Legal Research 2026

Product Type: Course

Session 1

Format

Courses - In-Person

Start Date & Time

2026-10-29 9:00 AM

End Date & Time

2026-10-29 4:30 PM

Location

CLEBC Boardroom

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Session 2

Format

Courses - Webinar

Start Date & Time

2026-10-29 9:00 AM

End Date & Time

2026-10-29 4:30 PM

Online Provider

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Session 3

Format

Courses - Rebroadcast

Start Date & Time

2027-03-04

End Date & Time

2027-03-04 12:00 PM

Online Provider

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DescriptionMore DetailAgenda

Expanding the legal imagination: research for a legally plural society

Thursday, October 29, 2026
9:00 am – 4:30 pm
CLEBC Office, 500 - 1155 W. Pender St., Vancouver
or attend via webinar

—Rebroadcasts—
On the rebroadcast date, you will have until midnight of that rebroadcast date to access the course. Please note that technical support will be available during regular CLEBC business hours.

Jump Start on CPD 2027
Thursday, March 4, 2027

Can't make the webinar or rebroadcasts?
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Subscribe to Courses On Demand, our comprehensive online resource with 4,000+ videos and 6,300+ papers from CLEBC courses. This course will be added to Courses on Demand approximately 30 days from the original course date.

Who should attend: This foundational skills program is for all lawyers

Learning level: All levels

Legal research is often treated as neutral and universal, but our tools and habits shape what we see as law and what we overlook. They can also perpetuate or help address barriers to accessing justice.

This one-day course explores how legal professionals can strengthen their research practices in a legally plural society and better support diverse client needs. You will refresh core Canadian common law research skills while exploring how conventional methods can exclude or obscure other legal knowledge and systems.

As legal pluralism increasingly informs legal relationships, contracts, and advocacy, this course will consider how research approaches involving Indigenous and international laws will fundamentally differ from standard approaches to Canadian law and raise specific ethical considerations. The program will focus on practical strategies to broaden the scope, rigour, and accessibility of research methods.

Law Society of BC CPD Hours: 6 hours (this course will contain a minimum of 1 hour pertaining to professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management)

Course Chairs
Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Victoria
Megan Vis-Dunbar — Director, Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program, BC Law Institute, Vancouver

Pricing	EARLY BIRD Register by Oct. 1/26	Regular Price After Oct. 1/26
In-person*	$699	$779
In-person Articled Student*	$449	$449
Webinar	$579	$659
Webinar Articled Student	$329	$329

Jump Start 2027	EARLY BIRD Register by Feb. 1/27	Regular Price After Feb. 1/27
Rebroadcast	$519	$589
Rebroadcast Articled Student	$289	$289

*Please note: The in-person session is dependent on a minimum number of registrants and may not be confirmed until 4 weeks before the course date.

Are you a member of the Indigenous legal community (lawyer/Articled Student/legal support staff/paralegal) or a non-lawyer Indigenous community member?
CLEBC is committed to reducing barriers to legal education. We value your contributions and encourage your participation in all of our programs. To increase accessibility, we offer a 50% discount* to all self-identifying Indigenous lawyers/Articled Students/legal support staff/paralegals and a limited number of free online registrations to non-lawyer Indigenous community members. (*discount applies to Regular prices, not Early Bird prices). Please contact Customer Service to find out more.

Unable to attend a course without financial assistance from CLEBC?
Click here for bursary information.

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Check out our Easy Pay Plan.

Registration includes an electronic copy of the reference materials and lunch for in-person registrants.

