John C. Lee was born in Montreal, graduating from the George Williams University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in 1967 and from Dalhousie University with a Law Degree in 1970. Following his graduation, John traveled across the country to join Lawson Lundell in Vancouver, where he was involved in a full range of legal work. He moved to Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1971, joining the firm then known as Hinds Davies & Company, which has subsequently become Baker Newby LLP. John has practiced with Baker Newby LLP ever since. John was appointed Queen's Counsel in February of 2009. The Queen's Counsel designation is an honor conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution.

John has been active in bar activities including Secretary of the Fraser Valley Bar Association, President of the Fraser Valley Bar Association, a member of the Canadian Bar Association and a member of the British Columbia Association of Trial Lawyers. John is presently Co-chair of the Fraser Valley Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

John's area of practice has a foundation in all areas of litigation, including acting as ad hoc prosecutor for the Attorney General of Canada, conducting of assize work for the Attorney General of British Columbia, a full range of criminal defense work, matrimonial law, insurance law, and other general civil litigation. He has taken mediation training and has been involved in over one hundred successful mediations. His practice has now evolved into a civil litigation practice, strongly focused on a balance between insurance and matrimonial law. He has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia and presently primarily appears as counsel in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

John has also been actively involved in mentoring young lawyers who have worked at Baker Newby LLP, has been on the advisory panel for Family Law Lawyers, and has conducted seminars at the University of the Fraser Valley.

John has balanced his involvement in the law with an active involvement in his community. He has served as Director and President of the Chilliwack YMCA and is now on the Board of Directors of the Vancouver YMCA. In addition, he has been President of the Chilliwack Fraser Rotary Club, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chilliwack Historical Society and has actively supported his wife's involvement with the Chilliwack Hospital Board, Chilliwack Community Services, and the Chilliwack Hospice Society.

John's leisure activities include skiing, hiking, fishing and spending time on Hornby Island, as well as overseeing a family of five grown children and two grandchildren with his wife Rosemary.

David Renwick was born in Alberta and moved to Chilliwack, B.C. where he completed his high schooling. He attended and graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Law Degree in 1977. He articled to the then senior partner at Davies, Baker & Company. After his articles, he became an associate and shortly thereafter a partner at Baker Newby LLP. He is one of the managing partners and works out of our Chilliwack office. Mr. Renwick was appointed Queen's Counsel in February of 2007. The Queen's Counsel designation is an honor conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution.

Mr. Renwick has been active in Bar activities. He has served as President of the Chilliwack and District Bar Association, President of the Fraser Valley Bar Association, and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the British Columbia Association of Trial Lawyers, Lawasia and the International Bar Associations. Mr. Renwick was re-elected as a Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia and is currently a member of the Executive Committee, Finance Committee and the Act and Rules Committee and Chair of the Credentials Committee and the Special Compensation Committee. As well, he has been a guest speaker at a number of seminars relating to construction issues.

Mr. Renwick's area of practice is limited to civil and criminal litigation, which involves criminal defense work, insurance and personal injury cases and construction law disputes. He primarily appears as counsel in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Mr. Renwick has been active in community affairs, having served as the Director of the Chilliwack Arts Council, the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, and the Chilliwack YMCA/YWCA.

Mr. Renwick's leisure activities include spending quality time with his four children, traveling, skiing, golfing, cycling and cooking.

Martin Finch is married with three children and lives in Chilliwack. He was raised in Vancouver and attended Vancouver College. He earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Simon Fraser University in 1976 and followed this with a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of British Columbia in 1980. In 1991, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia awarded Mr. Finch a Master of Laws Degree. Mr. Finch has practiced as a trial lawyer since being called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1981. He is also admitted as a barrister and solicitor in Australia.

Mr. Finch practices in the fields of criminal and civil litigation. He articled with the Vancouver law firm of Zlotnik, DuMoulin in 1981. From there, he assumed a position as Crown Counsel in Vancouver, and subsequently in the interior of British Columbia with a base in Williams Lake. Following a three-year period lecturing in law in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, he joined Baker Newby LLP in 1991.

Mr. Finch has acted for clients in a full range of matters involving the criminal law. He has as well a particular interest in family law. Mr. Finch is a regular lecturer in law and has held lecturing positions with Victoria College School of Business, Melbourne, Australia; the School of Law Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; School of Law Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and the Criminology Department of Simon Fraser University. As well, he lectured in Criminal Law at the University College of the Fraser Valley. He has published a number of articles on legal topics and is a contributor to the text "Essays in Commercial and Property Law".

