law building is renamed to honour contributions of former

Law News

L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1 P A G E 1

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1

University of Victoria Faculty of Law

by Patty Pitts

There were no objections among themany members of the legal communitywho joined students, faculty, alumni andfriends of UVic’s law faculty on October20th at a ceremony to rename the BegbieBuilding to the Murray and Anne FraserBuilding.

It was the first time in UVic’s historythat a building had been renamed, and lawprofessor Hamar Foster said, “I can’tthink of a better way to celebrate UViclaw’s 25th anniversary.”

Fraser, UVic’s founding law dean, diedin 1997. His widow, Anne Fraser, attendedthe ceremony with her three sons, Hugh,Andrew and Scott. “Murray wouldn’t havebelieved half of this,” she said, referring toall the tributes and praise heaped on thecouple, “but he would have enjoyed it.”

Speaker after speaker referred to theFrasers as a “team” with the ability toleave positive, lasting impressions oneveryone they met. Murray Fraser waslauded as a “giant in legal education”who went to extraordinary measures tosupport his students — including, on oneoccasion, changing class schedules toaccommodate a student undergoing cancer treatment.

Current law dean Jamie Casselsdescribed Anne Fraser as “Murray’s fullpartner … who participated in the lawschool’s intellectual and social life and

remains one of our bestambassadors.” When firstapproached for permis-sion to use her andMurray’s name for thebuilding one of her firstquestions was ‘Whatabout Matthew?’ recalledCassels.

“She was referring toMatthew Begbie. Iexplained to her that wewere not denying the significance of Begbie’s place in history,but claiming our own. The decision to usethe Fraser name for the building wasunanimous among students and faculty.We consulted widely with our alumni, therest of the university community, thebench and bar and also received their profound support.”

Anne Fraser recalled the challenge ofconvincing faculty members to relocatefrom throughout Canada to UVic and “anew law school that did things differently.”Her husband’s decision to increase diversityamong students by having 25 per cent ofthem come from out of province was con-sidered revolutionary, as were his ideas forthe design of the faculty’s new building.

Victoria architect David Hambleton(who was in the audience) spent a weekwith the law faculty and students to betterunderstand the school’s day-to-day operation. Fraser wanted a students’

lounge with access to the outdoors and hewanted seating in the lecture theatre thatwould later bear his name to seat law students in comfort.

“Terry Wuester sat down with all hislaw books to demonstrate how muchspace the average student would need,”said Anne, recalling the late, muchbeloved and rotund law professor.The result was tables and chairs in the lecture hall instead of the usual single unitseating.

Murray and Anne Fraser both grew upin Halifax. He graduated from Dalhousie’slaw school and earned an LL.M. at theUniversity of London; she earned a B.Sc.from Acadia University. He taught atQueen’s and Dalhousie before coming toUVic where he spent five years as deanbefore becoming the university’s vice-president academic until 1988, the same

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Law celebrates 25th

with a name changeLaw building is renamed to honour contributions of former law dean and wife

▼The Fraser family at the Building Dedication:Hugh, Anne, Andrew and Scott.

L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1P A G E 2

Dean’s MessageI am writing this message to you just a few weeks after our hugely successful 25th Anniversary Celebration. Over 300 alumni and friends joined us for the building dedication and a weekend of activities including class dinners, the first annual “Catch the Dean” run and a wonderful gala dinner. Everyone reported that they had a splendid time; and on behalf of faculty I want to tell you how rewarding it was to experience the tremendous goodwill towards the law school from those who attended. Your support is crucial to our continued success, and it is also gratifying to know that we have been able to build and maintain a reputation that allows our graduates continuing pride in their law school.

The law school has entered its 26th year with enthusiasm and a renewed desire to further build on our strengths and carry on the tradition of innovation. You are awarefrom previous newsletters of our new Akitsiraq Law School Program in Nunavut, and our International Intellectual Property Institute (with Oxford and Illinois). Other newinitiatives under active consideration include the development of a graduate program inlaw which would respond to an increased demand from students, and would also help toenhance the faculty’s already substantial reputation for legal research and scholarship.We are seeking new resources for these and other initiatives. The faculty is working tocreate a chair in Aboriginal Justice Issues, and also to continue to build our resources for student financial support. In addition, we will be recruiting at least one new facultymember this year. Our priority is to increase the teaching resources in first year.

Also under consideration is a move to a more student-friendly “credit system” whichwould permit greater flexibility for students to tailor their progress through the programto their individual circumstances. We are also discussing a modest enrolment increase inour undergraduate program. With heightened demand for our program, and excellentopportunities for our graduates, such an increase is timely, and would provide some additional resources to enable the faculty to maintain our rich program despite the substantial budget cuts of the last decade. We would appreciate hearing from you if youhave advice for us about these plans, or other initiatives we should be considering.

▼University of Victoria

Faculty of Law

Law NewsDean

Jamie Cassels

Associate DeanCheryl Crane

EditorMel Lynch

Contributing WritersEna Ackerman Jamie Cassels

Brian Egan Gerry FergusonKim Hart Wensley Yvonne Lawson

Mel Lynch Leanne MascoloSarah McCoubrey Ted McDorman

Michael M’Gonigle John McLarenBill Neilson Andrew PiriePatty Pitts Greg Sitch

Design and ProductionIndigo Sky Graphic Design

General Information(250) 721-8150

Alumni and Development(250) 721-8025

Career Development(250) 472-4719

Publications [email protected]

Law School Fax(250) 721-6390

Law School Websitewww.law.uvic.ca

The Law News is published once a year by the Faculty of Law.Changes of address can be emailed

to [email protected] or sent to the law school at the following address:

Faculty of LawUniversity of Victoria

PO Box 2400STN CSC

Victoria, BC V8W 3H7

Publications Mail AgreementNumber 1720546

(“Law celebrates…” continued from page 1)

year he was named president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary.

She was a nationally syndicated CBCradio commentator and helped spearheadan effort to preserve Halifax’s historicwaterfront buildings. At UVic, she developed innovative continuing studiescourses that she still leads. She wasnational chair of Elderhostel Canada, amember of the board of trustees at LesterB. Pearson College and twice elected tothe Greater Victoria School Board. InCalgary, she served on a number of corporate and non-profit boards.

Prior to unveiling the building’s newplaque, Fraser said that being law dean ofUVic was her husband’s “favourite job,and he would have been delighted to seemy name here too.”

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Professor Michael M’Gonigle, alongwith Fred Gale, had a book come out inthe fall entitled Nature, Production,Power. This book introduces readers tothe discipline of ecological politicaleconomy, an approach that aims at atheoretical synthesis of nature, produc-tion and powerrelations. At its heart is acritical appreci-ation of thesocial institu-tions and organizationsthat can pro-vide the basisfor strong sustainability.

FACULTY AND STAFF BRIEFS


Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Ron Lou-Poy were at the University of Victoria toreceive an honorary degree at the fall 2000 convocation ceremony on November 25th.Despite her busy schedule, Chief Justice McLachlin made time to visit the Murray andAnne Fraser Building (formerly Begbie Building) where she met with students and faculty for an informal question and answer period.

Chief Justice McLachin is at the peak of a long career as one of Canada’s leadingjurists and legal scholars and her Supreme Court judgements have had a significant impact in the areas of equality rights, evidence, trusts and damages for personal injuries.She is co-author of the biannually updated book, British Columbia Practice, and continues to contribute to legal education through lectures and published articles.She was appointed Canada’s first female Chief Justice in January.

A distinguished member of the B.C. legal profession and a graduate of VictoriaCollege, Lou-Poy has dedicated his free time to community service, especially in the areas of arts, culture and education. His involvements have included the McPhersonFoundation, the Victoria Kiwanis Club, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, and UVic, where he served on the board of governors and was instrumental in the creation of two law student scholarships.

Canada’s Supreme Court Chief Justiceand a well-known B.C. community leaderreceive honorary degrees

▼

The Maclean Lecturer for 2000/01 was Dr. Chris Tomlins. Dr. Tomlins is SeniorResearch Fellow with the American BarFoundation and a prize winning historianof American labour relations and law. Inrecent years the focus of his research hasturned to the implication of law in the colonization of North America by theBritish, especially in the 17th century. Itwas this area of research that Dr. Tomlinsexplored in his lecture under the title:“How Law Colonized North America inthe 17th Century.”

In this learned and detailed presenta-tion Dr. Tomlins demonstrated howEnglish notions of law were imprinted onthe North American landscape by the useof company, proprietorial and RoyalCharters and the legal instruments ofmeasurement, concepts and assumptionsthat they contained. This was often done

before the actual land mass and landscapeto which they were to be applied had beenexplored. The purposes of this process ofcolonization included missionary workamong the Aboriginal population, as wellas material exploitation through the establishment of plantations and thedividing up of the land for “productiveuse”. The record suggests that it was thecommodification of land for commercialand trading purposes that was in fact thedominant impulse in English colonization.

Alongside this examination of legalinstruments which had a number of common features, Dr. Tomlins was quickto point out that the way in which lawactually developed in particular planta-tions and colonies reflected local settlercultures which were themselves influencedby the localized English cultures fromwhich the settlers had come. Accordingly,

he suggested, to appreciate fully the patterns of colonization at ground levelone has to understand the presence of adegree of pluralism in the use of legalideas and instruments by settler colonistsand their governors.

Dr. Tomlins also elaborated on theideas contained in his paper in a session ofProfessor McLaren’s course in ColonialLegal History, a session in which a numberof students had useful suggestions on matters for further reflection by our quest.

The annual Maclean Lecture hasenabled the law school to invite a developing list of leading legal historiansto Victoria and is made possible throughthe Honourable H.A. Maclean MemorialFund. We would like to thank and recognize the generous support of Hughand Pat Maclean who, as always, were present at the lecture.

Maclean Lecture

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After 25 years at the Faculty of Law andthe University of Victoria, Professor LymanRobinson retired in December. Second yearlaw student, Leanne Mascolo, caught upwith Professor Robinson to ask him a fewquestions about his time at UVic.

Leanne: You’ve been with the University ofVictoria for 25 years, I’m sure you have manymemories. Can you please share with me oneor two of your most memorable moments thatyou can recall over the last 25 years?

Lyman: My most valued memory is receiv-ing the Master Teacher Award in 1986 or1987, I am unsure about the date. It’s significant to me because I view it as amark of appreciation of what one does as a faculty member. It represents mutualadmiration and respect, and a good working relationship with students.

Another memorable moment was theopening of the Murray and Anne FraserBuilding (formerly Begbie Building) in 1980.It was the culmination of four years of manyhours of work.To see it completed was asense of relief and of accomplishment. It ishighly attractive and is designed to accommo-date expansion, most notably in the library,but hopefully the student body will not growsignificantly, as there is a value in having a student body of approximately 300 students.

