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Faculty of Law

Robert Lapper, KC

Robert Lapper

Professor, David and Dorothy Lam Chair in Law and Public Policy

Contact:
Office: Room 212, Fraser Building 604-816-9117
Credentials:
BA Hons (UVic), LLB (UVic)
Area of expertise:
Public law, access to justice, aboriginal law, alternate dispute resolution, professional regulation.

Biography

Robert Lapper, KC is a lawyer and professor whose career and interest has been in public law. After several years in private practice, he joined the Province of British Columbia serving as counsel and Senior Counsel, Aboriginal Law, and later in senior executive positions as Assistant Deputy Attorney General, and in three Deputy Minister portfolios. Robert moved to Toronto in 2012 and took up the position as Chief Executive Officer, Law Society of Upper Canada (now Law Society of Ontario) where he served for six years. Robert currently teaches Legal Ethics, Law Legislation and Policy, Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice, and serves on the Executive of the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence at the University of Victoria. His teaching and community-based research focuses on bringing a cross disciplinary approach to access to justice, dispute resolution and professional regulation issues, considering them not only from a legal perspective, but from the perspectives of other disciplines, including public administration, public health, and social sciences. He serves on the Steering Committee of Access to Justice British Columbia, as a Director of the Innocence Canada Foundation, and has been an appointee to numerous government and quasi-governmental commissions and advisory boards

Education

  • BA (Honours Political Science), University of Victoria;
  • LLB University of Victoria

Selected books

  • Author “Social Equity in Public Administration : The Hidden Impact of Judicial Decision Making”, forthcoming publication in forthcoming book Transforming Public Administration in Canada ( expected – April 2025).
  • Co – author (with Professor Gerry Ferguson) “The Lawyer’s Ethical and Professional Duties in Advising Business Clients on Corruption on Corruption and Anti-Corruption Issues” in Fergson, G: Global Corruption: Law, Theory and Practice (2nd Edition), 2022

Selected publications

  • Co- Author: with Christy Juteau, Harley Chappell Xwopokton and Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe; “The beauty underneath: A critical coastal governance approach to revitalize Indigenous shellfish harvest” to be published in Marine Policy, v. 174, April 2025
  • Lead author (with Medina Abdelkader and Will O’Hanley) – “I’m Having Trouble Seeing this as a Design Problem – Design Thinking for Law Students” to be completed and submitted for publication in 2025.

Recognition and Awards

  • Appointed Queen's Counsel, 2002 (now King's Counsel).

Other work

  • Speaker:
    • Canadian Bar Association (National), Public Lawyers Section: Webinar- “Political Involvement & Other Outside Interests of Public Sector Counsel” – December 2024
    • Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch: Professional Issues Conference, - Lawyers Acting in the Public Interest – the Impacts of Public Opinion – Vancouver, November, 2024
    • Ministry of Attorney General, BC – Justice Services Conference: - Current developments in Access to Justice, June 2024
    • Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch Webinar; Access to Justice Implications of decision in Trial Lawyers of BC v. Attorney General of British Columbia (June 2022)
    • Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives – King Prajadhipok’s Institute – (Thailand) – Conflict Transformation Course. Topic was “Peace Mediation” (December, 2021)
    • Canadian Bar Association BC Branch Annual Mid-Winter Meeting: Delivered presentation on “Paralegal Licensing in Ontario –Alternate Legal Service Providers“
    • 2020 School of Public Administration: Delivered Faculty Webinar on the Implications of Covid Crisis on Justice System and Access to Justice
    • 2020 Commonwealth Lawyers Association Conference, Livingstone Zambia: Presented paper on Technology and Access to Justice 2020

  • Research Projects:

    • University of Victoria, School of Public Administration: Coordinating study of Effectiveness of Early Mediation in Child Protection Proceedings for Mediate BC and Ministry of Child and Family Development ,
    • Province of British Columbia University of Victoria – School of Public Administration - Municipal Government Complaints Process – (with Project Leads – Dr. Tara Ney and Dr. Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly) – International review of design and implementation of user-centred municipal complaints processes funded by European Union.
    • University of Victoria, Access to Justice Centre for Excellence – Supervised Justice Data and Design Lab, 2022-2024

Courses

  • Law 104: Law, Legislation and Policy
  • Law 325: Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution Systems
  • Law 337: Dispute Resolution Theory and Practice
  • Law 360: Legal Ethics and Professionalism
  • DR 509: Dispute Resolution System Design and Public Interest Disputes DR 509
  • DR 516: Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution Systems

Graduate supervision

Prof Lapper, KC is interested in supervising graduate students working on public law, dispute resolution, access to justice, aboriginal law, and professional regulation issues.