Course Chairs
The Honourable Madam Justice M. Marvyn Koenigsberg — Supreme Court of BC, Smithers
Sandra A. Cunningham, QC — Crown Counsel, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
The Honourable Madam Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg was born in the USA, then moved to Canada in 1967 where she studied law. Her practice, based mostly in civil litigation (Aboriginal law, medical malpractice, and products liability), began in Toronto then migrated to Vancouver. She eventually partnered with Loryl Russell in 1987, where she spent 90% of her time on Aboriginal law. Marvyn was appointed to the bench in late 1992 where she remains today.
Marvyn has been a dedicated volunteer for the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC participating in numerous evidence workshops and medical malpractice and advocacy-themed courses. She has been involved with the intensive annual award-winning Winning Advocacy Skills Workshop since its inception over 16 years ago, and continues as one of its most ardent cheerleaders.
Sandra A. Cunningham, QC was born and raised in Vancouver, and joined the Crown Counsel’s office immediately after her articling year. She has spent her entire law career in Vancouver, and the majority of that has been prosecuting criminal cases in all levels of BC courts. In addition, for many years Sandy has taught advocacy both in-house and with the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC where she has been involved with the annual Winning Advocacy Skills Workshop from the beginning. She has also taught in the Yukon and in Ethiopia.
Our Special Guests
The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher E. Hinkson — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
The Honourable Chief Judge Thomas J. Crabtree — Provincial Court of BC, Vancouver
The Honourable Judge Nancy N. Phillips — Provincial Court of BC, Vancouver
Our Distinguished Team Leaders
The Honourable Judge Carmen Rogers — Provincial Court of BC, Victoria
John D. Cliffe, QC — Cliffe Tobias, Vancouver
Sandra A. Cunningham, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
P. John G. Landry — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Catherine A. Murray, QC — Crown Counsel, Vancouver
Andrew I. Nathanson — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Cheryl J. Tobias, QC — Cliffe Tobias, Vancouver
Our All-star Guest Instructors will include
The Honourable Mr. Justice Bruce Butler — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
The Honourable Judge Melissa A. Gillespie — Provincial Court of BC, Surrey
The Honourable Judge Carmen Rogers — Provincial Court of BC, Victoria
Valerie J. Anderson — McQuarrie Hunter LLP, Surrey
Mark D. Andrews, QC — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Jan Brongers — Department of Justice, Vancouver
David Brown — Stikeman Elliott LLP, Vancouver
Robert W. Cooper, QC — Cooper Litigation, Vancouver
Megan R. Ellis, QC — Megan Ellis & Company, Vancouver
Richard S. Fowler, QC — Smith and Fowler, Vancouver
Jennifer L. Francis — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Anita Ghatak — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Judith Hoffman — Department of Justice, Vancouver
David A. Jardine, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Rose A. Keith — Rose Keith Law Corporation, Vancouver
Louise M. Krivel — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Gregory J. McDade, QC — Ratcliff & Company LLP, North Vancouver
Christopher A. McPherson — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, New Westminster
Catherine A. Murray, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Donnaree G. Nygard — Department of Justice Canada, Vancouver
The Honourable Wally T. Oppal, QC — Boughton Law Corporation, Vancouver
Geordie Proulx, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Henry J.R. Reiner, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Albert M. Roos — Sugden, McFee & Roos LLP, Vancouver
Stephen R. Schachter, QC — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
James A.W. Schuman, QC — Schuman Daltrop Basran & Robin, Vancouver
Patti Tomasson — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Terry C.W.L. Vos — QA Law, Vancouver
Janet L. Winteringham — Winteringham MacKay Law Corporation, Vancouver
Robert H. Wright, QC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Vancouver
Here's what our instructors say
“I have volunteered for this course because there is almost instant gratification in seeing immediate improvement in the advocacy skills in the participants. I feel that we do make a “difference” in a nonthreatening, practical and highly useful approach.”
“To be videotaped and have real time feedback on your performance is a lifetime opportunity to learn and improve your advocacy. In fact, everyone learns, including the teachers. You could not teach a more enthusiastic group of lawyers, nor find a better way to watch lawyers dramatically improve their craft in a short time. Keep this going.”
“This is a great course—it’ll give you the basic skills needed to become an effective barrister. I thoroughly enjoy teaching this course and learning along with the students. It’s wonderful to see the progress the students make in just 3 days.”
“I encourage members of the bar who are in their early years of practice and interested in pursuing work in litigation to attend this workshop. It is a terrific opportunity to both meet and talk with senior and experienced counsel, as well as to obtain some tips on how to do things properly in the courtroom. As a course leader, I too welcome the time to engage in this course and discuss different approaches to the problems put forward.”