Bencher, transitional board changes following judicial appointment

On March 3, the provincial government announced the appointment of Law Society Bencher Brian Dybwad to the Provincial Court, effective March 21, 2025. We extend our congratulations to Judge Dybwad on his appointment and thank him for his meaningful contributions to the Law Society.

Per the Law Society rules, Dybwad will no longer be a Bencher once his appointment takes effect on March 21 and a by-election will be held to elect a new Bencher in the County of Nanaimo. 

Dybwad was also one of the Law Society appointees to the Transitional Board and the Transitional Indigenous council, established by the Legal Professions Act. The judicial appointment creates a vacancy among the Law Society appointees to the Transitional Board as well as among the appointees to the Transitional Indigenous council. The Law Society Benchers will be making a new appointment to the Transitional Board in the coming weeks. 

In addition, following the appointments of Justice Morishita and Justice LeBlanc to the Supreme Court of BC in the fall of 2024, which created two vacancies on the Transitional Board, the Benchers appointed Sarah M. Westwood, KC and Katrina Harry, KC to fill those vacancies.   

Read the BC government’s full announcement.