Leanne: You mentioned that the opening ofthe Murray and Anne Fraser Building was amemorable moment for you. What was themost challenging hurdle you faced during thefour years it was being planned and built?

Lyman: The biggest challenge was maintain-ing control over the design, quality and construction of the building. There weremany battles with the administration. Someof the more successful ones were over thesize of the student lounge, which I suspect isthe largest in Canada on a per student basis.

Other prerequisites I had was thatevery classroom would have windows andthat library carrels were available for eachlaw student. If it was up to the administra-tion at the time of construction, therewould likely be fewer carrels and theywould not have been custom designed.

Leanne: During your appointment as Deanof Law from 1980 until 1985, what wasyour most rewarding experience?

Lyman: During the early 1980s it was a diffi-cult time of budget cuts due to provincial cutsto the University while faculty salaries atother Canadian universities was increasing.

There was a need for me to preservefaculty during talks about cutting pro-grams throughout the University. I alsoneeded to maintain and improve salariesof young faculty and appoint new faculty.

I attracted new faculty through extensiverecruiting throughout graduate schools inCanada and the United States. It was achallenge to inform candidates about a 5-year old law school that was unknown tomany. It was a large job to educate candi-dates about the differences and benefits ofthe University of Victoria Law School butthis exercise lead to a number of newappointments to the faculty.

Leanne: For the last four years you’ve beenthe University’s Associate Vice-President,Legal Affairs, a position that was new to theUniversity of Victoria when you wereappointed. Can you describe some of themost pressing issues you’ve faced duringthis time and what you consider your mostsignificant accomplishment?

Lyman: In any practise of law all clientsfeel that their issue is the most pressingissue and the one to which you should bedevoting the majority of your time. At theUniversity, I have in the order of 100clients and therefore I do not want to pickone issue, as they are all important.

There are some significant accomplish-ments of this position. One of my responsi-bilities is the relationship with the facultyassociation. This involved negotiating two,three-year salary agreements with faculty.This was an accomplishment because beforemy appointment, the previous two rounds ofnegotiations were unable to reach agree-ment and had to go to arbitration. Whenarbitration is used there are almostinevitably some hard feelings on both sides.

Also in June 2000, a new salary policywas adopted which will likely govern facul-ty salaries for the next ten years. Alsothrough this process, salary negotiationprocedures were revised. These are impor-tant issues to faculty, which contributes toa consistent university community.

Leanne: What opportunities and challengesdo you see facing the future of legal education?

Lyman: Development of education, generallyin the future, will likely involve interactiveeducation over the Internet. This will likelylead to the development of new teachingtechnologies and increased competition forstudents among law schools. I believe lawschools that are able to develop these newtechnologies and offer online programmingwill be the most successful over the nextdecade or so. This will generate a much morecompetitive environment and demand agreat deal of creativity from faculty.

The advantages to technology is thatrather than have students take notes in class,there will be an opportunity for interactivelearning using computer programs offeringmore challenges to students. Faculty willrespond by making exercises available online, which will better prepare students forconducting research and providing legal services in the private or public sector.

There will be more demand for special-ization among lawyers. I have retained counsel in my work, which have included anumber of UVic grads. The relationship hasevolved from student-teacher to counsel-client. The people I retain have highly specialized knowledge and narrow practices.There is a demand from clients for lawyerswith a high degree of specialization which,I think, will need to be reflected in legal education in the future.

Law schools will have to be in positionto offer courses with the opportunity forgreater specialization. For example at UVic,Professor Robert Howell has developed afairly sophisticated Intellectual Propertyprogram. UVic has also done this in otherareas including Environmental Law andDispute Resolution but I think we will haveto do more of that in the future.

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Professor Robinson retires


Associate Professor and HeadLaw Librarian, Professor JohnDavis, ended a 12-year tenurewith UVic in September andhas joined the law faculty andbecome the head librarian atOsgoode Hall Law School inToronto.

Professor Davis was primar-ily responsible for the “com-puterization” of the law libraryand for leading the law libraryinto the age of informationtechnology. He also developedand delivered (together withApril Katz) the AdvancedLegal Research and Writingcourse for upper year law students.

Professor Davis’ time atthe Law School correspond-ed with significant cuts in thelibrary budget and rocketing costs oflegal materials which led to painful decisions regarding acquisitions andinventiveness respecting staff replace-ment. The budget cuts did lead to anoften-heard Davisism: “I have no problem that more money could notsolve.”

Despite the Faculty’s reliance onProfessor Davis to solve computer difficulties, he was a lover of books. HisVictoria residence was without a comput-er but over burdened with books new andold to such an extent that his primaryconcern for a new residence in Torontowas the strength of the floors, walls andfoundation. Professor Davis’ special interest in legal history and the great lawbooks has led to a semi-permanentmourning on the part of the Law Faculty’s remaining legal historianinmates Professor’s John McLaren and Hamar Foster.

The possessor of a little black book,colleagues dreaded those moments whenProfessor Davis would produce the bookand then expound, at some length, on therepartee he had gleaned from the reruns

of Rocky and Bullwinkle, the precisewords of the theme song to theAnimaniacs, the latest demagogueryregarding Tellatubbies, or, indeed, whichAmerican states had statutes salutingMuhammed Ali. The discussion thatwould ensue inevitably lead to blasts oflaughter from all, followed by disapprov-ing looks from the non-law denizens ofthe Faculty Club. No question or trivialaspect of 1960s sitcoms or “popular”culture of the 1990s escaped the littleblack book.

Respected for his professionalism andappreciated for his sense of fun, it is theconsidered opinion of the UVic facultyand staff that Osgoode Hall Law Schoolhas no inkling of whom it is they havehired and that this will only become clearwhen the little black book emerges.

Law Librarian goes east

Alternative Dispute Resolution, byProfessor Andrew Pirie, made itsdebut this fall. The book covers therange of mediation practices, negotia-tion theories and skills, the expandinguses of arbitration, dispute systemsdesign, on-line ADR, the origins ofinterest-based bargaining, understand-ing conflict behaviour, various cri-tiques, ADR case law, and more.

According to Christopher Moore, ahighly respected mediator in the UnitedStates and the world, AlternativeDispute Resolution is extremely comprehensive and is by far the bestwork written to date. The book will be ofinterest to law faculty and students,practicing lawyers, judges, ADR practitioners, and the lay public as oneof the most accessible texts in the field.


▼Professor Ted McDorman presenting a farewell gift to Professor John Davis.

(“Professor Robinson…” continued from page 4)

Leanne: Thank you Professor Robinson foryour contribution to the Faculty of Law andthe University of Victoria. Congratulationson your well-deserved retirement.

My fondest memory was watching Lyman,working with his kindred spirit, TerryWuester, besting the UVic number crunch-ers, to get us a fine, tailored Law Building– it took 3 years of unrelenting work whichstarted with Murray Fraser but ended upwith Lyman and Terry. Nobody evertopped Lyman’s pure doggedness when hesunk his teeth into a challenge.

Professor Bill Neilson

Lyman’s unwavering commitment to makingUVic Law the best it can be has been a mar-vel and an inspiration to all faculty, staff andstudents who have been touched by him.

The “Lyman way” – calm, respectful, col-legial, incredibly competent and industrious,and completely selfless – has clearly beenthe right way for UVic Law. Lyman’s spoton the all-time “Top Ten Reasons Why UVicIs A Great Law School” List will forever besecure. And for that, we are all the richer. Weowe him an incredible debt of thanks.

It has been a true pleasure workingwith Lyman for the past 25 years. I willsurely miss him as a colleague, a mentorand a friend.

Professor Gerry Ferguson

▼

▼


“Property Rights in the Colonial Imagination and Experience”

A Colloquium in Comparative Colonial Legal History

February 22–24, 2001

Murray and Anne Fraser BuildingFaculty of Law, University of Victoria

This Colloquium is jointly sponsored by the Faculty of Law, University ofVictoria and the Centre for the Interdisciplinary study of Property Rights,

University of Newcastle, New South Wales.

The Colloquium Theme

“There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination and engages the affections of mankind as the right of property, and yet there are very fewwho give themselves the trouble to consider the origin and foundation of thatright.” The English jurist and legal theorist, William Blackstone, spoke those

words in 1765, and yet the point they express is still surprisingly true.The debate generated by legal decisions such as Delgamuukw in Canada

and Mabo in Australia have demonstrated clearly the importance of propertyrights in former colonial settler territories. The interest generated by these

decisions has begun to raise awareness of the need for comparative studies ofproperty rights on the one hand and of the relative lack of accessible work on

the other hand. The latter point is especially true of writing on settler mentalitiesregarding property and property rights in these “new” lands, and the reflection

of settler attitudes and desires in the evolution of colonial law and administration governing both land and chattels. With notable exceptions such

as the introduction of the Torrens system of registration of title to land, the traditional assumption, inspired largely by lawyers, judges and legal academics is

that English property law was introduced almost automatically and withoutreflection into these territories. Little attention has been paid to how landscapeand topography, climate, geology, economics and trade affected conceptions ofproperty in the colonies. Settler reaction to the presence of Aboriginal people

with their own well-developed conceptions of governance, law and land use hasreceived more attention, but still requires elaboration.

The Colloquium described here proposes to fill these gaps by encouraging scholarship in the field, promoting discussion by scholars and graduate students

interested in it, and providing the material for a major book of essays on the subject. To our knowledge this is the first occasion on which such a

project has been attempted in Canada.

The Colloquium is being organized by Professor John McLaren. For further information and details on the topics to be covered please visit

the Colloquium website at: http://colonialpropcolloq.law.uvic.ca/ or at the UVic Law website at: http://www.law.uvic.ca/ under What’s New.

Children’sRightsSarah McCoubrey and Greg Sitch are second year students with backgrounds inthe field of education. Their 391 ResearchProject, under the supervision ofProfessor Kim Hart Wensley, examinesthe current judicial, legislative and policyapproaches to the legal rights of childrenin schools.

This research is important becauseCanada has an obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Childto respect the rights of children.Unfortunately, we are not living up to thatcommitment. Sarah’s examination of students’ freedom of expression in someschools, and Greg’s review of search andseizure in the school context, reveal that when children’s rights are violated,courts tend to defer to the discretion ofschool administrators rather than givingstudents’ rights the same legal recognitiongranted to adults. When our courts fail toinsist that school administrators respectthe rights of students, they send a clearmessage that children don’t have rights –or that their rights aren’t important.

But those rights are important. Aschildren learn about their rights (andlearn that they are persons worthy ofrights), they become more willing to recognize and endorse the rights of others, and to embrace the related values of responsibility, tolerance andmulticulturalism. To effectively teach children about rights, we must be prepared to model those rights in ourschools.

In addition to their major researchpaper, Sarah and Greg plan to produce ashort paper to educate educators aboutthe inadequacy of the current approach tochildren’s rights. Through this vehiclethey hope to educate teachers and administrators about an alternative rightsanalysis; one that effectively modelsdemocracy, dignity and equality andempowers students.

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With the excitement of the Murray andAnne Fraser Building Dedication and thelaw school’s 25th Anniversary Celebration,the fall was particularly lively. The annualflurry of summer recruitment activity settled down as students began to focus ontheir December exams.

In July, a very enlightening workshopwas conducted by Randi Bean, theDirector of Toronto’s Life After Law(www.lifeafterlaw.com), Canada’s onlyrecruitment and placement firm dedicatedto placing highly skilled legal profession-als in careers outside the traditional practice of law. Randi shared useful strategies for students seeking alternativesto traditional practice and offered someconcrete advice to the numerous studentsthat attended the session.

In September, thanks to the generosityof law firms from Victoria and Vancouver, ahighly successful and intensive ResumeWorkshop was held for the second year ina row. The Workshop involved small groupsof law students enjoying the recruitmentexpertise of the participating lawyers.All four Workshop leaders provided per-sonalized, useful, relevant and frequentlyentertaining advice to the law students onresumes, cover letters and dealing with lawfirms. Sincere thanks to the Workshop leaders, Russ Brown of Victoria’s Carfra &Lawton, Andrew Nathanson of FaskenMartineau DuMoulin, Thom Lutes ofFraser Milner Casgrain and John Christianof Lawson Lundell Lawson & McIntosh, allfour were terrific!

Among other career preparation ses-sions held in September, the Canadian BarAssociation (CBA) facilitated an InterviewPanel and offered helpful mock interviewswith four local lawyers. Bill Basran of theDepartment of Justice Canada joined thedynamic tag team of Victoria’s MaylandMcKimm of Mayland McKimm &Associates and John Waddell of WaddellRaponi on the panel. Kyle Friesen ofRCMP Legal Services was on hand to helpout with the interviews. Thanks to thesefour lawyers for providing interesting andamusing information. Thanks as well toBrent Jay of Toronto’s Fasken MartineauDuMoulin who conducted an excellent

session on Toronto recruitment.The halls of the Fraser Building were

awash with sharp dressed students andlawyers as 16 Toronto and Calgary lawfirms conducted summer recruitment pre-interviews throughout the day ofOctober 4th. The day was capped with theannual Wine & Cheese held at theUniversity of Victoria Faculty Club.A record number of legal employersattended the event with a remarkabletotal of 60 firms from Vancouver, Calgary,Toronto, Victoria and the mainland. TheWine & Cheese was held this year due tothe hard work of the enthusiastic ArticlingCommittee Chair Peter Blokmanis and hisCommittee. Thank you as well to the law

firms that expressed interest in our students by participating in the Wine &Cheese.

Spring plans for the CareerDevelopment Office include law firm visits and an expanded look at alternativelegal careers through a set of workshopscalled Legal Career Exploration.

For more information about the CareerDevelopment Office, or if you are seekinga research, summer or articling student,please contact me, Yvonne Lawson at (250) 472-4719 or [email protected]. Also ifyou have chosen an unusual career pathand are interested in participating in thisyear’s sessions, I’d very much like to hearfrom you.

Career Development Office update

▼Second year law students Victoria Pham, James Chen, and Articling Committee ChairPeter Blokmanis at the Wine and Cheese reception.

▼Fulton & Company representatives Dennis Hori (left) and Denise McCabe with Walter Babicz from Wilson, King & Company.

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CelebratinOctober

Complete with class reunions, fun activities and a gala evening, the 25th

Anniversary for the Faculty of Law at theUniversity of Victoria was a weekend ofseeing old friends and making new ones.During the weekend, graduates andfriends from across Canada and theUnited States returned to celebrate andreflect on the last 25 years of UVic Law.

Over 200 people attended the BuildingDedication where the University of Victoriarecognized the enormous contributionsmade by founding dean Murray Fraser andhis wife Anne. From the moment the bagpipes began to signify the beginning ofthe ceremony until the final comments weremade by Vice Chair of the Board ofGovernors, Brian Lamb, the audience wasovercome with emotion as speakers paidtribute to the late dean and his widow.

Following the formal BuildingDedication ceremony, guests strolledthrough the corridors of the newly namedMurray and Anne Fraser Building to themain foyer for a reception. Along the way,they were greeted with class composites,and an array of photos capturing themany memories that have been created atthe law school over the years.

In the student lounge alumni gatheredto take in a timely UVic Law tradition –Happy Hour. While rumour has it theevent was somewhat tamer than theHappy Hours of the past, graduates,students, staff and faculty had a great timereminiscing about old times.

Thank you to our:

25th Anniversary Partners

To end the day Friday, alumni headed offto their class reunions that were organizedby their class representatives and held atvarious locations around Victoria.

For those early morning risers, they hadthe option to attend the Dean’s Fun Run,come out to Cordova Bay Golf Course totake in a round of 18 holes, or tour aroundVictoria. The weather was fabulous andeveryone enjoyed the opportunity to spendthe day in the sun.

The 25th Anniversary Gala evening washeld at the beautiful Pacific Fleet Club locatedalong the water overlooking the OlympicMountains. The evening was sold out with 300people who came dressed in their formal wearand ready to dance the night away to the greattunes of the Swingin’ Bachelors! Throughoutthe evening Sandra Harper (LL.B. ’82) andKevin Gillett (LL.B. ’78) shared stories abouttheir memories of UVic Law, and facultymembers and alumni provided entertainmentin the form of skits which of course is a longstanding UVic Law tradition.

Greg Rideout (LL.B. ’78) spoke of hisappreciation towards Murray Fraser for theassistance he provided while Greg was making his way through law school. Gregwent on to challenge his fellow alumni andfriends of the law school to match or exceedhis donation to the Murray and Anne FraserEndowment. Throughout the evening various people made pledges and over $3500 was raised towards the Endowment.

While the 25th Anniversary Celebration is over, the memories live on. Here’s toanother spectacular 25 years!

Thank you to our:

25th Anniversary Gala Sponsor

Davies, Ward & Beck

Wine Sponsor

Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy

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g 25 Years20th & 21st

P A G E 9L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1

…Celebrating 25 Years

L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1P A G E 1 0

L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1 P A G E 1 1

LSS updateThe beginning of the year has once againbeen a very busy time for the Law StudentsSociety (LSS). The year officially started inthe summer with the traditional welcomebarbecues hosted across Canada inToronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.These barbecues were held in August andwere well attended by new and upper yearstudents. The LSS would like to thank theDean for, once again, sponsoring theseevents. The barbecues provide first yearstudents, from outside Victoria, an opportu-nity to get to know a few familiar faces andto ask upper year students any burningquestions about law school (which upperyears are more than thrilled to answer!).

As well, incoming students were intro-duced to their upper year buddy over thesummer via e-mail. This introduction wascontinued at the annual Dean’s Barbecue,held during the first week of classes.Despite the unusual weather (it rained forthe first time in years), the event was agreat success, and it appeared that thisyear’s contingent of buddies enthusiasticallycarried out the tradition of purchasing theirnew buddy a beverage.

Throughout September and intoOctober, the Orientation Committee gave the first year students an excellentintroduction to UVic, the city and fellowclassmates. Events included the traditionalMount Finlayson Hike, a trip to SaltspringIsland, Bowling Night, Beach Day, theBuddy Potluck and Slide Show, and, ofcourse, the annual “historic tour” of downtown Victoria. The LSS would like to thank Miller Thompson, McMillanBinch and Borden Ladner Gervais fortheir support of Orientation events.

Thanks to the generous support of theCanadian Bar Association, the 3rd AnnualMentor’s Victoria Reception took place inNovember. Over 50 students signed up forthe program and had the opportunity tomeet members of the legal community.Thanks very much to the lawyers who participated this year. Without your sup-port, this program would not be possible.

The LSS also supports a variety ofclubs at the law school, which havealready been very busy this year. In addi-tion to keeping up with their schoolwork

and their other responsibilities, club mem-bers place an extraordinary amount ofwork into organizing services, events, andconferences for the benefit of not only lawstudents but the community at large.

New clubs formed at UVic this yearinclude the Canadian Association ofStudents for Political Reform (CASPR),the Human Rights Club, as well as theLaw Games Enthusiast’s Club. The LawGames Club was formed to help organizeUVic’s participation in Law Games for athird straight year. After being held inOntario for the past two years, this year’sevent is being held in Calgary fromJanuary 3rd – 7th. This has resulted in UVicbeing able to send it’s largest team ever,over 30 participants. Law Games involveslaw students from across the country competing in various athletic and socialevents. As well, this year for the first time,a competitive moot will be held at LawGames and will be judged by Mr. JusticeMajor of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Some other club highlights of the termso far include the very successful candy-gram sales by Publicly Active LawStudents (P.A.L.S. – or the club formerlyknown as S.L.I.C. for Prince fans), and aHalloween dance hosted by Appeal. Aswell, P.A.L.S. has also helped facilitateinvolvement in Habitat for Humanity byinterested students.

Next term will also be a busy one forclubs again. Once again, P.A.L.S. will beholding the annual formal in January. TheDean’s Women’s Advisory Committee isplanning the “Women in Law Conference”

which was a great success last year. TheBusiness Law Club is putting on its 5th

annual Business Law Conference. A number of other clubs including theInternational Law Club and the Dean’sAdvisory Committee on Ethnicity andCulture (DACEC) are planning Speaker’sSeries for the spring term. In addition,DACEC will be hosting the very popularCultural Extravaganza.

Law students were very active in intramural sports this term, participating inbasketball, volleyball, soccer, ice hockey,inline hockey and ultimate. Hopefully,some of our teams will manage to comehome with the t-shirt this term. As well asintramural sports, UVic students were onceagain enthusiastic participants in the CIBCRun for the Cure and a few students alsocompleted the Victoria Marathon.Congratulations to Janna Cumming andJess Hadley for that amazing feat!

It has been a great term so far at UVicLaw. Thanks to everyone for your participa-tion and support and good luck on exams!

▼Law students participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure.

The Faculty’s Development &External Relations Officer, MelLynch, has taken the year off to havea baby. Mel has been with theFaculty for almost two years and islooking forward to her new arrival!She will be replaced temporarily byWanda Power.


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Around the world, governments are movingtowards providing communities with morecontrol over the management of local natural resources, such as forests and fish-eries. This trend is driven by a recognitionthat conventional forms of management,with control centralized in a governmentbureaucracy or corporate head office, havenot been successful at meeting the needs oflocal communities or sustaining localecosystems. Community-based naturalresource management is increasingly recognized as a key part of a strategy ofmeeting local needs and protecting the fulldiversity of social and ecological values present in the natural landscape.

Experience from a number of countriesindicates that when local people are invested with the responsibility of manag-ing local ecosystems, and are guaranteed afair share of the benefits that come fromthem, they tend to manage them in a sustainable manner. Community-based forest management in Nepal, for example,has resulted in reforestation of hillsidesdenuded by commercial logging. Interest incommunity-based resource management isgrowing rapidly in British Columbia aswell, perhaps best exemplified by theProvince’s recent announcement of three

new community forestry pilot projects, withanother 18 expected soon.

Thanks to a grant from the Ministry ofCommunity Development, Cooperativesand Volunteers, the Eco-Research Chair inEnvironmental Law and Policy is research-ing new approaches to community-basednatural resource management in BritishColumbia. A key part of this research project will be to look at successful modelsof community-based natural resource management in other jurisdictions, andidentify the lessons that these hold forBritish Columbia. What can we learn fromNepal’s highly successful approach to community-based forestry? Are thereexamples of community-based fisheriesmanagement from other provinces orcountries that hold promise for BritishColumbia?

At the end of the project, the Eco-Research Chair will propose a legislativeapproach and framework to support thedevolution of management responsibilityover renewable natural resources to community-based authorities in BritishColumbia. This will help the Provincedevelop a comprehensive approach tocommunity-based natural resource management in British Columbia.

A new approach to community-based naturalresource management

Professor John McLaren spent threemonths as Research Fellow in theHumanities Research Centre (HRC),Australian National University inCanberra last summer. The theme ofthe HRC in 2000 was “Law and theHumanities”. Professor McLaren wasworking on a project on “ContestedInterpretations of the Rule of Law inColonial Settler Societies” focusingin particular on New South Wales(NSW) and Upper Canada. Thiswork provided the topic for seminarsat the University of Sydney and theUniversity of Newcastle, NSW. Hegave a paper on the short-livedcareer of the maverick Irish judge,Robert Thorpe, who tried to blendjudging and leading the politicalopposition in Upper Canada, at theAustralian New Zealand LegalHistory Conference in July. InSeptember, he presented lectures onthe teaching of comparative coloniallegal history on the web at “TheLessons of History Conference”at Wilfred Laurier University,Brantford Campus, and at theInstructional Development Centre,Queen’s University. ProfessorMcLaren has also been writing onthe history of writing and scholarshipin legal history with a colleague inWales, is co-editing a book on thetreatment of property rights in thelands of the British diaspora andorganizing an international colloqui-um on “Property Rights in theColonial Imagination andExperience” to be held at UVic,February 22–24, 2001.


When you come into the main office of the Murray and Anne Fraser Building,you will be greeted by our newly appointed receptionist Alissa Horii. Alissa’senthusiasm and smile has been a welcome addition to the Faculty.

After six years, the Faculty of Law said good-bye to accounting clerk ShelleyKostiuk. Shelley has moved on to a new and exciting opportunity at RoyalRoads University. Shelley was responsible for the Faculty’s accounting, andprovided administrative support for the Business Law Clinic and theEnvironmental Law Centre. We wish her all the best in her new endeavours!

Main office staff: (Back Row) Joanne Partridge, Jamie Cassels,Cheryl Crane, Deborah Needley, Hamar Foster (Front Row) Alissa Horii,Shelley Kostiuk, Patricia Maedel.


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L A W N E W S • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 1 P A G E 1 3

Over 80 donors, friends, students and faculty attended the Faculty of Law’s annual Awards Night & Chancellor’sReception on October 3rd. The eveningallows the Faculty to recognize the achieve-ments of our students and to thank ourmany donors and friends who help supportour students and various faculty initiatives.Dr. Norma Mickelson, Chancellor of theUniversity of Victoria, hosted the eveningwhile Dr. David Turpin, the University’sPresident, was on hand to present awardsto the President’s Scholarship recipients.

There were numerous new awards presented this year including threeentrance scholarships. The Murray &Anne Fraser Scholarship was awarded forthe first time to Scott Howell-Fellows. Thisscholarship is awarded every four years toan incoming law student who, in additionto high academic standing, demonstratesleadership ability. The Canadian BarAssociation (CBA) Student Award waspresented by the CBA – BC branch president, Margaret Ostrowski, to firstyear student Jason Forbes. This award isfor a student who has shown support forthe profession, promotes justice and lawreform, and has demonstrated exemplarypublic or community service. The Swinton& Company Entrance Scholarship wasawarded to incoming student MaryGrindley who exhibited high qualities ofcommunity service and leadership.

In addition to the newly created entrancescholarships, we also awarded three othernew awards for first and upper year achievements. Part of a nationalscholarship program establishedby Blake, Cassels, and GraydonLLP, the Blakes ScholarsScholarship Award was presented to Julie Ong for herachievements in the first year ofthe LL.B. program.The LawFoundation/David StrongLeadership in Legal StudiesAward was presented toBenjamin Berger and EnaAckerman.This award is a jointinitiative with the Law Foundation of BritishColumbia and the University of Victoria.The

Carfra & Lawton Scholarship, given to students who completed work in InsuranceLaw or Civil Procedure, was awarded toMatt Link and Karyn Arter.

Bursaries help to ensure that qualifiedstudents are not denied access to a legaleducation based on financial need. TheForrest L. Shaw Bursary is awarded to lawstudents with a hearing impairment andwas presented for the first time this year.

On behalf of our students, the facultyand staff, and the university community,we thank you all for your generosity andcommitment. Your efforts really do makea difference.

Awards Night & Chancellor’s Reception

ATTENTION ALUMNI

At the end of November, UVic students began calling law alumniwanting to talk to them about UVicand their experiences here. From nowuntil April, the students will continuecalling over 1000 law alumni to tellthem about various Faculty initia-tives. Their goal is to generate interest in the Faculty and raisemoney for various funds includingthe Innovation Fund, the Murray &Anne Fraser Endowment, the newlycreated Aboriginal Justice Program,and various scholarships & bursaries.

Last year the annual law alumni giving program generated over$30,000 and nearly doubled alumniparticipation with 175 alumni donating to the area or fund of theirchoice, up from 90 the previous year.The alumni giving program providesalumni with an opportunity to reflecton their time spent at UVic Law andto make a difference to the future oftheir law school.

▼Jason Forbes receiving the Canadian Bar Association Student Award from Margaret Ostrowski.

▼Recipients of the Carfa & LawtonScholarship: Matt Link, Jim Carfa(Carfa & Lawton) and Karyn Arter.

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Katherine HoughKatherine left her parish and law practise inthe Kootenays and is pursuing doctoralstudies at the Graduate Theological Union –U. of California, Berkeley. Her work is inter-disciplinary, focusing on law and theology soshe will be working with faculty at both theGTU and Boalt Hall School of Law.

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Bill JackBill was appointed as B.C. ProvincialCourt Judge, effective November 6,replacing Judge R.R. Low in Smithers.

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Patricia E. HawkinsPatricia writes: “For the past three years Ihave been an attorney with Headquarters,United States Army Pacific located at FortShafter, Hawaii. Fort Shafter is located afew miles from downtown Honolulu.

“Mainly I practice federal contract,personnel and administrative law. I enjoywhat I do and generally have reasonable 8to 9 hour work days. My husband, threedogs and I enjoy sailing and the beach.”

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Stella FrameStella and John Haley are pleased toannounce the birth of their daughter,Madeleine Irene Frame Haley, bornSeptember 29. Stella is a partner atBoughton Peterson Yang Anderson inVancouver.

Mark GillardMark began a new assignment in theLegal Affairs Bureau of the Departmentof Foreign Affairs and International Tradein Ottawa on August 1. Working in theOceans, Economic and EnvironmentalLaw Division, he is specifically assigned tothe Oceans and Law of the Sea section.

In May, Mark graduated from RoyalMilitary College of Canada with a Master’sof Arts in War Studies, concentrating oninternational peace and security issues.Email: [email protected]

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Jeff LarkinsJeff joined the partnership of Getz PrinceWells, a Vancouver law firm restricted to the practice of business law, on January 1.He practices principally in the fields of corporate and securities with an emphasison biotechnology, internet commerce, enter-tainment and telecommunication companiesand private venture capital financing.

He and his wife Lisa are the proud parents of two boys, Conor and Liam.

Terra MareckTerra left ICG Propane in October andstarted with SNC Lavalin, an engineeringand construction firm. The group and itscompanies have offices across Canada andin 30 other countries, and have about 7000employees world-wide. Terra will be takingon the newly created role of legal Counselto the expanding business unit in Calgary.

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Joanna HarringtonJoanna wrote: “After spending five years inthe UK – studying, working and traveling –I have finally returned to Canada. Friendsand classmates can now find me at theUniversity of Western Ontario where I aman Assistant Professor in the Faculty ofLaw.”Work Telephone: (519) 661-2111 ext. 88444

Caroline NorthEmail: [email protected]

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Ted ChanTed wrote: “I am contributing to the‘brain-drain’ by moving down to SiliconValley, California to join an IntellectualProperty firm called Fish & Neave. Mypractice will focus on patent litigation.”Email: [email protected] Telephone: (650) 617-4000

Bruce HallsorBruce was the Alliance Candidate forVictoria in the federal election (runningagainst Liberal incumbent, DavidAnderson).

Melanie JohnsonThe biggest change for Melanie this yearwas becoming part of a family of four withthe birth of her son, Donovan, in March.He joins her three year old daughter,Samantha, in bringing joy, chaos, andlaughter into their home.

Additionally, besides part time work asa counselor, she has started being paid forwriting articles on family life and travelwhich is something she very much enjoys!

She also enjoys time sent with someother class of ’95 alumni moms in Victoria– Yasmeen Abbas, Janet Racz, MelanieMurray, and Tracy Brailsford (married toGrant Brailsford from their class).Email: [email protected]

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Eric DouglasEmail: [email protected] Telephone: (604) 666-6696

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Patrick EwingPatrick was named Victoria Lieutenant-Governor for the Capital RegionalKiwanis Association. In addition to his lawdegree, Patrick also holds a BSc. in healthinformation.

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Bradley William BryanBradley is the recipient of the 2000 LawSociety Scholarship of $20,000 for gradu-ate legal studies.

Bradley will embark on post-graduatestudies at the Boalt Hall Law School atthe University of California, Berkeley inthe field of jurisprudence and social poli-cy, leading to the degree of Ph.D.

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Maureen AndersenMaureen wrote:“I am currently articled withCarfra & Lawton in Victoria, and am beingkept on as an associate after my call inNovember.The firm’s practice is limited tolitigation and related counsel work, almostexclusively in the area of insurance defence.”Email: [email protected]

Alumni updates▼

Keeping In Touch with Our AlumniPlease advise us of any address changes so we can continue to send you the Law News,

and keep you informed about the Faculty of Law, its alumni, friends and supporters.

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law building is renamed to honour contributions of former

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