Alumnus Russell Brown appointed to Supreme Court of Canada
UVic Law alumnus Russell Brown ('94) was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week. Justice Brown is the first UVic Law alumnus on the SCC bench, and his appointment begins on August 31.
Justice Brown is currently serving as a justice on the Alberta Court of Appeal and the appeal courts of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he taught Law and was the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. He also practiced in the Edmonton offices of the law firm Miller Thompson LLP in the areas of commercial and competition law, personal injury, medical negligence and trusts and estates. He also practiced as a member of the firms of Carfra & Lawton (now Carfra Lawton LLP) in Victoria and Davis & Company (now DLA Piper LLP) in Vancouver.
This breadth of experience, according to Prime Minister Harper, makes Justice Brown an excellent addition to Canada's highest court. "Mr. Justice Brown brings to the court wide experience as a law professor and legal scholar, a barrister, and a judge at both the trial court and appellate levels," said Stephen Harper in the press release.
As a student, Justice Brown was known for his intellectual brilliance, affability, quickness of wit, independence of mind, and, last but not least, his wickedly funny impersonations of his professors. We expect that all of those qualities (with the possible exception of the last) will stand him in good stead on the court.
Justice Brown will replace retiring Justice Marshall Rothstein.