Ryan D. Anderson, QC, is keen to continue his second Bencher term representing the different pressures and responsibilities that come along with practising in smaller firms, cities and rural communities.

“I come from a small town and I feel like there’s a need for me to be able to meet the needs of that community, not just one client but you’re relied on to have a vast range of knowledge to be able to help the community in any way that you can.”

Ryan obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta and law degree from the University of Calgary. After law school, he returned to his rural roots and lives in his hometown of Magrath while practising in the Lethbridge area. He is a partner with Huckvale LLP and his practice consists of agricultural transactions and finance, wills and estates, and family law disputes, including work as a mediator.

He first joined the Bencher table in 2018 and now with his first term under his belt, Ryan says he is confident that his past learnings and experiences bode well for the three years ahead.

The 2020 Bencher Election resulted in the most diverse board both in terms of ethnicity and primary areas of practice in the Law Society’s history. In addition, the non-lawyer voices and issues that are constantly interacting with the legal profession – are essential to the protection of the public interest – and are codified in the Bencher table itself.

Elizabeth Hak is one of four Benchers who are appointed by the Minister of Justice, per the Legal Profession Act. As a forensic scientist working with the RCMP, Elizabeth’s first interaction with the law and lawyers was as an expert witness at trial.

“I was surprised at how adversarial the court process was,” says Elizabeth. “I usually appeared as a witness for the Crown so that part of my testimony was fine, but I usually had a tougher go around with the defence lawyers - the experience definitely taught me how to think on my feet!

“I can look back and recognize that they were conducting a spirited defence for their client and trying to find holes in my evidence was part of that.”