Mr. Wallace was appointed a Judge of
the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1979. He was elevated to the Court of
Appeal of British Columbia in 1987, serving until his retirement from the Bench
in 1993.
Mr. Wallace received his Bachelor of
Applied Science in Mining Geology from the University of Toronto in 1942. From
1942 to 1945, he was an Engineering Officer with the R.C.N.V.R. He received his
LL.B. from Osgoode Hall, Toronto, in 1947 and was called to the Bar of British
Columbia the same year. From 1948 to 1979, he was Senior Counsel to Bull
Housser & Tupper, Vancouver. Following his retirement from the Court of
Appeal of British Columbia in 1993, he once again became Counsel to Bull
Housser & Tupper. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1965.
Mr. Wallace’s professional
background and practice includes thirty years of experience as counsel
specializing in complex commercial, construction, insurance and products
liability litigation; professional practice of architects, engineers, doctors,
nurses, dentists and other professionals; commercial arbitrations; and
professional discipline hearings.
He was Counsel to The Association of
Professional Engineers of the Province of British Columbia from 1962 to 1979;
Counsel to The College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia from 1962 to
1979; and Counsel to Simcoe & Erie General Insurance Company, one of the
largest professional liability insurers in Canada.
Prior to his appointment to the
Bench, Mr. Wallace regularly appeared as counsel in all levels of Courts of
British Columbia and in the Supreme Court of Canada. In the years preceding his
appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, he was engaged primarily
as counsel in litigation involving the interpretation of all types of
construction contracts in Canada and abroad, and the nature of the respective
claims that may be advanced thereunder by contractors, owners and consultants.
In particular, for seven years, Mr. Wallace acted as senior counsel in
litigation respecting the Portage Mountain Underground Powerhouse Contract.
Every possible claim that can be advanced with respect to a building contract
was dealt with during the three year trial and subsequent three month appeal.
Most recently, as an Appeal Court
Judge, Mr. Wallace sat as one of the Justices on the five member panel hearing
the Aboriginal Appeals, primarily arising out of the Delgamuukw/Gitksan case
concerning the land claims of aboriginal peoples over a large area of land and
resources in central British Columbia.
Mr. Wallace was a member of the
Justice Reform Commission for the Province of British Columbia (1988), a Fellow
of The American College of Trial Lawyers, and a former Bencher of the Law
Society of British Columbia. He was made an Honorary Life Member of The
Association of Professional Engineers in 1981. He co-authored “The
Canadian Law of Architecture and Engineering in Canada” (1987), with
Madam Justice McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Present ADR Focus
As a member of ADR Chambers, British
Columbia, Mr. Wallace is available for all forms of alternative dispute
resolution, including, in particular, Mediations, Arbitrations, Mini-Trials,
and Private Appeals from Arbitral Awards and Trial Judgments.
Mr. Wallace became a Chartered
Arbitrator through the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Canada in 1995.
He has presided as single arbitrator and on arbitration panels in a wide
variety of disputes, including construction disputes, insurance contract
interpretations, commercial disputes, and teacher/Board disputes.
Mr. Wallace has participated in
various Justice Institute mediation courses, including courses on Interpersonal
Conflict; Mediation Skills Level I; Mediation Skills Level II; and Negotiating
Business Disputes (Harvard Law School). He has also received further
alternative dispute resolution instruction through ADR Chambers.
Mr. Wallace has acted both as
mediator and as counsel representing parties at mediations respecting
commercial disputes, complex engineering and construction disputes, as well as
negligence and breach of contract claims.
