We are excited to announce that Julie Hopkins, FCIArb., has joined the VanIAC Board. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Julie as she brings her wealth of experience and expertise to our esteemed Board. Julie is an independent commercial arbitrator based in Calgary, Alberta, and associated with Western Arbitration Chambers. With over 30 years of experience, Julie practiced commercial litigation, arbitration, and administrative law at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP before transitioning to her current role as a full-time arbitrator. Her experience spans across various industries, including electricity generation and transmission, oil and gas, construction, aviation, real estate development, healthcare and cannabis. Julie serves as an arbitrator in both domestic and international matters and is well-versed in multi-party disputes. In addition to her arbitration practice, Julie is actively involved in various professional activities. She currently serves as the Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Canada Branch, and is a member of several arbitration institutions and panels, including the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society and CPR’s Panels of Distinguished Neutrals. For further details on Julie’s background and achievements, please visit our website (https://https://lnkd.in/gQxeAWcW). Welcome aboard, Julie!

VanIAC is delighted to welcome James Plotkin, Q.Arb to the VanIAC Board of Directors. A bilingual disputes lawyer based in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office, James brings extensive and relevant expertise to the VanIAC Board. His counsel practice focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration (domestic and international), intellectual property litigation, and administrative law. James has argued before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Courts, all levels of court in Ontario, and before various arbitral and administrative tribunals. As an adjudicator, James has been nominated and appointed in commercial arbitrations, and is a member of VanIAC’s commercial arbitration roster, among others. He also is heavily involved in domain name dispute resolution, both as counsel and as a panelist on the CIIDRC and Resolution Canada rosters. James is a prolific author and commentator, primarily in the areas of arbitration and IP. He is the recipient of VanIAC’s 2022 Outstanding Book and Article Award for an article on appeals from arbitral awards, and a co-authored commentary text on B.C.’s international arbitration legislation. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Intellectual Property Review and has served on its editorial board for over a decade. James’s expertise will be valuable to both VanIAC’s and CIIDRC’s continued success!