’m in film. I want to be a film producer.’ And she said, ‘Have you got any other options?’ And I said, “Well, I’ve been accepted to law school, but I don’t really want to go.’ So she said, ‘Go to law school. There is no future in film in this country.’” Grant went to law school ... 

“Pure synchronicity” is the phrase Louise Mandell uses to describe the process by which she arrived at UBC for law school. Teaching certificate, education degree and some traveling under her belt, she says, “I had no clue what I was going to do. So I applied randomly to the London School of Economics, Simon Fraser University’s grad program in communications, UBC law school … and UBC’s [acceptance] came in first. Cosmic lottery.”

On November 8, 2013, the Honourable Justice Christopher Hinkson was sworn in as the sixteenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. His appointment was universally well received by the court, the bar and the public…

“I grew up in, well we called it ‘Haney’ in my day, it became Maple Ridge Later. It was a district in Maple Ridge but it was compromised of Haney, Hammond … I grew up there and went to Maple Ridge High school. I graduated in 1959. My dad was in shoe repair until he passed away in ’88. He was working still, he passed away from a heart attack. My mother was the owner of a fabric store – she co-owned the fabric store for years. I  was the eldest of four, I had two brothers and a baby sister. I was involved… In those days, I was like everyone else.

Mexico City, October, 1968. It’s the year of the Fosbury Flop, the first doping tests, the first woman to light the Olympic cauldron— and all at 2,240 metres above sea level. Olympic and world records are set and broken and broken again in the rarefied air: long jump, high jump, triple jump, pole vault and sprints. But for the middle- and long-distance runners, the altitude has the reverse effect. “It was a huge factor,” says Trerise, the memories flooding back. “The feeling is that you just want to lie down and go to sleep.

Rick's practice has focused on criminal defence, and his professional life's work has been rooted in the firm belief that defence counsel fulfills a vital function in society. It is a role that can be carried out in a way that not only serves the client, but also befits a noble profession and enhances the administration of justice. He speaks frequently and passionately about the importance of an independent bar, civility and professionalism, and he practises what he speaks...

Having known Gordon Turriff, Q.C., for more than a collective century, it is somewhat remarkable that we cannot easily describe the Law Society’s new president in simple terms. Gordon is first, and truly, a British Columbian and Vancouverite. He was born and raised on the west side of Vancouver, the younger of two children of Les and Mary Turriff. His father was a manager with an international transportation firm, and his mother, after raising their family, was secretary to the chancellor of UBC …