FACL BC

In this podcast mini-series, Brian Cheng interviews Cynthia Lam, new owner of GBC Law in Burnaby, BC. Cynthia shares her journey rising through the ranks from associate to buying the law practice of her now-former boss. As an eight-year call who has been the owner of her firm for eight weeks, she also describes the challenges of transitioning from being an employee to being an employer. We invite...

In this episode, Brian Cheng interviews Gurminder Sandhu, partner at Hamilton Duncan and recently elected Bencher of the LSBC. Gurminder recounts his experience as a senior litigator with over 21 years of legal practice. As a husband and father of three children, Gurminder shares his insight on developing a new practice area, maintaining work-life balance and having a successful career. As a Bench...

In this episode, we are honoured to be joined by Gaynor Yeung, who is a Director at Whitelaw Twining and was recently re-elected as a Bencher. Called to the bar in 1996, Gaynor shares with us what equity and diversity (E&D) means to her, some potential steps to improve E&D in the BC bar, and how she thinks the legal community has progressed over the years. In this episode, Gaynor also cand...

TW: this episode contains discussions of sexual violence and violence against women. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Julie Macfarlane, Order of Canada recipient and founder of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSLRP). In addition to discussing the access to justice crisis that impacts self-represented litigants, Dr. Macfarlane also shares about...

This episode we sit down with Parveen Sehra, the Director of Professional Resources at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds LLP. She leads the student program for summer and articling students, including recruitment, engagement, and professional development. She is skilled in helping young professionals develop and further their skills and has a broad range of experience within the legal industry. Parveen...

October's episode is brought to you by DLD Financial Group, a full-service financial planning firm based in downtown Vancouver. This month we are pleased to have Kelly Ho from DLD discuss money matters with legal professionals. You may have seen Kelly at one of our Fridays with FACL BC events earlier this year. In this episode, Kelly will discuss common financial issues faced by lawyers at all sta...

This episode is a discussion on law-adjacent careers with Barbara Wang, the Manager of Student Experience at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining the law school, Barbara was an associate at McCarthy Tétrault.  Knowing that there would never be the “perfect” time for a career change, after a few years, Barbara made the leap. On the transitio...

Welcome back to season 2 of our podcast, where we feature Aaron Bains for this month's episode. Hailing from Surrey, BC, Aaron currently works at Aird & Berlis LLP and is a member of the firm's diversity and inclusion committee. He dedicates his time to various boards, most recently as president of the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto as well as the St. George's Society. Like our former...

This episode is a discussion with Jaskaran Sandhu, lawyer and senior consultant at Crestview Strategy and the founder of Baaz media, on the way in which ethnic communities are portrayed in the media, the historical issues that continue today with minority media representation and the importance of having independent community based media outlets. Jaskaran also sheds light on the ongoing Indian far...

This episode discusses pay equity, corporate governance, and the pressing need for increasing gender and racialized representation in boards, the legal profession, and legal academia. In this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Carol Liao, Associate Professor at the Allard School of Law and the UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the UBC Sau...

In this episode, we welcome Isaac Won, a lawyer in the Community Law Program with the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS). Isaac discusses access to justice reform initiatives, public interest work, and his current advocacy work at CLAS. During law school, Isaac volunteered extensively with the Law Students Legal Advice Program, providing legal representation and advice to low income and vul...

Five years ago, Albert Klein was contemplating leaving law.  He is now a partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, running a successful disability law practice across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.  He joins guest host (and younger brother) James Hsu, co-chair of FACL BC's membership committee, to discuss what changed, the importance of identifying your "non-negotiables'' and what it take...

This month we are pleased to have Chilwin Cheng return as guest host, where he interviews Lisa Fong, QC. In this episode, Chilwin and Lisa discuss her upbringing with immigrant parents, Asian representation in the legal profession, the lack of judicial diversity on the Bench, her appointment as Queen’s Counsel, and the contested topic of whether potstickers or steamed soup dumplings are better. Qu...

Chilwin Cheng, Principal at Ascendion Law, is the host of FACL BC's February special 3-part interview series. This week's guest is Miranda Lam. Miranda resolves complex disputes and is a highly regarded trusted business advisor to private and public enterprises. A partner in McCarthy Tetrault’s Litigation Group, she is also the Retail Sector Lead in the firm’s national Retail and Consumer Markets...

Chilwin Cheng, Principal at Ascendion Law, is the host of FACL BC's February special 3-part interview series. This week's guest is Brian Cheng, who is a shareholder at Owen Bird with a focus on commercial litigation and insurance defence. Brian has appeared in the Provincial Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Appeal. He is also licensed to practice in Washington where he has appeared before the Di...

Chilwin Cheng, Principal of Ascendion Law, takes over FACL BC's podcast for a special February 3-part series of interviews. His first guest is Kevin Loo. He is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer and is a partner of Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP. Kevin regularly appears as counsel in the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, the Fede...

We speak with Nerissa Yan, recently named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in the Young Influencer Category for 2020. Nerissa is a civil litigator at Hakemi Ridgedale LLP. We discuss challenges Nerissa has faced like coming to Canada and having to learn English as an adult, gender bias, and experiences in the courtroom.

Raji Mangat joins us to discuss her experience with administrative and constitutional law, and being a racialized legal professional. Raji has a wide-ranging legal career with a commitment to using the law as a tool for positive transformation. Currently, she is the executive director at West Coast LEAF, a nonprofit organization that seeks to end gender discrimination through equality rights litig...

In this episode, we welcome our first guest, Myrna McCallum. She is a Métis-Cree human rights lawyer, former prosecutor and adjudicator, and host of the Trauma-Informed Lawyer podcast. We explore what it means to be trauma-informed and how to apply this skill to our practice and everyday lives, opening up on tough topics such as: cultural humility, the practice of self-care, and the fine balance b...

FACL BC aims to promote diverse and unique people in the legal profession. Learn more about the hosts and producers of FACL BC's new podcast and a sneak preview of what's to come!  Your hosts: Fiona Wong, Sandy Lun & Joannie Fu  Learn more about us at faclbc.ca