Sexual Violence (Civil) Conference 2023

Course Chairs
Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
Sandy Kovacs is a leading personal injury lawyer in Vancouver with KazLaw, and alongside her colleague Marc Kazimirski, she is also an adjunct professor teaching Law 435: Personal Injury Law at UBC. She is a past president of the Vancouver Bar Association and a past president of the Lawyers' Inn Society (Law Courts Inn).

Prior to joining the plaintiffs' bar in 2016, she worked for more than a decade as insurance defence counsel, mostly in aviation, occupier's liability, and medical malpractice. For the past five years, she has worked exclusively for plaintiffs with complex personal injury claims for losses arising from historical sexual assault, traumatic brain injuries, orthopedic injuries, and chronic pain. She recently achieved what may be the largest personal injury judgment in the history of the province for a severely brain injured plaintiff, in Uy v. Dhillon, 2020 BCSC 1302, and she achieved a record punitive damages award against a Roman Catholic Diocese in a historical abuse claim, the first involving an adult victim in Canada, in Anderson v. Molon, 2020 BCSC 1247.

Janelle O'Connor is a plaintiff lawyer at Murphy Battista LLP, who practices exclusively in the areas of civil sexual assault and class actions on behalf of plaintiffs. She represents men, women, and children in their civil sexual assault claims, both historical and recent. Many of her sexual abuse cases involve institutions, such as religious organizations, school boards, and government ministries. She also pursues class actions, with a particular interest in those involving institutional abuse. Notably, she was class counsel in the settlement of an estimated $100M class action for women who experienced gender and sexual harassment while working and volunteering with the RCMP in non-member roles.

For over a decade, her personal and professional interests have been in the socio-legal field, with a particular interest in Indigenous issues and gender violence.

Faculty
Morgyn Chandler — Hammerco Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Robin J. Harper — Dives, Harper, Stanger & Mizrahi LLP, Vancouver
Mallory K. Hogan — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Leona Huggins — Client Support Specialist, KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Rose A. Keith, KC — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
Dr. Laura M. Klubben — Registered Psychologist, Vancouver
Dr. Shaohua Lu — Addiction and Forensic Psychiatrist; MD FRCPC Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Services, VGH; Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC, Vancouver
Janis D. McAfee — Dolden Wallace Folick LLP, Kelowna
M. Caitlin Ohama-Darcus — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver
Laurence Rankin — Mantix Consulting, Port Moody
David Toddington — Founder and CEO, Toddington International Inc., Vancouver

Course Materials Contributors
Serena Cheong — Hammerco Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Manjot Parhar — Dolden Wallace Folick LLP, Kelowna

Click here for full faculty bios

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Raymond Lee — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver

Finding the Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: Open-source Intelligence Services (9:10 – 9:40)

David Toddington — Founder and CEO, Toddington International Inc., Vancouver

BREAK (9:40 – 9:45)

Trauma-informed Private Investigations and Witness Interviews (9:45 – 10:15)

Leona Huggins — Client Support Specialist, KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Laurence Rankin — Mantix Consulting, Port Moody

BREAK (10:15 – 10:20)

Understanding Psychiatric Injuries Arising from Sexual Assault (10:20 – 11:10)

Dr. Shaohua Lu — Addiction and Forensic Psychiatrist; MD FRCPC Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Services, VGH; Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC, Vancouver

BREAK (11:10 – 11:15)

Treatments for PTSD: CBT, DBT, EMDR, and More (11:15 – 12:00)

Dr. Laura M. Klubben — Registered Psychologist, Vancouver

BREAK (12:00 – 12:05)

Sexual Violence Issues Unique to the Workplace (12:05 – 12:35)

Rose A. Keith, KC — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH (12:35 – 1:15)

Non-disclosure Agreements in 2023 (1:15 – 1:40)

Janis D. McAfee — Dolden Wallace Folick LLP, Kelowna

BREAK (1:40 – 1:45)

Contending with Overlapping Proceedings (1:45 – 2:25)

Robin J. Harper — Dives, Harper, Stanger & Mizrahi LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:25 – 2:30)

The Snakes and Ladders of Anonymity Orders, for Plaintiffs and Defendants (2:30 – 3:00)

Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Mallory K. Hogan — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver

BREAK (3:00 – 3:05)

Where Do We Go from Here—Emerging Torts for Survivors of Sexual Violence (3:05 – 3:35)

Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver
M. Caitlin Ohama-Darcus — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (3:35 – 3:40)

Negligence Claims Against Family Members and Insurance Considerations (3:40 – 4:10)

Morgyn Chandler — Hammerco Lawyers LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (4:10 – 4:15)

Roundtable—Working with Survivor Plaintiffs (4:15 – 4:30)

Morgyn Chandler — Hammerco Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver

Closing Remarks (4:30 – 4:35)

Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver