Twenty-eight British Columbia lawyers have been appointed Queen's counsel, Attorney General Shirley Bond announced today.

The Queen's counsel designation is an honour conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution. Successful candidates demonstrate professional integrity and good character and must be members of the British Columbia bar for at least five years.

Each September, the attorney general calls for Queen's counsel nominations from the public. The 2011 deadline for submissions was Oct. 14. All applications were reviewed by an advisory committee, which recommended deserving candidates to the attorney general. The appointments are subsequently made by cabinet through an order-in-council.

The advisory committee includes the chief justice of British Columbia, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the chief judge of the Provincial Court, the president of the Law Society of British Columbia, a Law Society member appointed by the benchers (directors) and the deputy attorney general. The committee also seeks the views of the Canadian Bar Association (B.C. branch).

BACKGROUNDER

B.C.'s 2011 Queen's counsel appointees

Peter Andrew Allard of Vancouver practiced real estate and business law for 20 years, founding Allard and Company in 1978. Allard has been a supporter of and donor to the UBC faculty of law. He has been active in legal and ethical education for young lawyers. He established the philanthropic Highbury Foundation in 1993.

Brian Donald Ross is a senior partner with Fulton & Company LLP in Kamloops, practicing in commercial finance and local government law. Ross is a member of the Thompson Rivers University board of governors, past director of the B.C. Land Title and Survey Authority and past president of the Kamloops Bar Association.

Edward Douglas Bates of Vancouver is general counsel and secretary for the Workers' Compensation Board of BC (WCB). He has worked for WCB since 1974 and is a frequent lecturer for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia. Bates received the prestigious John Tait Award from the Canadian Bar Association in 2004 for his outstanding public service.

Peter Allan Spencer of Vancouver is a founding partner of Gourlay Spencer Wade LLP, practicing mainly in civil and commercial litigation and administrative law. He has served as an instructor with the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia. Spencer has been a director for the Central City Mission Foundation for more than 30 years, supporting projects and programs in the Downtown Eastside.

Eric John (Jack) Woodward of Victoria is a leading expert in Aboriginal law. He was an instructor and adjunct professor of Aboriginal law at the University of Victoria for 16 years, creating the university's first credit course in this field. Woodward is the author of Native Law, a leading text on Aboriginal law in Canada. He started Woodward & Company LLP in 1988 and remains a practicing lawyer in the firm.

Sharon Elizabeth White is a senior partner with Richards Buell Sutton LLP in Vancouver. She practices corporate, commercial and securities law and is a senior member of B.C.'s securities bar, an area she has practised in for more than 25 years. White has served as a company director and chairs several board committees, including Farm Credit Canada.

Robert Blake James Kennedy, a senior partner with Farris, Vaughan, Wills and Murphy, LLP, Vancouver, has been practicing law in B.C. and Ontario for more than 30 years. Kennedy has represented the ski industry since 1983 as counsel and as a volunteer, and has been litigation counsel for the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University for 20 years.

Edward Daniel Fast of Abbotsford is the federal Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. Before being elected member of parliament for Abbotsford in 2006, Fast served nine years on that community's city council. He was called to the B.C. bar in 1983, practising corporate law, wills and estates and conveyancing in the Fraser Valley area.

Miriam Kresivo of Vancouver is general counsel for Chevron Canada Ltd. Kresivo is involved in all major legal issues for the company, including corporate transactions, litigation and labour matters. She has served on the executive of both the Canadian Bar Association (B.C. branch) and Vancouver Bar Association.

Maureen Lois Anne Lundell is a partner at Harper Grey LLP in Vancouver. Lundell, a director with the Autism Society of B.C., is a family law mediator and a leader in alternate dispute resolution.

Lorne Neil MacLean of Vancouver has practiced in the area of family law since 1983. He is the sole partner of MacLean Family Law Group, with offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna and Fort St. John. His practice focuses on spousal and child support, property, custody and access and common-law relationships.

Maureen Elizabeth Baird is associate counsel with Lunny MacInnes Law Corporation in Vancouver. Baird is recognized as a leader in administrative and professional regulatory law. Her practice focuses on regulatory law and civil litigation, including constitutional law.

Glen Aaron Purdy operates law practices in Fernie and Sparwood, while still finding time to contribute to the community, most notably through the Elk Valley youth assistance program he co-founded in 1995. The community-based young offenders' accountability program is an alternative to the traditional court system.

Diane Ilona Turner is a partner with Kelliher & Turner of Victoria. She began her legal career as a Crown prosecutor and is active in the international criminal bar. She is an associate faculty member at Royal Roads University, currently teaches at the Hague University in the Netherlands and is a frequent lecturer, with a focus on violence issues.

Robert James Herperger of FH&P Lawyers LLP in Kelowna is a leading practitioner in wills, estates and trusts. Herperger has provided pro bono legal services for the Living Positive (people living with HIV or hepatitis C) and Multiple Sclerosis societies, as well as setting up the Canadian Bar Association benevolent fund to assist lawyers and their families in times of need.

Eugene Christopher Jamieson has been a legal officer to the office of the chief judge of the Provincial Court since 2002. As both legal advisor and educator, he has assisted the court in providing services to judges, judicial justices, the public and lawyers. He is a lecturer with the B.C. Council of Administrative Tribunals and has been instrumental in the success of the judicial intern program with the UBC faculty of law, the first of its kind in Canada.

Elizabeth Beatrice Lyall is a partner with Fasken Martineau in Vancouver, practising insurance law. An author of numerous publications, she makes regular presentations within and outside the legal profession. Lyall volunteers with the non-profit Canadian Bar Insurance Association, which provides insurance to lawyers, legal staff and their families.

Diane Heather Raven became the first Aboriginal person to become a senior administrator in a Canadian common law faculty when she was appointed associate dean of the University of Victoria faculty of law in 2009. Along with being a legal educator, she is a commercial and labour law expert and serves as a role model for Aboriginal law students.

Mary Elizabeth Mouat has been a partner with the Quadra Legal Centre in Victoria for over 20 years. She is a leading family law practitioner and was among legal experts consulted for the Province's recently-passed Family Law Act. As a volunteer, she led the B.C. Law Foundation in 2009/10 during challenging economic times while maintaining stable funding for foundation grantees, who provide much needed legal services.

Rita Carla Andreone is a partner and senior corporate, commercial solicitor with Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver. A founding member of the firm's Northwest Territories office, Andreone is a Law Society life bencher. Acknowledged for her legal, practice and ethics expertise and leadership, she mentors seven lawyers and is a frequent educator and presenter.

Giuseppe (Joe) Fiorante is respected in Canada and internationally for his skilled counsel in product liability and complex aviation cases. A partner with Camp Fiorante Mathews in Vancouver, he regularly presents at the SMU Air Law Symposium and the Pacific Northwest aviation law and insurance seminar. He is board chair of Project Somos Children's Village, a charity building an economically, environmentally sustainable village in Tecpan, Guatemala.

Winston Lim Sayson of Surrey routinely prosecutes high profile, serious criminal cases in B.C.’s Provincial and Supreme Courts. A Crown counsel for 22 years, he regularly mentors new prosecutors and criminology students, while managing a heavy caseload. In 2010, Police Victim Services of B.C. recognized his compassionate work with victims and witnesses with the Criminal Justice System Leadership Award.

Gregory Phillip DelBigio of Vancouver is widely acknowledged as a leading criminal lawyer, intervening in several significant cases before the Supreme Court of Canada for the Canadian Bar and the B.C. Civil Liberties associations. For his many contributions to the legal profession, he was recognized with the CBA President's Award in 2003. He has been the editor of the Charter of Rights newsletter, published by Canada Law Book, for 11 years.

Delayne Marie Sartison is a founding partner with Roper Greyell LLP in Vancouver and is recognized across Canada as a leader of the labour and employment bar. She has particular expertise in the application of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the workplace.

John Christopher Zimmer is a partner with Miles, Daroux, Zimmer & Associates in Cranbrook. He was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1980 and the British Columbia bar in 1993. He is an active participant in continuing legal education and a frequent guest presenter.

Christine Lesley Maureen Boyle is a professor with the faculty of law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She is recognized as having made substantial contributions to the legal profession as a legal advisor and scholar. Her work is cited by courts at all levels and has transformed legal and academic understandings of women's rights.

Craig Elton Jones is the supervising counsel of the constitutional and administrative law group of the Ministry of Attorney General in Victoria. He has represented clients at all levels of court and was most recently counsel for the Province in the polygamy reference case. He taught for a number of years at the University of British Columbia, and is the author of Theory of Class Actions, a leading Canadian text on the topic.

Stephen Guy McPhee is a partner with Ramsay Lampman Rhodes of Nanaimo and a leader of the family bar in Nanaimo. He was recently president of the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. branch, and chaired the steering committee for the Public Commission on Legal Aid. He also provides pro bono legal services.

Contact:

Dave Townsend
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Attorney General
250 387-4962
250 889-5945 (cell)
Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect