Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of British Columbia

April 27, 2021 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Julianne K. Lamb, Q.C., a partner at Guild Yule LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Madam Justice Lamb replaces Mr. Justice T.C. Armstrong (New Westminster), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 16, 2021.

Lauren Blake, Principal Lawyer at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Madam Justice Blake replaces Mr. Justice H. Slade (Vancouver), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective March 31, 2021.

Jan Brongers, Senior General Counsel at Justice Canada in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Mr. Justice Brongers replaces Mr. Justice M. McEwan (Nelson), who resigned on August 31, 2020. The Chief Justice will be transferring Madam Justice L. Lyster (Vancouver) into this vacancy. The vacancy is therefore located in Vancouver.

Quote

“I wish Justices Lamb, Blake, and Brongers every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of British Columbia well as members of the Supreme Court of B.C.”

— The Hon. David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Justice Julianne K. Lamb, Q.C., grew up in Mountain, Ontario. She earned a Bachelor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in 1990 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1993. She was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1994 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2018.

At the time of her appointment, Madam Justice Lamb was one of the managing partners at Guild Yule LLP, a firm that became family to her over the last dozen years. She was a civil litigator who focused on professional negligence matters, complex personal injury claims, and insurance coverage disputes. She also defended professionals in regulatory proceedings.

Over the course of her career, Justice Lamb volunteered regularly for continuing legal education, including as co-author of the insurance chapter of the British Columbia Annual Practice for the last ten years. From 2014 to 2019, she was an adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, teaching the insurance law course. She was elected bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia in 2020 after serving as a non-bencher member on two Law Society committees. Having learned from the best of mentors, she has tried to pay it forward to the younger generations.

Justice Lamb is the devoted mother of Matthew, Megan and Liam. They officially welcomed her husband, Dan Abel, and his son, Hunter, to their family in July 2019.

Justice Lauren Blake was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from the University of Toronto in 1991 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia in 1994. She was called to the bar of British Columbia in 1996.

Before commencing practice, Madam Justice Blake had the privilege of serving as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of British Columbia. After her call to the bar, she practised in the litigation department of Davis & Co. (now DLA Piper (Canada) LLP) in the areas of trust and estate litigation, commercial litigation, and family law. Since 2017, Justice Blake has practised at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, with a focus on trust and estate litigation. She is named in Best Lawyers in Canada for Trusts and Estates and for Corporate and Commercial Litigation. She is a past chair of the Wills and Trusts Section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a former director of the Central City Foundation. She has written and spoken extensively on matters related to trusts and estates.

Justice Blake has three children who are her pride and joy, and two wonderful step-children with her husband, David, who is also a lawyer.

Justice Jan Brongers was born in Vancouver. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia in 1990, after which he attended the National Program at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. He received his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill in 1994. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1995, and subsequently to the bars of Ontario and British Columbia.

Mr. Justice Brongers is fluently bilingual. He articled with Robinson Sheppard Shapiro in Montreal and clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa for the Honourable James K. Hugessen. He has been a civil litigator throughout his legal career, which began in Ottawa with Justice Canada. He then returned home to Vancouver in 2006, where he was the Senior General Counsel at the Regional Director General’s Office of Justice Canada in British Columbia. Justice Brongers has had conduct of a wide variety of Crown litigation files, notably in the fields of administrative, Indigenous and constitutional law. As a result, he has appeared before courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as administrative tribunals and commissions of inquiry.

Justice Brongers enjoys mentoring junior colleagues and presenting at continuing legal education events. He is also the co-author of The Annotated Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.

Justice Brongers has been happily married to Ellen for 27 years. They consider themselves very fortunate to be the parents of Justine, their teenage daughter.