VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 05, 2017) - The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch (CBABC), announces Bill Veenstra as its new President for the 2017/2018 term. Mr. Veenstra has been a CBABC member for 30 years, during which he has held various volunteer roles including Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, elected member of its governing Provincial Council, Legislation and Law Reform Committee member and Chair of the Canadian Bar Association's National Civil Litigation Section.
"One of my key priorities as President is to work to improve access to justice for all British Columbians," said Mr. Veenstra. "We'll continue advocating for the issues raised last February with the release of our platform paper, An Agenda for Justice. We identified a number of areas for improvement and recommended actions including an increase in funding for legal aid and court services, improved services in family justice, and a renewed focus on restorative justice in BC. It'll be a pleasure to work on these issues with our new provincial government and our many committed volunteers and colleagues across the justice sector," he added.
Membership value is another prime focus for Mr. Veenstra. "As an organization, CBABC needs to ensure our programs and services provide both a community for our members, and resources to help them become better lawyers. I look forward to collaborating with our Executive Committee, our hundreds of volunteers, and our excellent staff on the support and opportunities CBABC provides to its members."
After growing up in Vernon, British Columbia, Bill Veenstra received his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia in 1986, his law degree from the University of Victoria in 1990, and was called to the British Columbia bar in 1992. He now practices with Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP in Vancouver in the areas of commercial, civil and construction litigation.
Mr. Veenstra has been actively involved in minor hockey, including as the former President of the Vancouver Thunderbird Minor Hockey Association (2011 - 2013) and subsequently as a director of BC Hockey for three years (2013 - 2016). He has also been a leader with Scouts Canada.
The Canadian Bar Association is the professional organization representing more than 38,000 lawyers, judges and law students across Canada with nearly 7,000 members in British Columbia.
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Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Kent Hurl
Member Communications Officer
604.646.7868
media@cbabc.org
