Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or just beginning your career, this inaugural event is the perfect opportunity to meet fellow litigators, celebrate the art of advocacy, and be part of the start of a new Vancouver Island tradition.
The Hon. Chief Justice Ronald A. Skolrood, Supreme Court of BC
The Honourable Ronald A. Skolrood was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2013 and to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in 2022.
Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Chief Justice Skolrood practised at Lawson Lundell LLP from 1987 to 2013 and was a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada from 1986 to 1987. His practice focused on civil and commercial litigation. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 2012.
Chief Justice Skolrood attended the University of Lethbridge and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Victoria in 1986. He also completed a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge in 1989. He was admitted to the Bar of British Columbia in 1988 and to the Bar of the Northwest Territories in 2010.
Marcia McNeil
Marcia McNeil has practiced in the areas of labour, employment and human rights law for more than 20 years.
Representing clients in the private and public sectors, particularly municipalities, police services boards and high-tech companies, Marcia has appeared before British Columbia’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, as well as before administrative tribunals, including the provincial and federal Human Rights Tribunal, labour arbitrators and the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
Marcia has been recognized in the 2012 and 2013 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in employment law. She was the Chair of the B.C. Industry Training Appeal Board and the Vice-Chair of the Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board of British Columbia. She was a sessional lecturer in Employment Law at the University of Victoria in 2013.
Marcia began practicing in Vancouver in 1990 after clerking with the British Columbia Court of Appeal. She subsequently became senior counsel at the B.C. Labour Relations Board and later transferred to a position with the then Public Service Employee Relations Commission providing advocacy and bargaining services to the Government of British Columbia.
Declan Redman
Declan Redman maintains a diverse litigation practice with a particular interest in Aboriginal law, appellate advocacy, constitutional law, and administrative law. He also represents clients in a broad range of tort claims – including fiduciary duty claims and professional negligence matters. He has appeared in all levels of courts in British Columbia, the Federal Court of Canada, and before a variety of administrative tribunals and arbitrators. From 2018-2019, Declan was counsel on the Forensic Document Review Project for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta, Declan moved to Victoria in 2012 after graduating from Te Piringia Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato, in New Zealand. He was called to the Bar of British Columbia in December 2013. Before joining Arvay Finlay LLP, Declan practiced for 6 years at a leading Victoria litigation firm, Kelliher & Turner, and at Cook Roberts LLP from 2019 until 2023. Declan is an active member of the Canadian Bar Association, where he volunteers as a practice coach and is a former member of the CBABC Indigenous Justice Advocacy Committee. He is a volunteer with Access Pro Bono, a member of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia, and a member of the Indigenous Bar Association.
Declan is Métis and a proud member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia, whose lineage can be traced back to the McKay,Sinclair, Favel, Cook, Mason, and D’Aoust family names. Declan’s ancestors took Métis scrip at Fort Pitt in 1886.
