Four alumni receive judicial appointments

Four alumni of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law received court appointments today.

The Honourable L. Bernette Ho, ‘95 LLB, a justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary, has been elevated to a justice of the Court of Appeal of Alberta. 

Colin C.J. Feasby, Q.C., ’98 LLB, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Calgary, and Eleanor J. Funk, ’00 LLB, a sole practitioner in Calgary, were each appointed a justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. 

Catherine A. Coughlan, ‘84 LLB, general counsel at the Department of Justice Canada in Edmonton, has been appointed a prothonotary of the Federal Court.

Justice Ho, who grew up in Cochrane, Alta., spent her entire law practice with Macleod Dixon (now Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP), where she focused on energy regulatory matters, including oil and gas and electricity, as well as employment, arbitration and administrative law and commercial litigation. 

During her 23 years with the firm, she was also heavily involved with several of its community projects, including the Partnership in Education program, a Calgary Board of Education led initiative which paired private entities with schools. She was also the firm’s representative to the Law Society of Alberta’s Justicia Project, which aimed at retaining women lawyers and promoting diversity.

Justice Feasby followed his LLB with an LLM and JSD from Columbia University. He served as law clerk at the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench and the Court of Appeal. He practised at the Calgary office of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he was office managing partner from 2017 to 2020 and conducted a busy corporate and commercial litigation practice. 

He also maintained an active pro bono public interest practice, where he represented clients in important cases involving freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the rights of self-represented litigants, access to justice, and the right to vote. He has appeared in proceedings in many jurisdictions across the country, including before the Supreme Court of Canada, and has published on a range of commercial and constitutional law issues. He is a leading expert on the subject of law and democracy and is regularly cited by courts and academic authorities in Canada and elsewhere.

His community involvement has been focused on youth and sports. He has been involved with youth basketball for many years as a coach and administrator. He was a fundraiser and advisor to Right to Play in Alberta and a member of the Board of Directors of Children First Canada.

Justice Funk was born in Winnipeg, grew up in Edmonton and completed her articles with the City of Calgary Law Department, where she gained experience in civil litigation and administrative, municipal, and quasi-criminal law. 

Shortly after being called to the bar, she joined the federal Department of Justice, where she represented the Crown, mostly in drug prosecutions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Her career has focused in the area of criminal law, including a brief self-directed research sabbatical in the Dominican Republic. Since 2007, she has been self-employed as a criminal defence lawyer, with a strong interest and focus on constitutional issues. She has appeared  before all levels of court in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the provincial Courts of BC and Manitoba, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

She has volunteered with the Law Society’s Mentor Express Program and the Canadian Bar Association’s Mentor Program. Each year, she was one of many volunteer guest instructors at the University of Calgary’s trial advocacy course for third-year law students.

Prothonotary Coughlan articled with the Department of Justice Canada in Edmonton, where she remained throughout her career. As a civil litigator, she appeared in courts across Canada at both the superior and appellate levels. 

While the recent emphasis on her practice was in the area of class actions, she dedicated much of the last 15 years to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, widely regarded as the largest class action settlement in Canadian history. She assisted in the negotiation of the settlement and remained lead counsel for Canada in the decade-long implementation of its terms. During that time, she sat as a member of the National Administration Committee charged with oversight of the Agreement. 

She has been a guest lecturer at continuing legal education events and law schools and volunteers in the community as a member of the board of a nonprofit social services agency.