Mr. Finch was appointed Queen's Counsel in November of 2010. The Queen's Counsel designation is an honor conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution.

Mr. Finch has held positions as a director of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Bar Representative to the Chilliwack School District, a Director of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, a Director of Williams Lake Child Development Centre, and Secretary of the Cariboo Bar Association. He is currently Chairman of the Chilliwack YMCA Foundation, a Director of the Vancouver YMCA Foundation and the Chilliwack Arts Council.

Mr. Finch represented the Canadian Bar Association and the Chilliwack Bar Association at the government inquiry on the future of the Chilliwack and Abbotsford courthouses which successfully retained a courthouse in both communities.

Mr. Finch practices both criminal defense and civil litigation. He is very experienced in family law and personal injury litigation. In addition, Mr. Finch practices in a variety general commercial litigation matters.

Mr. Finch acts as counsel throughout British Columbia, but is happy to live in the Fraser Valley, which he believes provides his family the best that British Columbia offers.

Chris Godwin is a graduate of the University of British Columbia in both Pharmacy and Law and has a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Cambridge, England. He has been a member of the British Columbia Bar since 1987 and is qualified as a Solicitor for England and Wales.

Mr. Godwin is also a licensed pharmacist in British Columbia. His experience in legal practice is in the area of civil litigation with emphasis on general contractual litigation, professional discipline, insolvency matters, landlord and tenant litigation, intellectual property disputes, personal injury claims and Canadian immigration and citizenship claims and appeals. Mr. Godwin regularly acts as counsel to the Coroner on inquests held in British Columbia.

Mr. Godwin was born in Vancouver in 1956. Before becoming a lawyer, he practiced as a pharmacist at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Mr. Godwin articled with the Vancouver law firm of Bull, Housser & Tupper where he also practiced from 1987 to 1994. He joined Baker Newby LLP as an Associate in 1994 and became a Partner in 1998. Mr. Godwin is a member of the Canadian, Vancouver and Fraser Valley Bar Associations, and is a member of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. Mr. Godwin is also a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the Old Darwinian's Society of the University of Cambridge. He is Vice-President and a member of the Board of Directors of The Chilliwack Curling Club and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Black Mountain Ranch in Deming, WA. He enjoys golf, tennis, squash, curling and cricket.

Todd Harvey was born in Vancouver and grew up in Tsawwassen. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy from Simon Fraser University in 1996 and received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia in 2001. He articled at a corporate-commercial firm in Vancouver and was called to the Bar in 2002. Mr. Harvey joined Baker Newby LLP in September 2002 and became a partner in January 2006.
 
Mr. Harvey's practice includes general corporate commercial work including the purchase and sale of businesses, including farms, business contracts and commercial lending. He also practices in the areas of commercial real estate transactions, corporate reorganizations, tax-motivated transactions, wills, estates, incapacity planning and estate planning, including trusts.
 
In the community, Todd is the Chair of the Chilliwack Foundation, Vice President of the Chilliwack Hospital and Health Care Foundation, and will begin a two year term as a Director of the Rotary Club of Chilliwack in July 2012
 
He and his wife Keely, and their two children, live in Chilliwack and enjoy sailing, hiking, gardening and camping. Mr. Harvey is also a motorcycle enthusiast.

Cristen Gleeson has been a partner at Baker Newby LLP since January 2010.  Ms. Gleeson graduated from Queen's University Faculty of Law in 2001.

Ms. Gleeson practiced in Vancouver for several years where she practiced insurance defence, aboriginal, family and criminal litigation appearing before all levels of Court.  In 2003, Ms. Gleeson appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on an Appeal involving sexual and physical abuses to children in foster care in British Columbia.

As one of the heads of Baker Newby LLP's family law department, Ms. Gleeson concentrates her practice on property, child custody, divorce and adoption issues.  Ms. Gleeson is a trial lawyer and she regularly appears in BC Supreme Court on a range of family law issues.  Ms. Gleeson also provides exemplary service in the drafting of separation and pre-nuptial agreements and a range of family law issues.

