2011

I have taken training for mediating multi-party disputes and for mediating disputes involving high-conflict personalities. I have also taken additional training in mediation-arbitration and in conducting mediations online.

I have been conducting online mediations via telephone conference call and videoconferencing (Zoom and, more recently, Teams) since 2014.

I recently obtained my Q.Med. designation through ADRBC.

In some situations it is helpful for me to have a private pre-mediation discussion with each of the parties to help me better understand the background of the situation, to discuss the mediation process itself, and to give each party an opportunity to ask me questions about the process. Normally this is done over the phone, and in most cases it takes from 15 to 30 minutes.

COVID-19 Update (August 19, 2021): I'm fully vaccinated (proof provided on request) and willing to conduct in-person mediations provided that all the participants provide proof of full vaccination or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from the 24 hours immediately preceding the mediation. Alternatively, I'm also willing to conduct telephone or video mediations. For a video mediation, the participants need a computer/laptop/table/smartphone, a stable Internet/data connection, e-mail, and the ability to receive, send, and digitally sign (or paper sign and scan) documents. I have done video mediations before and during the pandemic (both as mediator and as counsel for parties), and the technology works reasonably well.

I attended law school at the University of Saskatchewan, receiving my LLB with distinction in 1996. I was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1997. I have been in private practice in Prince George, BC, throughout my legal career. I have been a sole practitioner since 2009. As a lawyer, I have represented clients throughout north-central and northern BC.

Before attending law school, I was an official court reporter from 1983 to 1993, first based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and then in Prince George. I was the President of the Manitoba Court Reporters Association for one year and, later, a director of the BC Shorthand Reporters Association for one year. I have been a member of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC since 2000. I served as a director of the BC Ringette Association for a two-year term.

I taught the business law course at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George for one semester in the fall of 2001. I taught Comm 300 - Introduction to Business Law at the University of Northern British Columbia as a sessional lecturer from 2011 to 2016.