CLEBC Program Lawyer*
Raymond Lee
rlee@cle.bc.ca
*non-practising

Course Chairs
Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Victoria
Megan Vis-Dunbar — Director, Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program, BC Law Institute, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs (photos and bios to follow)

Opening Remarks
Chief Justice Leonard S. Marchand — Court of Appeal of BC, Vancouver

Luncheon Speaker
Speaker TBA

Faculty
Jessica Asch — Co-Research Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, Faculty of Law, UVic, Victoria
Kate Harrison — Librarian, Courthouse Libraries BC, Victoria
Jeanette Jules — Manager of Community Investigations, Le Estcwicwéy̓, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, Kamloops
Kiłaladzi Rachelle Loos — Rights and Title Coordinator/Legal Advisor, Homalco First Nation, Campbell River
Kelty McKerracher — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Alex McNeur — Senior Librarian, Courthouse Libraries BC, Vancouver
Jessie Meikle-Kahs — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Victor V. Ramraj — Director, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, Professor of Law & CAPI Chair in Asia-Pacific Legal Relations, UVic, Victoria
Michelle Terriss — Law Librarian, Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops
Tara Williamson — Co-Research Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, Faculty of Law, UVic, Victoria

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

Raymond Lee — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Victoria
Megan Vis-Dunbar — Director, Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program, BC Law Institute, Vancouver

Opening Remarks (Pre-recored) (9:10 – 9:20)

Chief Justice Leonard S. Marchand — Court of Appeal of BC, Vancouver

Canadian Legal Research Fundamentals (9:20 – 10:20)

the standard methods of legal research
where the standard approach creates challenges for some clients
strategies and methodologies to address shortcomings

Kate Harrison — Librarian, Courthouse Libraries BC, Victoria
Alex McNeur — Senior Librarian, Courthouse Libraries BC, Vancouver
Michelle Terriss — Law Librarian, Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops

BREAK (10:20 – 10:35)

Top Tips for Legal Research When Working with Canadian Common Law (10:35 – 11:20)

tips for ensuring a rigorous research process
practical strategies for identifying and researching legal issues
ways to use AI while recognizing its limits

Jessie Meikle-Kahs — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver

Approaches to Researching Indigenous Legal Orders (11:20 – 12:20)

an introduction to methodologies and approaches to engaging with indigenous laws
processes for community validation and consent
creation and use of publicly available resources on indigenous laws

Jessica Asch — Co-Research Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, Faculty of Law, UVic, Victoria
Kiłaladzi Rachelle Loos — Rights and Title Coordinator/Legal Advisor, Homalco First Nation, Campbell River
Tara Williamson — Co-Research Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, Faculty of Law, UVic, Victoria

NETWORKING LUNCH (12:20 – 1:30) with Luncheon Speaker (12:50 – 1:20) and BREAK (1:20 – 1:30)

Speaker TBA

Occupying the Field: Legal Research and Co-Design for Upholding Secwépemc Laws (1:30 – 2:30)

approaches to undertaking legal research and developing written laws based on Secwépemc legal orders
utilizing a co-design process with Knowledge Keepers and Survivors
Indigenous legal research methodologies
ethics and the role of lawyers in community-led work
governance and jurisdictional and intellectual property considerations

Jeanette Jules — Manager of Community Investigations, Le Estcwicwéy̓, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, Kamloops
Kelty McKerracher — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver

BREAK (2:30 – 2:45)

Workshop: Navigating Legal Orders in the Asia/Indo-Pacific: Legal Research Strategies (2:45 – 4:15)

As Canada seeks to diversify its economy, lawyers will play a key role in supporting Canadians, including businesses and civil society organizations in working and partnering with counterparts in the Asia/Indo-Pacific. This workshop will introduce the vast region and demystify it for those less familiar with it—or familiar only with parts of it. It will explore legal research strategies for better understanding the region.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

identify the variety of legal orders across the Asia/Indo-Pacific region, including domestic and international law, transnational law, adat (customary) law, religious laws, and legal pluralism generally
describe the significance of legal culture and of both formal and informal law in different societal and jurisdictional contexts; explain how different kinds of legal orders operate and interact in the region
compare Canada's legal landscape with those in the Asia/Indo-Pacific; identify similarities and differences in how to approach them

This is an interactive workshop with group-based activities. No prior knowledge of Asia or the Indo-Pacific region is required or assumed.

Victor V. Ramraj — Victor V. Ramraj — Director, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, Professor of Law & CAPI Chair in Asia-Pacific Legal Relations, UVic, Victoria

Closing Remarks (4:15 – 4:30)

Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Victoria
Megan Vis-Dunbar — Director, Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program, BC Law Institute, Vancouver

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Legal Research 2026

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