Ms. Gleeson is co-chair of the Fraser Valley Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and an active member of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia.  Ms. Gleeson provides pro bono legal services for Access Justice Pro Bono Legal Clinics in her spare time.  She was guest lecturer at both the 2004 Idea Law Conference hosted by Dalhousie University Faculty of Law in 2004 and the 2005 B.C. Trial Lawyers Association Conference in Surrey.

Ms. Gleeson also practices in the areas of personal injury, insurance defence, estate, employment, criminal defence and civil sexual assault and welcomes inquiries in these areas.

Ms. Gleeson resides with her spouse in Chilliwack, British Columbia.  In her spare time she enjoys hiking, writing, backcountry skiing and travel.

Sarah Dennis grew up in Chilliwack. She attended the University of British Columbia and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Political Science. During her undergraduate degree, Ms. Dennis spent a semester at the University of Hong Kong studying Asian politics. She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia in 2005.

Ms. Dennis articled at the firm of Race & Company in Squamish and Whistler and joined them as an associate upon being called to the Bar in May of 2006. Ms. Dennis joined Baker Newby LLP as an associate in April of 2007.

Ms. Dennis has been active in the legal and academic community. She was a lecturer of Wills & Estates at the People's Law School and is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Canadian Bar Association including the British Columbia Branch of the Wills & Estates Section, and the Estate Planning Council of Abbotsford.

Ms. Dennis' practice includes wills, estates, real estate and corporate and commercial transactions.

In her spare time, Ms. Dennis enjoys spending time with her family and two cats, swimming, running and traveling.

Ashley Ayliffe articled with Baker Newby LLP and joined the firm as an associate upon his call to the bar in May of 2008. Prior to articles, Mr. Ayliffe attended Dalhousie Law School, returning home to British Columbia upon completion of a Bachelor of Laws.

While at law school Mr. Ayliffe contributed to the student community as executive director of the Dalhousie Student Advocacy Service, representing students involved in the University dispute resolution process. Mr. Ayliffe also acted as a mediator and advisor under the Dalhousie Harassment Policy.

Mr. Ayliffe's academic accomplishments include completing an honors placement with the Department of Justice and authoring an article in the Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies proposing a novel cause of action against the Provincial Crown.

As an undergraduate, Mr. Ayliffe attended Simon Fraser University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with a joint major in Criminology and Psychology. This program led into employment as a youth worker for at-risk youth, an employment program supervisor and a community resource centre coordinator.

Mr. Ayliffe's current practice includes civil and commercial litigation with  a particular focus on employment-related legal problems.  He appears regularly in Provincial and Supreme Court. In his spare time, Mr. Ayliffe enjoys fishing, skiing, and hiking in Chilliwack and the surrounding area.

Bree Hankins was born in Medicine Hat, AB, but grew up in Chilliwack, BC. She graduated on the Dean's List from the University College of the Fraser Valley with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in June of 2005. Bree then attended law school at the University of Victoria. For summer employment during law school, Bree worked at the Victoria Police Department, Community Policing Division and the Law Society of British Columbia. She joined Baker Newby LLP as an articling student in July of 2008 and was called to the bar in May of 2009.

Bree has a long history of volunteering in the Chilliwack community. She has been involved with Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Advocacy Association as a volunteer mentor, facilitator, and employee. She also helps organize their annual Youth Arts Auction. In addition, she has volunteered for Operation Red Nose every Christmas since the program came to Chilliwack in 2004.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, music, movies, and watching hockey. Bree is glad to be back in her home town and looks forward to continuing to serve her community.

Mr. Delamar is a native of Chilliwack. After graduating from Chilliwack Secondary School, he attended Trinity Western University on a President’s Scholarship. After a gap year spent abroad in Japan, he was accepted into the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia. While attending law school in Vancouver, he worked for a VC funded high technology start-up in Silicon Valley in a business development role. After completing law school, he articled at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Vancouver.

Mr. Delamar was called to the bar of British Columbia in 2004. Immediately after his call, he returned to the high technology industry with Raysat, Inc. of Vienna, Virginia, a maker of sophisticated mobile satellite systems and antennas. At Raysat, he was responsible for North American and Asian business development. After leaving Raysat, Mr. Delamar was privileged to fulfill a lifelong dream of working in the music business as the co-founder of a digital record label and mobile music distribution service based in Reston, Virginia and New York City.

After almost a decade of a peripatetic lifestyle which saw him commute between Vancouver, New York, Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley and Tokyo, Mr. Delamar decided to return full-time to the magnificent Fraser Valley and the practice of law, fulfilling a sincere desire to put down roots once again in his hometown with a view to making a positive contribution to life in the community.

Mr. Delamar joined Baker Newby LLP in March, 2009. His practice area is general litigation.

Mr. Delamar’s passions in life, outside the law, are politics, music and technology. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, skiing and fishing amidst the incredible natural splendor of the Fraser Valley.

Publications:

“Competition and the Development of the Internet in Japan,” First Monday. Vol. 7, No. 7-1 (2002). Online: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/968/0. Retrieved Thursday, April 02, 2009.

Rose Shawlee was born in Prince George and has steadily made her way South, first moving to Kelowna and now to Chilliwack.  She attended the University of Victoria where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Medieval Studies and History and thereafter her Bachelor of Laws.  Ms. Shawlee was called to the Bar in 2007.

Ms. Shawlee has served clients in the areas of estate planning and estates, which includes wills, powers of attorney, representation agreements, succession planning for businesses, probate and letters of administration.  Ms. Shawlee also has an active practice in real estate, mortgages, commercial lending, business agreements, and corporate and commercial law, which includes buying and selling businesses, incorporating businesses, creating joint ventures and partnerships, and restructuring businesses. Ms. Shawlee is also poised to assist clients with venture capital corporations and eligible business corporations.

Rose lives in Chilliwack, where she is active in the local community:

• Vice President, Chilliwack Acedemy of Music
• Director, United Way of the Fraser Valley
• Director, Canadaian Home Builders Association of the Fraser Valley
• Member, Estate Planning Council of Abbotsford
• Member, BC Branch of the Canadaian Bar Association's Legislation and Law Review Committee
• Member, BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association's Editorial Board

When not at work, Ms. Shawlee enjoys exploring the Fraser Valley, rearranging furniture, and delving into legal history.

Christopher Drinovz was born and raised in White Rock, British Columbia. He studied Mathematics at the University of British Columbia and in 2007, graduated on the Dean’s List with a Bachelor of Science. He continued his education at UBC, studying Law and earning a Juris Doctor in 2010. While attending law school, Mr. Drinovz participated in the Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP), a clinic designed to offer free legal advice to members of the community. Mr. Drinovz completed his articles with Baker Newby LLP in 2009 -2010.
 
Mr. Drinovz has a diverse range of interests which include jazz music, war history, science, theology, and fine dining. He is fluent in Spanish, plays the drums, and loves heavy weight training. He has a distinct appreciation for the beauty of the Fraser Valley and all of the wonderful things it has to offer. 
 
Mr. Drinovz currently practices in the areas of administrative law, criminal defence, and civil litigation.

Marta Dean joined Baker Newby as an associate in the spring of 2011 after articling at a national law firm in Edmonton, Alberta. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice in 2004, and obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta in 2009. While attending law school, Marta volunteered with Pro Bono Students Canada and Student Legal Services. During her last year of law school, she undertook a court clerkship with the Provincial Court and provided research assistance to judges.

After braving four winters in Edmonton, Marta is happy to be back in the more moderate climate of the Fraser Valley. In her spare time, Marta enjoys spending time with her husband, hiking, and exploring the outdoors. Marta is also fluent in Polish, and is very passionate about traveling.

Troy Estensen is an associate at Baker Newby LLP.  He graduated from the University of British Columbia with an undergraduate degree in History and Political Science.  Troy earned a Canadian law degree from the University of New Brunswick and an American law degree from the University of North Dakota.  While attending law school in the United States, Troy completed a certificate in family mediation.  In addition to his dual degrees in Canadian and American law, Troy studied European law at the University of Oslo in Norway.  Furthering his interest in litigation, Troy participated in the Laskin Moot in Montreal, Quebec and received the award for Best Oral Argument at the Trilateral Moot in Fredericton, New Brunswick.  He also received the Stewart McKelvey Prize in Labour and Employment Law. 
 
In addition to practicing in British Columbia, Troy is a licensed attorney in North Dakota and Washington, DC.  Having returned to the Fraser Valley, Troy is looking forward to working in Chilliwack and in his hometown of Abbotsford.  In his spare time, Troy enjoys traveling, fishing and hiking.