Law History Profiles

Speaking through Horace Rumpole, his custom-designed spokesperson, John Mortimer refuses to believe that “those who are entirely sane would undertake the thankless task of judging their fellow human beings” ...

Allan Thackray was born on October 28, 1932, in Moose Jaw,  Saskatchewan. His father had a men’s clothing store called, not surprisingly, Thackray’s Men’s Wear. Allan attended several different grade schools and then Moose Jaw Technical School. It was not an academic institution, so he took sheet metal work, drafting, woodwork, electricity and motor mechanics …

Dave graduated from the Faculty of Law at UBC in 1958. His father was a senior officer in the RCMP and had experienced various criminal cases with the Honourable Angelo Branca. It was through this connection that Dave met Mr. Branca and was accepted as an articled student and later as a lawyer in his firm…

For more, read Profile of David Stanley Nuttall from The Advocate 73 (2015).

The new Treasurer of the Law Society is Jack L.T. Edwards, Q.C. (The “L” and “T” appear only in the most official of documents, and stand for names unknown to all but a few.) Jack is a commercial solicitor, one of few of that breed to have led the Society ...

The appointment of William Arthur Esson to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia after ten years in the judicial vineyard (at first on the valley floor and then lately on the greener appellate slopes) is well deserved and will serve us well. The qualities of patience and compassion, clear thinking and uncommon good sense that were noted in these pages at the time of his original elevation to the bench have earned him the respect of the bench and bar in the performance of his judicial duties in the trial and appellate courts.

James MacIntyre’s family has a distinguished pedigree in law. His grandfather, James Murray MacIntyre, was a judge in New Brunswick; and his father, Malcolm MacIntyre, was a professor of law at UBC from 1948-1964.  After graduating from UBC Law in 1957, MacIntyre followed his father into academia, completing his LLM from Harvard in 1958, and teaching at Queen’s University from 1959-1964 before returning to UBC Law in 1965.

Gerald Lecovin, Class of 1957, believes he’s fortunate that he’s still practicing on the eve of his classes’ 60 year reunion, saying “I tell people these days, I’m well past my best before date.” 60 years in practice is a remarkable achievement, especially considering he could have died during law school.

William Arthur Esson was born in Vancouver in 1930, and grew up in the city, obtaining an education at fine Vancouver Schools. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Arts in 1953, and spent the following year working in his father's bakery in the city's East End. Seeking the easier life of a student, he enrolled in law school at UBC, and graduated with his LL.B. in 1957. He served his articles at Cecil Merritt, V.C.

On August 22, at the Halifax meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, some time between the law and the lobsters, Alec Robertson will take over from Les Little as the new President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. This represents a fairly rapid promotion, since Alec only joined the Council in 1982, but then Alec’s career has been a succession of rapid promotions ...

Thomas R. Berger, OC, OBC, QC, passed away on April 28, 2021, at the age of 88. 

Our new Master Treasurer, Robert H. Guile, Q.C. assumes the highest office in our Society after almost thirty years of practice with Russell & DuMoulin. He brings to the office a wealth of experience as counsel in our courts, as a Bencher since 1979 during which he has served conscientiously as a member and chairman of a number of committees, among them Rules and Discipline, and as an author of numerous learned articles published in legal journals …

A member of the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Rafe Mair is probably best remembered for his 19 year career in radio. He has been hired, fired, lauded, and reprimanded for speaking his mind over the last 57 years. Though Mair served as a cabinet minister in Bill Bennett’s government - a man whom Mair would later describe as “the best premier the province has ever had”, it would be impossible to limit Mair’s politics by any particular ideology.

No one will ever challenge the right of Tom Braidwood to be ranked among the great advocates of our time. Called to the bar in 1957, he spent his first years in practice with Angelo Branca, Q.C. By the time Banca was appointed to the bench in 1963, Braidwood had gained notice in the profession which he dominated through the late 1970s and ‘80s. Now, after 15 years on the bench, he is back in practice and shows no signs of slowing down ...

Peter Butler, a legend in his own time, graces the cover of this edition of the Advocate. He was once described by Michael Goldie, Q.C., as appearing like a barefoot country boy who maintains an apartment in London. A cautionary note was added, however, to alert the unsuspecting, that underneath the tousled bonhomie stood a brilliant barrister able to face any opposition …

Professor Gilbert Reginald Schmitt, Q.C. was an adjunct professor at the law school at the University of British Columbia for 43 years. He began teaching at UBC in 1956, and over his career educated more than 2000 students in the areas of insurance law and professional responsibility.

James Adam Craig was born in Sangudo, Alberta to his Hungarian immigrant parents on their homestead in 1924. He was raised speaking Hungarian and did not begin to speak English until he enrolled in school. When his mother grew tired of prairie winters on the family farm, she moved with her sons to Vancouver. His father eventually arrived in Vancouver and became a paramedic, but died tragically when Craig was 15. James Craig did not complete highschool, first leaving to work in the shipyards and then serving as a navigator for the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1943.

David Purvis described the AA organization as "a work of sheer genius". When he died, he had not had a drink for 30 years. He continued to attend the West Vancouver branch of AA, giving much support to those who sought its ministrations. Many members say they would not have been alive today without David's help…

For more, read Profile of David Purvis from The Advocate, 72 (2014).

John Frederick Rowan was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1932. He came to Vancouver with his family at the end of the school year in 1948, and did everything he could to never touch prairie soil again. He served in the army in the early 1950s, and participated in the 1954 British Empire Games, not as an athlete but instead to ride his Harley Davidson in the opening parade. He was also in law school at the time, and graduated from the University of British Columbia with his LL.B. in 1955.

Jack Austin was born in Calgary, Alberta to hardworking parents engaged in agriculture and cattle raising. After an accident his father acquired a grocery store, where Austin had his first job and learned about business first hand. He graduated from Crescent Heights High School in 1950, and came to study at the University of British Columbia, indulging his interests in History, Political Science and Economics. At the time, it was possible to start law part way through an undergraduate degree, receiving credit towards a B.A. from studies at the law school. He completed his B.A.

“You look at the CV and say, ‘Good heavens, how could you have done so many different things?’” It’s true—Ted Lee’s résumé reads like a summary of Canadian foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century. Legal Division, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, 1956. Second Secretary to Jakarta, Indonesia, 1959. Deputy Chief of Protocol, 1961. Head of the United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Section, 1961. Counsellor to London, 1965. Director of Legal Operations, 1969-71, and of Personnel Operations, 1971-73.