From September 2021, two paralegals will support the work of the Supreme Court Civil and Family Rules committee and offer advice on new projects and rules that may impact British Columbians’ access to justice.

Michèle Ross and Wendy Matthews are the paralegals selected to support the work of the committee.

Ross is the president of the BC Paralegal Association and is also the chair of the BC Paralegal Association’s Access to Justice Committee. She is a member of the BC Family Law Unbundling Roster (an initiative hosted by Courthouse Libraries and supported by Access to Justice BC and Mediate BC), and the chair and member of the Advisory Committee for the Legal Administrative Studies Department at Kwantlen Polytechnic. 

Ross works as a designated paralegal under Carol W. Hickman, QC, at Virgin Hickman in Vancouver. She has worked with Hickman for more than 25 years and has focused specifically on family law throughout her career. Since joining Virgin Hickman, Ross has also worked with Mark V.C. Virgin in his family practice.

Matthews has worked in the field of law since 1977, and is a senior family law-designated paralegal working for Paul Mann, a partner at Grandview Law Group LLP in South Surrey.

Matthews has drafted family law manuals and taught family law courses through the Law Courts Center. She was also manager of the pilot project for the Temporary Foreign Workers’ Divorce program with the Amici Curiae Pro Bono Paralegal Clinic, and she contributed to the CanLII Guide to SCBC Civil Litigation published by the Amici Curiae Friendship Society. More recently, she has created an in-house "lunch and learn” program to teach new employees the Supreme Court Family Rules and procedures.

The two paralegals will not be formal members, but will offer their insight and support to the committee and attend meetings when invited.

The committee provides advice and makes recommendations on changes to the Supreme Court Rules. It also advises the attorney general on issues affecting access to justice that might be addressed through the court rules.

Learn More:

To learn more about the Supreme Court Civil and Family Rules committee, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/about-bcs-justice-system/sc-rules-committee