Employment Law Conference 2026: Combo

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 Lexology Index (formerly 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 the chair and a director of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of BC & Yukon and is a past vice-chair and director of the children's charity, Make-A-Wish BC & Yukon.

Planning Committee
Anita Atwal, KC (she/her) — Anita Atwal Law Corporation, Surrey
Colin J. Edstrom (he/him) — Harris & Company, Kelowna 
Amy Frankel (she/her) — Forte Workplace Law, Surrey 
Richard B. Johnson (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver 
Simon Kent (he/him) — Kent Employment Law, Vancouver 
Jennifer Kwok (she/her) — Overholt Law LLP, Vancouver 
Lia Moody (she/her) — HHBG Lawyers, Vancouver 
Donovan G. Plomp (he/him) — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver 
Kenneth Wm. Thornicroft (he/him) — Professor Emeritus, Gustavson School of Business, UVic, Victoria
Leanne M. Walsh (she/her) — West Coast Workplace Law, Richmond

Faculty
Sabrina Anis (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Funmilola Ayotunde (she/her) — Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, UVic, Victoria
Jeremy Bryant (he/him) — Banister & Company, and Tribunal Member, Employment Standards Tribunal, Vancouver
Navpreet Chhina (she/her) — Inlet Employment Law, Port Moody
Kai Ying Chieh (she/her) — Overholt Law LLP, Vancouver
Shea Coulson (he/him) — Coulson Litigation and Advisory, Vancouver
Scott Dallen (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law, Vancouver
Carmelle Dieleman (she/her) — Forte Workplace Law, Surrey
Christopher Drinovz (he/him) — KSW Lawyers, Surrey/Abbotsford
E. Murphy Fries (she/her) — Legal Counsel, BC Labour Relations Board and Employment Standards Tribunal, Vancouver
Johanna Goosen (she/her) — Director of Litigation, WorkSafeBC, Richmond
Robbie Grant (he/him) — McMillan LLP, Toronto
Neil Hain (he/him) — Neil Hain Dispute Resolution, Vancouver
Nicole R. Howell (she/her) — HHBG Lawyers, Vancouver
James Hsu (he/him) — PortaLaw, Vancouver
Kyra L. Hudson (she/her) — Kyra Hudson Law Corporation, Vancouver
Eric Ito (he/him) — Cooperwilliams Truman & Ito LLP, Vancouver
Eleni Kassaris (she/her) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Cherolyn Knapp (she/her) — Knapp Resolutions, Victoria
Victoria Merritt (she/her) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Lia Moody (she/her) — HHBG Lawyers, Vancouver
Nazanin Panah (she/her) — Inlet Employment Law, Port Moody
Preston Parsons (he/him) — Overholt Law LLP, Vancouver
Mary E. Saunders, KC — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Kristen Shaw (she/they) — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
Sharon Sutherland (she/her) — Executive Director, Mediate BC, Vancouver
Michael Thompson (he/him) — Decision Maker/Team Leader, Ministry of Labour - Employment Standards Branch, Richmond
Sophie Toor (she/her) — Anita Atwal Law Corporation, Surrey
Richard E.K. Truman (he/him) — Cooperwilliams Truman & Ito LLP, Vancouver
Veronica Ukrainetz (she/her) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Kelowna
Salim Visram (he/him) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Roan Wallace (she/her) — KSW Lawyers, Surrey
Mary Walsh (she/her) — Executive Director, Ministry of Labour - Employment Standards Branch, Richmond
Claire Wanhella (she/her) — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
Cameron R. Wardell (he/him) — Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP, Vancouver

Course Materials Contributors
Rachel Akinyemi (she/her) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Anita Kaur Bal (she/her) — Articling Student, MediateBC, Vancouver
Louis Claman (he/they) — PortaLaw Corporation, Vancouver
Frances Gropper — Neil Hain Dispute Resolution, Vancouver
Martin Sheard — Inlet Employment Law, Port Moody
Megan Stratikopoulos (she/her) — BCPA Registered Paralegal, Ascent Employment Law, Kelowna

Click here for full faculty bios

• identifying the processes available to support workplace conflict resolution and determining when collaborative approaches are appropriate
• advising clients on policies to support effective conflict resolution choices
• working with conflict resolution professionals to design the best process for each situation

• overview of the legal principles of just cause, repudiation, and constructive dismissal
• recent analyses, including how these principles apply in a working notice scenario, referencing Adrain v. Agricom International Inc., 2025 BCSC 1842
• lessons for practitioners when advising employers and employees 

• review and analyze scope of Employment Standards Act, s. 49.2 and comparable provisions
• review of new long-term personal illness leave under Employment Standards Act , s. 49.01
• best practices for updating attendance management programs and sick leave policies 
• adress common compliance challenges
• guidance on transition from short-term to long-term leave 

• brief overview of foundational legal principles related to discipline for off-duty conduct and inappropriate social media use
• consider recent caselaw on discipline arising from:
  • gossip about the workplace, including in chat groups and DMs
  • other social media usage that attracts workplace consequences
• discuss issues related to accessing employee texts/DMs/social media posts (methods of access and related employee privacy concerns)
• discuss cascading impact on the workplace (impact on non-participants, risks related to poisoned workplace, and other human rights concerns)
• brief overview of emerging issues related to social media (i.e., TikTok moonlighting)

• legislative updates 
• program updates
• review of notable cases

• key cases
• analysis and trends
• effects on practice

• post-employment issues involving rogue former employees including theft of employer information 
• overview of recent legal developments concerning:
  • restrictive covenants
  • common law post-employment fiduciary obligations regarding non-competition and use of confidential information and contractual obligations under employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and intellectual property agreements
• practical strategies and employer obligations when responding to theft or misuse of employer information
• injunctions including Anton Piller and Mareva injunctions
• forensic evidence

• update on the law of damages for incentive compensation, including a review of post-Matthews cases dealing with incentive compensation provisions
• assessing damages for the loss of pension contributions or pension benefits during the reasonable notice period
• trends in the case law and practical implications for counsel dealing with complex compensation, equity, or pension benefits matters

• review of investigatory procedures and requirements for both employers and employees when there is a critical workplace incident or fatality
• how to minimize potential liability for administrative penalties, offence proceedings, or possible charges for criminal negligence

• artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the modern workplace, from recruitment tools to performance analytics to generative AI
• this session will examine the ethical, legal, and governance challenges arising from increased AI adoption
• topics covered will include bias and discrimination, workplace privacy, and acceptable use policies; we will also briefly address professional ethics and responsibility for lawyers using AI in the course of their practice

• an overview of Tribunal processes and operations 
• recent key decisions of the Tribunal 
• notable judicial reviews of Tribunal decisions

• review and analysis of court decisions about how the duty to mitigate applies to fixed-term employment contracts, including the BCCA's decision in Mac's Convenience Stores Inc. v. Basyal, 2025 BCCA 284