Course Chairs
Mary I.A. Buttery — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Geoffrey H. Dabbs — Gehlen Dabbs, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Mary I.A. Buttery is Chair of the Canadian Restructuring Group. She has been involved in numerous significant insolvency files in British Columbia, and her expertise is recognized nationally. Specializing in the area of commercial insolvency, Mary represents financial institutions, debtors and creditors, receivers and trustees in matters related to debt restructuring, corporate reorganizations, loan workouts, fraudulent preference actions, bankruptcy and receiverships.
Mary has extensive experience in many different sectors, most notably, mining, retail, real estate, forestry, and natural resources. She regularly advises clients who are experiencing financial difficulty, or whose customers’ or suppliers’ insolvency affects their business. In addition, Mary is an experienced commercial litigator, with expertise in the enforcement of foreign judgments, debt enforcement, and fraud. She has lectured in insolvency and litigation matters, and has authored several articles on varied topics in her areas of practice. Mary has appeared in all levels of the Ontario and British Columbia courts, the Federal Court, and has been lead counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada. She is recognized by numerous legal directories as a leader in her field and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of BC, where she teaches insolvency law to upper-year students.
Geoffrey Dabbs is a founding partner with the Vancouver firm Gehlen Dabbs. His practice focuses on litigation aspects of commercial and insolvency law, including bankruptcy and receivership, commercial tenancy disputes, security recovery, and related matters. Geoffrey has appeared before all levels of court in commercial and insolvency related litigation, including the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of a successful trustee in bankruptcy. Geoffrey also acts for various housing and strata management organizations as well as housing co-operatives and strata corporations in litigation involving tenancy and governance disputes.
Geoffrey has written and presented extensively for CLEBC, and for PLTC, as well as for the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, the administrative national organization for restructuring professionals, including bankruptcy trustees and receivers. He was called to the BC bar in 1990.
Faculty
Sherryl Dubo — Fulton & Company LLP, Kamloops
Gregory J. Gehlen — Gehlen Dabbs, Vancouver
Lana Gilbertson, CIRP — Trustee, Senior Vice-President, Advisory, MNP Ltd., Vancouver
Benjamin La Borie — Hakemi & Ridgedale LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer McCracken, CIRP — Trustee, Senior Manager, Personal Restructing Services, Deloitte Restructuring Inc., Langley
William D. Riley — Barrister & Solicitor, Vancouver
Peter J. Roberts — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Vicki Tickle — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
H. Lance Williams — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver