KAMLOOPS, BC – SEPTEMBER 3, 2020: MacLean Law invests in the Doug Eastwood Q.C. Maclean Law Scholarship, a faculty-judged award created in memory of the senior litigator with a $65,000 donation from MacLean Family Law.
MacLean Law decided to invest in the award after working successfully with several TRU alumni, including Fraser MacLean, a TRU alumnus who works at the firm.
“Several of our key contributors at MacLean Law are TRU Law alumni,” said Fraser MacLean. And because we have multiple offices, we wanted to support a school that provides lawyers for both metropolitan and rural communities.”
Paige Mueller is the first recipient of the award. Even before becoming a juris doctor (JD) candidate, she was fascinated with the art of the court case – a passion she can continue at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) thanks to financial support from the scholarship.
“It’s allowed me to dedicate myself to my studies and continue being active in the TRU Law community,” Mueller said of her scholarship. “TRU Law is known for being very collegial and the mentorship I received from third-year students during my first year has really propelled me to become more involved.”
The financial support to students is one of TRU’s priorities and their Limitless campaign to raise $50 million to coincide with the university’s 50th anniversary this year. It creates financial aid for students who need it and MacLean Family Law is proud to be a part of that.
“Family law touches more Canadians than any other area of law,” said Lorne MacLean, KC. “It’s important that lawyers help judges make the best decisions possible.”
Doug Eastwood, Q.C.
The award is named after Doug Eastwood, a senior litigator who served on the JIBC Board of Governors for six years, including three years as Chair. He had a distinguished 27-year career with the BC Ministry of Attorney General and was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2013. Throughout the course of his career, Doug Eastwood appeared before all levels of the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada on various occasions. His practice covered a wide range of issues, from public injunctions and complex forestry compensation claims to cases for children in care. He also served as a Member Designate for the BC Council of Human Rights.
Thompson Rivers University Alumni at MacLean Family Law
Fraser MacLean
Fraser completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria before earning a law degree from Thompson River University. As an articled student with MacLean Law, Fraser served as the second chair of a five day trial at the BC Supreme Court, and appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia, including the BC Court of Appeal. In Dennis v Gill as second chair, Fraser successfully reapportioned two-family properties in a 75/25% split in favour of a MacLean Law client. His most recent victory as lead counsel at the Court of Appeal was in Bhimani v. Beninteso, 2020 BCCA 174, in which the underlying appeal from a dismissal of a claim for division of family property and the imposition of a fine for non-compliance with disclosure obligations was dismissed. Read more about Fraser.
Gurdeep Khosa
Gurdeep completed her legal studies at Thompson Rivers University where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. Gurdeep Khosa has a wealth of practical experience in family law and over ten years working in client relations and recently joined the Canadian Bar Association Family Law (Vancouver) Executive Committee. She has appeared in both the B.C. Supreme Court and in the B.C. Provincial Court and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), South Asian Bar Association (SABABC) and the Vancouver Bar Association (VBA). In Xu v. Yang, 2018 BCSC 393, Gurdeep and her team were successful in dismissing the Plaintiff’s application for a summary trial to enforce a Chinese Court Judgement in BC. Passionate about her community, Gurdeep has volunteered at the Downtown Community Court in Vancouver, B.C. as a community court worker. Read more about Gurdeep.
