StandUP to Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession

Course Instructors
Jessica Forman — Forte Workplace Law, Surrey
Christie Gilmour — Forte Workplace Law, Surrey

About the Course Instructors
Jessica Forman is originally from Southern California where she attended law school and practiced as a commercial litigator in a large US firm for several years. She relocated to Richmond, BC over 15 years ago with her husband and three kids. She worked for a large regional firm in Vancouver for several years before deciding to focus her practice on employment law.

Jessica is an experienced workplace investigator and the head of Forte Workplace Law's investigations practice group. Over her years of experience as an investigator, Jessica has conducted traditional workplace investigations related to bullying and harassment and sexual harassment, environmental scans and workplace assessments for public and private companies, as well as for several Indigenous organizations. Jessica's background advising employers and employees on matters arising from workplace conflict gives her an important perspective on the role of an investigator's work and report. As a leader in workplace investigations, Jessica regularly speaks about and trains others on how to conduct effective and fair workplace investigations.

When she is not working, Jessica spends time on the soccer pitch watching her teenagers play soccer in Richmond. She loves traveling all over BC with her family, especially over to Tofino and all parts of Vancouver Island. She is also grateful to give back to the community: previously on the Board of Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, and as a volunteer with Mamas for Mamas, a local organization that supports mothers and families in need. Jessica is proud to be a board member of the Pacific Resource Immigrant Society (PIRS) which aims to help immigrant women.  

Christie Gilmour (she/her) is an employment and workplace human rights lawyer, workplace investigator, StandUP teams' facilitator, mentor, mother, and coach. She regularly advises on, investigates, and trains others about issues of bullying and harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Christie is a trauma informed lawyer who is particularly skilled at connecting with people and brings empathy and compassion to her work. As a facilitator, people appreciate her engaging style, clarity in explanations and responsiveness to questions. Recently our firm received feedback that a StandUP teams training Christie facilitated was "one of the best training sessions of this kind I have been to."