Biographies
Webster & Associates is one of the few Canadian law firms that focuses exclusively on brain and neurological injuries. Our experienced team of lawyers and paralegal assistants are skilled in all aspects of the legal process and have considerable experience in the field of brain injury litigation. We are extremely sensitive to the needs of the families of brain injury survivors, and we work closely together to provide effective, caring legal representation for the families and their loved ones.
Meet the team:
- R. Brian Webster, Q.C., Lawyer
- Barbara Webster-Evans, Lawyer
- Daniel Corrin, Lawyer
- Kara Naish, Lawyer
- Pascale Robichaud, Paralegal
- Marissa Faulkner, Paralegal
- Sanjana Singh, Legal Assistant
- Manika Bhatti, Administrative Assistant
- Chanel Wong, Legal Assistant
- Celina Meghji, Legal Assistant
R. Brian Webster, Q.C.
Lawyer
Email: webster@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8030
“I
started Webster & Associates because I felt that managing cases for
those who were living with the effects of serious brain injuries was a
very challenging legal practice that was not all that compatible with a
general litigation practice or even a personal injury practice. It is
too specialized and unique to be done the same way as back injuries,
for example. Staff need special training and sensitivity as well as a
very high level of legal expertise, which they may not need for a
general personal injury practice. On the other hand, a specialized
brain injury practice is enormously satisfying and fulfilling for all
involved. I wouldn't want to do anything else.”
- R. Brian Webster, Q.C.
R. Brian Webster, Q.C., has been practicing law for over 30 years and has represented clients in cases involving brain injury throughout his career. Through his involvement in high profile and complex Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) cases Brian has earned a reputation as a leader in the field of brain injury law and a strong advocate for brain injury causes.
Of his numerous achievements in court, Brian may be most proud of the decision in MacEachern vs Canadian National Transportation (2010BCSC625) where he successfully represented a homeless woman who had been struck and catastrophically injured by a passing CN transport truck. He overcame huge odds and won her millions of dollars for her lifelong care in a trial that lasted almost a year in court.
During his career, Brian has represented clients from every corner of British Columbia, as well as Alberta, the Yukon, the United States, China and England. He is very well regarded for his courtroom advocacy and while tough, his caring approach with survivors and their families has won him long and rewarding relationships both with past clients who continue to live with brain injuries long after the resolution of their case and physicians and others who work in the brain injury community.
In recognition of his excellence in advocacy, trial work, and his contribution to the brain injury community, Brian received the coveted Queen's Counsel or "Q.C." designation in 2006. This honour is awarded to select counsel by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Chief Justices in British Columbia.
In addition to providing lasting support for his clients, Brian strongly believes in the importance of community support groups for those living with brain injuries, such as the British Columbia Brain Injury Association and the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities. He is very active in educating the wider public and legal community about brain injuries and has been teaching lawyers, medical and rehabilitation professionals about the legal aspects of brain injury for many years. Brian has also written numerous articles related to brain injury law and is often requested to lecture on Traumatic Brain Injury.
Brian is also an active participant in conferences and seminars related to brain injury in Canada and around the world. Internationally, he has presented at the International Brain Injury Conference (Sydney, Australia) and has presented in the United Kingdom to APIL (U.K.'s Association of Personal Injury Solicitors). In British Columbia, he is a regular presenter at the prestigious Pacific Coast Brain Injury Conference.
Brian’s memberships include:
- Canadian Bar Association
- British Columbia Bar Association
- Alberta Bar Association
- Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Special Interest Group, Traumatic Brain Injury, ATLA
- British Columbia Brain Injury Association
- B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities
Barbara Webster-Evans
Lawyer
Email: bwebsterevans@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel (Richmond): (604) 713 8037
Tel (Victoria): (250) 589 8030
Barbara Webster-Evans was
called to the bar in 1984 and has over 30 years of legal experience and
training.
Prior to joining Webster & Associates, Barbara spent much of her legal career involved in complex personal injury and commercial litigation, including defending public schools and healthcare bodies. A great deal of her work involved representing defendants in brain injury cases. Until joining Webster & Associates in 2007, Barbara served as supervising counsel for the Province of British Columbia’s Risk Management Branch (RMB). At RMB, she provided strategic leadership for their legal team and was accountable for the handling of the most complex litigation conducted by that office - legal cases generally involving multi-million dollar personal injury claims and precedent setting litigation.
Through her work at RMB Barbara gained invaluable skills and an in-depth awareness of the intricacies of brain injury cases. When defending cases, she saw firsthand the tragic results for brain injury survivors when their lawyers did not understand the tremendous challenges faced by those who suffered from such injuries. With this knowledge she joined Webster & Associates with the goal of making a difference in the lives of survivors and their families. Barbara brings to her clients a great wealth of litigation and medical knowledge. Her experience in dealing with medical and economics experts (among others), her understanding of the symptoms of traumatic brain injury, as well as her knowledge of the difficulties and costs required to achieve rehabilitation are extremely valuable to the clients she represents today.
