It’s good to be back. The 2024-2025 Aboriginal Lawyers Forum year has so far flown by. It has been a whirlwind but so very rewarding. As the original founder of the ALF in 2010, this year has been a bit of a full circle year for me, coming back as Chair.
I am so proud of how the ALF has grown from a mere idea to a thriving group of Indigenous lawyers, law students, law graduates and judges from across B.C. In 2010, and prior to the ALF joining the CBABC, I remember spending hours scanning law firm websites for Indigenous lawyers just to find people so that I could ask them if they would join a forum for Indigenous lawyers. Everyone responded yes—and a few people even responded by saying “I am not Aboriginal, but I wish you the best!” In our first year, we held meetups in downtown Vancouver, hosted the first Holiday Banquet at the Chateau Granville (tickets were $40, and our keynote speaker was Justice Tony Mandamin) and even hosted a famous flop of a bowling night. My sister, who was a journalism student at the time, even created the first Forum Drum newsletters for us. She is very embarrassed now at the layout and design, but at the time we both thought the newsletters looked very professional.
As many people know, I left B.C. in 2015 to practice law in Manitoba (my home province) and returned to B.C. in 2020. Upon my return, I reconnected with the ALF and was so happy to volunteer again. Under Chairs Adam Munnings, Tina Dion, QC, Isabel Jackson and Randy Robinson, the ALF grew and grew and it was a sight to see. It is so wonderful to reconnect with old friends and law school buddies through the ALF as well as meet new Indigenous lawyers and law students.
This year, the ALF Exec has been busy, but it is a good busy. We host monthly community Zoom lunches that bring together Indigenous lawyers and law students from across B.C. for informal connection. We hosted another wildly successful Holiday Banquet, and we are about to host a retreat in Victoria on May 23-25, 2025. We continue to raise money for the Warrior Project.
I am grateful for the ALF community and every Indigenous lawyer, law student, law graduate and judge that comes together to create this community, and I am honoured to serve as Chair.
