Course Chairs
Valerie Dixon (she/her) — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Valerie Dixon is a lawyer in the City of Vancouver's Law Department and practices exclusively in the areas of labour, employment and human rights. Prior to joining the City, Valerie spent 14 years in private practice, first at Clark Wilson LLP and later at Miller Thomson LLP. Valerie has acted for a variety of employers, unionized and non-unionized, from small businesses to international corporations, health authorities, and municipalities. In addition to appearances before all levels of court in BC, Valerie has acted as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada, and represented clients before various administrative tribunals.
James Kondopulos is a founding member and partner (practising through a law corporation) at the employment and labour law boutique of Roper Greyell LLP. He is frequently recommended as a strong advocate and has represented employers and senior employees before all levels of court and a wide range of workplace-related administrative tribunals in BC.
James was named one of Canada's leading lawyers under 40 by Lexpert. He is ranked as a leading employment lawyer in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. He has been recognized repeatedly as a leader in the area of employment and labour law and is listed in Chambers Canada, Best Lawyers International, Canada and also Who's Who Legal, Labour, Employment and Benefits.
James spends most of his time outside work with his wife and their three beautiful children. He is a Director of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of BC & Yukon and is a past Director and Vice-Chair of the children's charity, Make-A-Wish BC & Yukon.
Featured Luncheon Speaker
Professor Kenneth Thornicroft — Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, UVic, Victoria
Kenneth Thornicroft is a Professor of Law & Employment Relations with the University of Victoria's Gustavson School of Business. Dr. Thornicroft holds a law degree (LLB/JD 1979) from UBC and a doctorate (PhD 1996) in Labour and Human Resource Policy/Employment Law from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Thornicroft spent 10 years as a trial lawyer in Vancouver, BC. Since becoming an academic, he has received numerous teaching awards including six separate "Professor of the Year" awards as well as several other research and scholarship awards. Dr. Thornicroft is a member of the Law Society of BC, the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals, the BC Industrial Relations Association, the CBA, the Canadian Industrial Relations Association, the Canadian Labour Law Association, and the Society of Labor Economists.
Dr. Thornicroft is a former member of the BC Arbitration Review Panel, the BC Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal, the BC Parole Board, and the Delta Police Board. He is a current member of the BC Property Assessment Appeal Board, the BC Employment Standards Tribunal, and is an adjudicator with the BC Ministry of Education Student Appeals Branch. Dr. Thornicroft's professional practice is restricted to arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and he has acted as a third-party neutral (both as an arbitrator and a mediator) in a wide variety of contexts including employment disputes (in both the union and nonunion sectors), shareholder and partnership disputes, commercial and residential tenancy disputes, property valuation disputes, major personal injury claims, and franchise disputes. During the past two decades, Dr. Thornicroft has served as a third-party neutral in several thousand disputes.
Dr. Thornicroft is the author of approximately nearly 200 journal articles, conference papers, book reviews, and book chapters; his writing has been published in, among other outlets, The Advocate, Alberta Law Review, Business & the Contemporary World, Canadian Bar Review, Canadian Labour & Employment Law Journal, Education & Law Journal, Employee Relations, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector, Journal of Individual Employment Rights, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Workplace Rights, Labor Law Journal, Labor Studies Journal, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, and Women in Management Review. He is a co-author of Employment Obligations and Confidential Information (2nd edition, 2009; 3rd ed., 2015) and Collective Agreement Arbitration in Canada (4th edition, 2009; 5th ed., 2013; 6th ed., 2017) both published by LexisNexis Canada Inc., and Canadian Business Law – A BC Perspective (Emond Publishing, 2020). Dr. Thornicroft's current research focuses on employee/er rights issues, employment law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the interpretation and enforcement of employment contracts.
Planning Committee
William (Bill) C. Boyte (he/him) — General Counsel and University Secretary, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo
Matthew Cooperwilliams (he/him) — Cooperwilliams Truman LLP, Vancouver
Blair W. Curtis (he/him) — Tevlin Gleadle Curtis Employment Law Strategies, Vancouver
Sara Forte (she/her) — Forte Workplace Law, Surrey
Preston Parsons (he/him) — Overholt Law LLP, Vancouver
Supriya Routh (he/him) — Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC, Vancouver
Kelly E. Slade-Kerr (she/her) — HHBG Employment Lawyers, Surrey
Nicole C.M. Toye (she/her) — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Faculty
Anita Atwal (she/her) — Anita Atwal Law Corporation, Surrey
Erin Brandt (she/her) — PortaLaw Corporation, Vancouver
Pamela Costanzo (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Christopher Drinovz (he/him) — KSW Lawyers, Surrey
Kimberly Gosel (she/her) — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Alejandra (Ale) Henao (she/her) — KSW Lawyers, Surrey
Sarah Hentschel (she/her) — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver
Greg Heywood (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
James Hsu (he/him) — PortaLaw Corporation, Vancouver
Graham Nattress (he/him) — Overholt Law LLP, Vancouver
Samantha Stepney (she/her) — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Michael Thompson (he/him) — Decision Maker/Team Leader, Ministry of Labour – Employment Standards Branch, Richmond
Gradin D. Tyler (he/him) — Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP, Vancouver
Mary Walsh — Executive Director, Ministry of Labour – Employment Standards Branch, Richmond
Cameron R. Wardell (he/him) — Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP, Vancouver
Course Materials Contributors
Maryama Elmi (she/her) — Articled Student, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, VancouverKirsten Hildebrandt (she/her) — Designated Paralegal, KSW Lawyers, Surrey
Roza Milani (she/her) — Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP, Vancouver
Sophie Toor (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver