Congratulations to Natalie Chan for being accepted into the FACL BC Leadership Academy!

Congratulations to our new Associate, Natalie Chan, for being accepted into the FACL BC Leadership Academy!

The FACL BC Leadership Academy was created to develop the next generation of leaders in the Asian-Canadian legal community and address the lack of diversity at organizational leadership levels. After undergoing a highly competitive selection process, Natalie has been accepted to this first of its kind, six-month program.

We are excited to support Natalie in this endeavour, and congratulate her on this incredible achievement!

The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (British Columbia) Society is a diverse coalition of Asian Canadian legal professionals working to promote equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Canadian legal professionals and the wider community.

Articling student, Mia Stewart, joins AMLC

AMLC is excited to welcome its new Articling Student, Mia Stewart, to the team.  Mia recently graduated with her JD from Dalhousie University.  As a McGill Pre-Law student, Mia volunteered as a member of McGill’s highly competitive Moot Court Team.  She was also a committee director and co-chair of the McGill Model United Nations.  We look forward to having Mia complete her articles with the firm until May 2024.

Articling student, Katelyn Chaudhary, returns to AMLC

AMLC is pleased to welcome its newest articling student, Katelyn Chaudhary, back to the team. 

Katelyn summered at AMLC before graduating from Thompson Rivers University. During her time at law school, she volunteered for the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program and completed placements with Kamloops Pride for Pro Bono Students Canada as a Project Lead. She was awarded the Law Foundation Public Interest Award for her active involvement in access to justice initiatives. Katelyn will complete her articles with the firm from August 2023 to May 2024.

We are excited to have Katelyn join us again!

Greg Allen wins in land title trial

In this case, Greg represented a purchaser of residential property whose purchase was thwarted by a third party asserting that the vendor held the property in trust for him. The third party did not assert his trust interest in the property until after Greg’s client paid the full purchase price to the vendor.

In her decision, the chambers judge confirmed that British Columbia operates on a “first in time” system of land title registration, and held that the third party could not block the transfer of title to Greg’s client after the purchase price had already been paid. Greg successfully obtained an order that the caveat against title filed by the third party be struck, and that the property be transferred to his client.

To read the decision, visit 2023 BCSC 1111. For more information on Allen / McMillan’s civil litigation practice, please contact Greg at greg@amlc.ca.

John Trueman featured in The Advocates Society's "Keeping Tabs"

Our associate, John Trueman, was interviewed and featured in The Advocates Society's Spring 2023 edition of "Keeping Tabs," a publication targeted at junior lawyers across the country.

Speaking with fellow SCC clerk Aly Haji, John chronicles his journey to becoming a lawyer which included working on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and starting law school at age 36. Sharing what he’s learned along the way, John highlights what being a lawyer means to him.

You can read the full interview on pages 14-17 in “Keeping Tabs.”

John Trueman wins privacy victory at BC Court of Appeal

The BC Court of Appeal struck down a section of BC’s child protection law that gives social workers unfettered access to personal health information held by public bodies.

In a 3-0 decision, the Court found that section 96(1) of the Child, Family, and Community Service Act was an unconstitutional infringement of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that “everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.”

Along with Paul LeBlanc and Susan E. Ross, Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel associate, John Trueman, represented T.L., a mother of three with a history of trauma and mental health struggles.  When T.L. sought to regain custody of her children, social workers issued demands for her medical records and those of her family to the local hospital and a family services agency from which she had been receiving services.  The requested records dated back years before she had children.  T.L. challenged the constitutionality of the law which, she said, made her less comfortable confiding in doctors and others who sought to help her.

Writing for a unanimous division, Justice DeWitt-Van Oosten held that British Columbians have a high expectation of privacy in their medical records, and that s. 96(1) is not minimally intrusive because it allows the collection of a broad range of medical records without any meaningful oversight.  As such, she declared that the law is “of no force or effect,” but suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months to allow the Legislature to fashion a new law.

AMLC’s John Trueman maintains a broad litigation practice with a focus on appellate and public law litigation.  He has a keen interest in privacy issues.  As the former Vice-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Constitutional and Civil Liberties Section, he collaborates with noteworthy counsel — in this case, family lawyer, Paul LeBlanc and privacy expert, Susan E. Ross — to help take on challenging issues.  This was his first time delivering oral argument in the Court of Appeal.

For more information on Allen/McMillan’s appellate advocacy and public law litigation practices, please contact John at john@amlc.ca. For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCCA 167 and for additional press coverage visit here and here.