Fundamentals of Judicial Review 2026

Course Chairs
Laurel Courtenay — Ministry of Attorney General, Legal Services Branch, Vancouver
Andrew D. Gay, KC — Gudmundseth Mickelson LLP, Vancouver 

About the Course Chairs
Laurel Courtenay has practiced as a barrister and solicitor in the field of administrative law for 30 years. She is legal counsel in the Legal Services Branch (LSB) of the Ministry of Attorney General where she acts as advising solicitor to the Ministry of Labour and represents the Director of Employment Standards on judicial reviews and appeals.

Laurel also teaches administrative law fundamentals to statutory decision-makers. Before coming to LSB, Laurel was counsel for WorkSafeBC where she represented the Board in judicial reviews and appeals at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada. Laurel has been on the executive of the CBA Legal Research Section for 13 years and was on the Board of CLEBC from 2020 to 2026, serving one year in each executive position including chair. Laurel has written extensively for various legal publications and in 2016 was named one of CLEBC's most prolific volunteers.

Andrew Gay, KC graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1996, and in 1998 joined the litigation firm Gudmundseth Mickelson LLP after two years with the Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General. Andrew's practice is focused on administrative law and litigation involving government.

Andrew has extensive experience with applications for judicial review, acting both for petitioners and respondents, and has taught courses on judicial review on several occasions. He is an expert in professional discipline and was an adjunct professor at UBC's Peter A. Allard School of Law for eight years, co-teaching an upper-year seminar on government liability.

Faculty
Justice Harvey M. Groberman — BC Court of Appeal, Vancouver
Meera Bennett — Ministry of Attorney General, Legal Services Branch, Vancouver
Robert Danay — Ministry of Attorney General, Legal Services Branch, Vancouver
Clayton Gallant — Gudmundseth Mickelson LLP, Vancouver
Jaime H. Hoopes — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Julia K. Lockhart — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
Kate R. Phipps — Arvay Finlay LLP, Vancouver
Joana Thackeray — Legal Counsel, BC Human Rights Tribunal, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

• what decisions can be challenged by way of judicial review
• who are the proper petitioner and respondent
• who do you serve
• time limits
• seeking a stay
• key elements of a petition and affidavit
• what other pleadings are needed
• managing client expectations

• evidence 
• role of the court
• referring petitions to trial list
• remedies
• cases on collateral attack
• bars to judicial review

• what is the record?
• when is evidence outside the record admissible?
• who puts the record before the court?
• how to put the record before the court

• traditional standing: jurisdiction, standard of review, the record
• when can the tribunal play a larger role?
• costs awards 

• what is a standard of review
• why is it important to understand the standard of review when advising a client (including a decision-maker) and when drafting or responding to a petition
• how does reasonableness review work post-Vavilov (and what are the current exceptions to reasonableness review)?
• the standard of review if BC's Administrative Tribunals Act applies
• the standard of review on a statutory appeal

• review a fact pattern with help from faculty
• work through a real-world scenario
• identify grounds of review and potential risks for the client
• identify potential arguments in response

• organizing the materials and the oral argument
• characterizing the tribunal's error(s)
• engaging with the bench