In addition to handling cases involving brain, spinal cord and neonatal injuries, Barbara frequently writes articles for and contributes her perspective to legal, healthcare and educational organizations on topics such as professional liability, medical malpractice, ethics, hospital charting and triage, and human rights law. Injury prevention is a topic of prime importance to her.
In her private time, Barbara volunteers as a mentor to law students
at the University of Victoria Law School, and has been an active
supporter and board member for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of
Victoria. She has been a member of the Vancouver Island Health
Authority Ethics Committee for many years.
Amongst all of this, Barbara is also a member of the following:
- Trial Lawyers Association of BC
- Medical Legal Society
- Canadian Bar Association
- The B.C. Bar Association
- The Victoria Bar Association
Daniel Corrin
Lawyer
Email: dcorrin@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8035
Daniel Corrin has been
prosecuting traumatic brain injury cases for Webster & Associates
for over a decade. During this time he has successfully represented
seriously injured individuals, organized rehabilitation and helped
survivors adapt to their new life post-injury. He is particularly adept
at initiating and organizing rehabilitation to facilitate the best
possible outcomes.
Daniel genuinely enjoys working on behalf of brain and spinal cord injury survivors. He likens the role of counsel as half social worker, assisting survivors and their families and half courtroom advocate, demanding action on behalf of clients.
Daniel has been co-counsel at numerous trials at the Supreme Court and appeared at the Court of Appeal. He was one of the counsel involved in the very lengthy MacEachern v. Rennie trial that required over 100 trial days in 2009. He has been involved and lead arguments in precedent setting decisions regarding the use of neuropsychological test data, disclosure of computer hard drives, disclosure of settlement funds, provision and disclosure of discovery information and discovery of people under disabilities.
Daniel had the honour of being co-counsel in an action for a “shaken baby” which resolved part way through trial. A part of the case went to the Supreme Court of Canada. This case had a profound personal affect on his practice and he has advised many other attorneys on shaken baby syndrome and has spoken about shaken baby syndrome on a number of occasions, including presenting at the prestigious international SBS conference.
Prior to joining Webster & Associates in 2001, Daniel articled and practiced with a number of prestigious law firms and multinational corporations, including an insurance defence firm. Daniel’s previous experience, as an attorney for insurance companies, provided him with valuable insight into practices and processes within the insurance field. This knowledge and experience is extremely helpful to the cases he deals with today.
Daniel is currently a member of the executive of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia (TLABC). A strong believer in education, he is the chair of the seminars committee which is responsible for organizing all the TLABC seminars that provide continuing education for BC lawyers. He has personally co-chaired two seminars for the TLABC and has presented on brain injury and other legal issues in many other forums, including: the Pacific Coast Brain Injury Conference, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre - Grand Rounds, for B.C. Society of Occupational Therapists, the Certified Life Care Planners, and many others. He is a contributing author for the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC text book on Automobile Accidents in British Columbia. He has written for the lawyer’s weekly and many other publications.
Daniel also volunteers in the legal and brain injury communities. He has provided pro bono services through the Canadian Bar Association and the Legal Services Society Community Law Clinic. He has assisted grass roots brain injury organizations to grow and assist survivors. Daniel was also a member of the executive and board of Family Services of Greater Vancouver (www.fsgv.org) for many years. He also advises community brain injury organizations and is involved in the wider head injury community.
Kara Naish
Lawyer
Email: knaish@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 3291
Kara Naish recently joined Webster & Associates, bringing with her over 10 years of legal experience in the insurance defence field. Kara left this practice because she truly wanted to assist individuals through the legal process, rather than having corporations as clients. She also has a very personal connection to brain injury work, having a family member with a congenital brain defect.
Kara has a strong background in personal injury, having defended these claims on behalf of insurance companies for over a decade. She has appeared at the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal and has had much success in trials before judges and juries. Kara brings to Webster & Associates her invaluable skills in the courtroom and with the litigation process as a whole, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of insurance corporations. She has witnessed the results of lawyers who did not fully understand the scope of their clients’ injuries and the consequences of those injuries and seeks to make a real difference in the lives of the clients she now represents.
Kara is a member of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC and the Canadian Bar Association. She is heavily involved as fundraising chair for a number of local organizations. She also sits as president of a preschool board and is on the executive of Canadian Parents for French. She believes strongly in education, including legal education, and looks forward to becoming more involved in this regard within the brain injury community.
Language skills:Fluent in English and French.
Pascale Robichaud
Paralegal
Email: probichaud@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8033
Pascale Robichaud has
been an integral part of the Webster & Associates’ team since
1996. During this time she has acquired the specialized knowledge of
cases concerning brain injury and gained extensive experience in
working with clients who have sustained traumatic brain injuries.
Pascale works as a paralegal and assists the firms’ lawyers on
all stages of the cases, including the initial meetings with clients,
assisting the clients with their rehabilitation plan and Part 7
benefits, providing litigation support through complex court
proceedings, as well as assisting through numerous trials and appeals.
In addition to her paralegal work Pascale is also involved in all aspects of the law firm, ensuring that the office and the law practice are organized and efficient.
Pascale continues to enhance her legal education and qualifications through online studies at Capilano University.
Language skills: Pascale is fluent in French and English.
Marissa Faulkner
Paralegal
Email: mfaulkner@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8032
Marissa works as a paralegal for Webster & Associates. She
assists Daniel Corrin and the firms’ other lawyers on all aspects
of their cases and throughout the litigation process. Marissa has
tremendous people skills. She guides clients and their families through
the rehabilitation and litigation process. She always takes the time to
listen to the firm’s clients and ensure that they fully
understand what is happening in an often fast-paced litigation process.
She assists and ensures that clients receive the no fault benefits that
they are entitled to, including Part 7 benefits, as well as PWD, CPP,
and short and long term disability benefits. She has fast become an
expert on navigating these processes for the firm’s clients.
Prior to joining the team in 2010, Marissa worked extensively with both
Plaintiff and Defence firms in Vancouver. Although she learned a great
deal about the legal processes on both sides of the courtroom, Marissa
found it more enjoyable and rewarding to work with plaintiffs –
the party that initiates legal action. This realization led her to
Webster & Associates and to work with clients that have suffered
brain injuries due to negligence.
Marissa completed her Paralegal diploma in 2004 at the Southern Alberta
Institute of Technology, in Calgary. She has recently put in an
application with the Big Sisters organization in Vancouver and is
waiting to be matched with a “little sister.”
Sanjana Singh
Legal Assistant
Email: ssingh@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 3292
Sanjana Singh has recently joined Webster & Associates having moved to Vancouver from London, England.
Sanjana has worked in the legal profession since 1989. She worked as a legal administrator for two sister Courthouses in West London for over six years. In 1996, Sanjana came to Vancouver and worked for an additional six years in the area of aboriginal law. It was during this time that an opportunity arose for Sanjana to attend law school in London. Sanjana combined part-time, evening study with a full-time job for one of London’s largest law firms. At this firm she worked in the area of aviation law and gained exposure to civil litigation and the defence of personal injury claims.
In 2008, Sanjana graduated with her Bachelor of Laws degree and then went on to study a Master of Laws degree. She has now returned to Vancouver where she resides on a permanent basis. Sanjana joined Webster & Associates because she wanted to gain experience of Plaintiff personal injury claims and wanted to work in a challenging and fast-paced legal environment.
Sanjana’s main hobby is travelling and has a particular interest in Europe and its architecture.
Manika Bhatti
Administrative assistant (on maternity leave until May 2012)
Email: mbhatti@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8030
Manika began working with Webster & Associates in January 2009 and has become an important part of the litigation team. She is the first person our clients see when visiting our office, and likely the first person they speak to when phoning the firm. Our clients quickly get to know her friendly voice. She knows almost every client and many of the professionals the firm deals with by voice and those who speak to her recognize her friendly and compassionate nature. Her main duties include managing the front end of the office, scheduling appointments and setting discoveries.
Language skills: Manika is fluent in Punjabi and English.
Chanel Wong
Legal assistant
Email: cwong@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8030
Chanel joins Webster & Associates as an Administrative Assistant. Having graduated from the Legal Administration Assistant program at Vancouver Career College in 2011, she is keen to apply her studies, as well as her passion forthe litigation process, to her work at this firm.
Chanel’s main duties include managing the front end of the office, scheduling appointments and arranging medical expert binders.
Language skills: Chanel is fluent in English and Cantonese.
Celina Meghji
Legal assistant
Email: cmeghji@braininjurylaw.ca
Tel: (604) 713 8030
Celina is the newest member of the Webster & Associates team. She recently
graduated from Bond University’s Faculty of Law, in Australia, where she obtained her LLB. During law school she realized her passion for medical law and is set on pursuing a legal career in that field.
It is with Webster & Associates that she would like to find her legal home in Canadaa. The company’s expertise in brain injury law, the amazing credentials of its lawyers and excellent support team are amongst some of the many perks of being with such an accomplished firm.
In her spare time, Celina enjoys reading, baking and cooking. She also teaches Sunday school to Grade 2’s.
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