Law History Profiles

Ralston Alexander, Q.C., assumed the presidency of the Law Society of British Columbia on January 1, 2005. Knowing Ralston, he likely celebrated the event with a round of golf. Ralston was born in Toronto in 1944, and two years later trekked west with his parents, first to Kamloops and then to Salmon Arm, where his father established a medical practice.

Gary L.F. Somers was born and raised in New Westminster, B.C. where his parents owned and operated the city's landmark Terminal Pub. He attended law school at the University of British Columbia, obtaining an LL. B. in 1969. He founded his own law firm in 1980, Somers and Company, to serve his hometown of New Westminster. The firm has since grown to over 20 lawyers, including Mr. Somers own two sons.

I can still visualize that race well. A rowing race in the Olympics is about 240 strokes, give or take, over 2,000 metres. You break down your race strategy into 500 metre quadrants. My partner, now Dr. Roger Jackson, and I were not the favoured pairs team. Our even making the finals was definitely a surprise to the rowing world. But we had the fastest times in the qualifying heat, so we knew we were competitive ... 

The Honourable Anne Rowles passed away on November 13, 2019 at the age of 78. Anne was a strong supporter of our students, faculty and staff and will be fondly remembered.

“I think you have to step in,” says Alastair Lucas when asked if he considers himself an environmental activist. “In my career, a lot of work [involved] collaborating with public interest environmental groups... They’re really necessary to move issues forward, to move the debate forward. I think their work and their perspective is really important.” ...

James “Jim” P. Taylor, Q.C. graduated with an LLB from UBC in 1968 and returned to the law school as a member of the faculty in 1974. He was awarded the Allard Law Alumni Association Alumni Award of Distinction in 2007 in recognition of his outstanding achievements and endeavours in the practice of law, government service, the judiciary, business, legal academe, community service or other areas that have brought honour to the law school.

Russell Lusk is the new President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Russell’s dedication and commitment to the B.C. Branch are well known. It is only recently, however, that he has attained the highest levels of the CBA. The reason for this recent success has, until now, remained a secret ... 

Michael Franklin Harcourt, mayor of Vancouver from 1980 to 1986, and premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, “never planned to go into politics.” The progression into politics, however, seemed natural for someone who decided to study law because he “wanted to make change.”

Andrew Schuck was born while his father was stationed in England during the Second World War, in Earlswood, in the municipal borough of Reigate, Surrey. At the end of the war his family returned to Canada and he was raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. As a teenager an athletic Mr. Schuck's won the Saskatchewan light middleweight amateur boxing champion, a title he held for two years. However, it was his accompanying sense of fair play that earned him acclamation as Football King of the Scott Collegiate High School in Regina.

Effective January 1, 1993, Brian J. Wallace, Q.C. assumes the office of Treasurer of the Law Society of British Columbia. Brian’s career at the Bar has been a very distinguished and successful one and his tireless service to the profession, both as a Bencher and through his work on many Law Society committees over the past years, is well-known. His ascendancy to the highest office in the body that governs lawyers in British Columbia is regarded as a natural progression that is both well-deserved and of obvious benefit to the profession ...

Warren T. Wilson, QC attended UBC where he obtained a BA in 1962 and an LLB in 1967. He was admitted to the BC bar in 1968. Mr. Wilson has previously held the positions of President of the Law Society of BC and Chair of the Law Foundation of BC. Since 2011, Mr. Wilson has assisted lawyers throughout the province as an Ethics and Practice Advisor at the Law Society of BC.

Justin Bieber is not the new president of the Law Society for 2011. That would be Gavin Hume, Q.C., breaking all the trends in “do’s” for the last 50 years, not a hair out of place, not even while cresting a six-foot chop off Point Atkinson in his overpowered speedboat or dashing down tripe black diamond ski runs at Whistler in a perfect “Bieb”. The only thing he has not yet mastered is the “no hands flip” favoured by today’s preteens; Gavin sticks with the one-handed “swoosh” move adopted by Roger Federer as he awaits return of serve. Watch for it … 

Elizabeth Edinger retired in July 2021, after nearly 50 years of teaching at the law school. Professor Edinger taught and published in the areas of Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law and Creditors Remedies. She received the faculty’s Killam Teaching Excellence Award in 2000, was the law school’s longest-serving Associate Dean, and served as a faculty advisor in the BC Law School Competitive Moots and for the UBC Law Review. The following profile and oral history were created by the law school in 2012.

Robert Martin Dick, Q.C. was born in Vernon, B.C. many more years ago than he cares to admit. He spent his childhood in Vernon and graduated from Vernon Senior High School before heading off to UBC for his B.A. and L.L.B. While at UBC Bob met and married Maureen Dilworth and that union produced two children, Robert Dilworth Dick, now 25 and Katherine Grace Dick, now 22. Maureen convinced Bob that Prince George would be a good place to raise children and make a lot of money. She was partly right …

Sargent (Sarge) Berner died of cancer in September 2014. He was born in Halifax on February 1, 1941. His mother Zelda was then living in army housing in that city while his father, Isaac Berner, was serving overseas in the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Isaac Berner served in both World Wars, achieving high rank as an officer. Sarge did not see his father until he was four years old…

Born to immigrant parents in Vancouver, Wally Oppal grew up with a strong work ethic and a will to learn. After finishing broadcasting school he worked in lumber mills and as a disc jockey in order to put himself through his undergraduate and law degrees at UBC. As a visible minority, Wally Oppal pursued a legal career in part because he believed that he could achieve more success in the legal profession than in business.

When asked what advice he’d give to those entering the legal profession, Cunliffe Barnett recommends to law students and young lawyers to try to wind down their lawyering careers with a judicial appointment. He has never regretted listening to a close friend who convinced him to join the Provincial Court of British Columbia because “that is where the action is.”

Jack J. Huberman has been the Executive Director of the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia for the past six years. He was born and raised in Calgary, but came to Vancouver to attend King Edward High School before it burned down. He has been setting fires in education ever since …

As a teenager in the British Merchant Navy, Derek was a very popular radio officer. He could do almost anything he wanted on the ship, and although he attributed this to his outgoing personality, it appears it was only because of his ability to tune into any radio station, anywhere, and retrieve the music, the cricket matches, the horse racing results and the football matches the sailors wanted. He circumnavigated the globe three times on commercial vessels, stopping for various lengths of time in ports throughout the world. He delighted in exploring different places and cultures.

The Honourable Justice Randall Wong is a pioneer in Canadian law. He served as the first Chinese Canadian provincial Crown Counsel (1967) and became a BC Provincial Court judge in 1974. In 1981 he became the first Chinese Canadian federally appointed judge with his appointment to the British Columbia County Court. In 1990 he was promoted to a position on Canada's Supreme Court serving the Supreme Courts of British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut's Court of Justice.