Lawyers and Staff

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The lawyers and staff at Lidstone & Company are part of your team, your creative solution, your security and your effectiveness in every area of local government law.

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  Marisa Cruickshank

  Partner. Labour and Employment, Human Rights, Information and Privacy, Litigation

  Marisa Cruickshank assists local government clients with a wide range of workplace matters, including preparation and review of employment contracts and policies, sick leave and disability issues, human rights,...

  
  

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  Sara Dubinsky

  Partner. Litigation, Bylaw Enforcement, Conflicts, Information and Privacy, Cannabis Law

  Sara Dubinsky has practiced local government law at Lidstone & Company since her call to the bar in 2009. She is a litigation lawyer and provides legal opinions on...

  
  

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  Don Lidstone, Q.C.

  Managing Partner. Land Use and Planning, Governance, Finance, Environmental, Aboriginal

  Don Lidstone Q.C. is licenced in BC, Alberta, and Yukon. He practices generally in the area of local government law. His municipal law focus is in the areas of...

  
  

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  Lindsay Parcells

  Partner. Real Estate, Corporate and Commercial, Development, Procurement, Expropriation

  Lindsay Parcells is the head of our Alberta office and practices municipal law with an interest in land use, real property, corporate, commercial, indigenous relations, and environmental matters. Lindsay...

  
  

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  James Yardley

  Partner. Litigation & Conflict Resolution, Expropriation, Construction

  James’ practice mainly involves litigation and dispute resolution, although he also provides advice on a broad variety of local government matters.  James has practised law involving local governments since...

  
  

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  Colleen Burke

  Local Government Law, Bylaw Drafting, Information & Privacy

  Colleen studied municipal and land use planning law while attending UBC Law School and has been working with local governments in British Columbia since her articling days. Called to...

  
  

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  Andrew Carricato

  Labour and Employment, Human Rights

  Andrew is licenced in BC, Alberta and Ontario. He advises and advocates for clients on a wide range of workplace law issues in both unionized and non-unionized environments. Andrew...

  
  

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  Katie Dakus

  Articled Student

  Katie is our articled student. She has worked for the Ministry of Attorney General, Office of Legislative Counsel. At the Ministry of Attorney General, she drafted provisions and amendments...

  
  

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  Janae Enns

  2021 Summer Student

  Janae is currently a law student at Thompson Rivers University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with a concentration in planning and a master’s degree in community planning....

  
  

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  Alison Espetveidt

  Land Use Planning and Development, Real Estate, Expropriation, Governance and Enforcement

  Alison is a municipal lawyer licenced in Alberta and British Columbia. She advises and advocates for clients on a wide range of municipal law issues, including land use planning...

  
  

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  Paul Hildebrand

  Litigation, Arbitration, Alternate Dispute Resolution

  Paul is Associate Counsel at Lidstone & Company. Paul is the head of the law firm’s Litigation Department. He won the Gold Medal in law at the University of...

  
  

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  Ralph Hildebrand

  Aboriginal Law, Local Government Law, Zoning and Civil Litigation

  Ralph is Associate Counsel at Lidstone & Company. He most recently held the position of Corporate Counsel/General Manager Legal and Legislative Services at Metro Vancouver. Prior to his ten...

  
  

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  Michael McAllister

  Local Government & Land Development

  Michael is Senior Counsel. He has practised law exclusively on local government matters since 1988. Michael was born in Nelson, B.C. and is a lifelong British Columbia resident. Michael...

  
  

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  Christopher Murdy

  Municipal Law

  Chris has practised law exclusively on behalf of local government since 1984. Chris is a lifelong resident of B.C. and attended the University of British Columbia where he received...

  
  

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  Will Pollitt

  Local Government Law, Indigenous Law, Land Use Planning, Governance

  Will has practiced local government law since joining Lidstone & Company in 2019. Will advises local governments on a wide variety of issues including land use planning, contracts, governance...

  
  

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  Anthony Price

  Local Government, Litigation & Regulatory Law

  Anthony was born and raised in the beautiful Bulkley Valley in northern British Columbia. Since 2010, his practice has focused exclusively on providing advice and representation to local governments...

  
  

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  Rahul Ranade

  Land use planning, Development, Water and Environment, Procurements and Contracts

  Rahul advises local governments on issues related to land use planning, development, water and environment, procurements and contracts. Prior to his legal career, Rahul practised for nearly 15 years...

  
  

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  Olga Rivkin

  Municipal, Environmental and Land Development

  Olga is licenced in BC and Yukon. She is an experienced solicitor, attentive to client needs, nuanced and detailed in her approach. She advises local governments and other public...

  
  

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  Robert Sroka

  Real Property, Corporate and Commercial, Development, Procurement, Brownfields/Contamination

  Robert is licensed in BC and Alberta. He provides legal opinions and drafts agreements on all local government matters with an active interest in land use planning and real...

  
  

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  Rachel Vallance

  Governance, Finance, Elections, Constitutional, Environmental, Administrative

  Rachel completed her articles at Lidstone & Company and has practiced local government law since her call to the bar in 2015. She advises local governments in relation to...

  
  

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  Greg Vanstone

  Senior Counsel

  Greg Vanstone is joining our firm April 19 as Senior Counsel. Greg has devoted the majority of his 37-year legal career to representing local governments and school boards. After...

  
  

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  Matthew R. Voell

  Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Administrative Litigation, Judicial Reviews, Insurance Defence

  Matthew acts for local government clients on a wide variety of civil and commercial matters, including disputes involving breaches of contracts and agreements, real estate development and insurance defence....

  
  

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  Alex Huynh

  Office Manager

  Alex became the Office Manager at Lidstone & Company after working as their contracted accountant for several years. She oversees the administration and accounting for the firm. Previously she...

  
  

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  Kathy Alvarez

  Paralegal

  Kathy provides paralegal services for civil litigation and enforcement proceedings at all levels of court in British Columbia. Prior to joining Lidstone & Company, Kathy worked at Murdy &...

  
  

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  Ayesha Ali

  Administrative Assistant

  Ayesha ensures the efficient and smooth day-to-day operation of our office and is an important part of our real property team. Prior to joining Lidstone & Company, Ayesha worked...

  
  

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  Angela Chen

  Administrative Assistant / Receptionist

  Angela Chen is our Administrative Assistant/Receptionist responsible for a wide array of administrative and clerical duties. Prior to working at Lidstone & Company, she gained her valuable 2-years experience...

  
  

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  Tekahra Tarnowski

  Legal Assistant

  Tekahra is a Legal Assistant. She completed her Legal Office Assistant Program with honours at Camosun College in Victoria. Prior to joining Lidstone and Company, Tekahra gained experience working...

  
  

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  Ann Tran

  Bookkeeper

  Ann joined Lidstone & Company in January 2019 as their bookkeeper. She comes with an accounting Certificate in level Pace from the CGA program and a Bachelor’s degree in...

  
  

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