Eight lawyers took on new roles across the BC Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, among others
Courts in Quebec, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have welcomed seven new judges, according to Canada justice minister and attorney general Sean Fraser.
Michael Brundrett, Amy D. Francis, Gregory W. Koturbash, Lorne D. Lachance, Julie K. Gibson, and Kate Saunders take on new judicial roles in British Columbia, while Sheri L. Woods joins the bench of His Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan in Prince Albert and Alexandre-Philippe Avard joins the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal.
Michael Brundrett
BC Supreme Court judge Brundrett has become a BC Court of Appeal justice of appeal. He replaces P.M.E. Abrioux, who became a supernumerary judge on April 25, 2025.
He was previously a senior lawyer with the BC justice ministry’s criminal justice branch. He once chaired the Canadian Bar Association BC branch’s professional development committee.
Brundrett was a trial prosecutor for over 13 years and tackled all aspects of criminal law. He appealed matters before the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In his new role, he will continue to sit in Vancouver.
Amy D. Francis
Francis joined the BC Supreme Court in 2019. Like Brundrett, she becomes a BC Court of Appeal justice of appeal in Vancouver.
Francis replaces L. Fenlon, who became a supernumerary judge on July 1. Prior to joining the bench, Francis was a litigation specialist at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, where she concentrated on trust and estate dispute resolution.
She previously chaired the Canadian Bar Association BC branch’s wills and trusts section and was once a tax litigator for the federal justice department.
Gregory W. Koturbash
Koturbash, who is a BC Provincial Court judge in Penticton, becomes a BC Supreme Court judge in Kelowna. He replaces D.A. Betton (Vernon), who resigned April 19, 2024. As a result of the chief justice’s internal court transfers, the vacancy is situated in Kelowna.
He was previously the BC Provincial Court’s regional administrative judge for the interior region. He joined the Penticton bench in 2012 after a stint as a Crown prosecutor focusing on criminal law.
Lorne D. Lachance
Lachance becomes a BC Supreme Court judge in New Westminster, replacing S.C. Fitzpatrick (Vancouver) who became a supernumerary judge on June 30. He was previously deputy supervising counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General of BC in Vancouver.
As a private practitioner, he was a civil litigation, employment, and criminal law specialist. He spent 24 years working with the Canada justice department, conducting litigation involving torts, contracts, regulatory, administrative, and constitutional laws.
Due to the chief justice’s internal court transfers, the vacancy filled by Lachance is located in New Westminster.
Julie K. Gibson
Gibson joins the BC Supreme Court bench in Victoria, replacing G.R.J. Gaul (Victoria), who became a supernumerary judge on July 29.
She was previously legal counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General of BC in Victoria. She joined Canada’s first online tribunal, Civil Resolution Tribunal, in 2015 and remained until 2021.
Gibson served as lead counsel on cases related to COVID-19 pandemic public health measures. She was with Vancouver-based Harper Grey LLP for over 15 years.
Kate Saunders
Saunders became a BC Supreme Court judge in Victoria, replacing B.M. Young (Victoria), who became a supernumerary judge on October 18. She was the litigation group’s supervising counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General of BC in Victoria.
She has tackled personal injury litigation and major constitutional cases. She took silk last year and was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal this year.
Sheri L. Woods
Woods replaces L.W. Zuk (Prince Albert), who resigned April 8, 2024, as His Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan judge. She focuses on family law and child and family services litigation.
She co-founded Woods Law Office and helped develop the Counsel for Children Program. She has acted for children in the care of the Ministry of Social Services in Saskatchewan.
Woods has worked with Indigenous governing bodies and represented delegated Aboriginal child and family services agencies across Treaty Areas 4, 6, 8, and 10.
Alexandre-Philippe Avard
Avard replaces Justice D.R. Collier (Montréal), who became a supernumerary judge on March 24. Avard was a partner at Dentons' Montréal office.
He focuses on commercial litigation and Indigenous law; as a litigator, he has also tackled matters involving administrative and constitutional law, international law, municipal and regulatory law, and construction law. He was a senior lawyer in Hydro-Québec’s Legal Affairs department concentrating on Indigenous law from 2019 to 2024.
Avard once chaired the organizing committee for the citizenship and charters program of the Canadian Bar Association (Quebec Division).
