Biography

My practice as a lawyer focuses exclusively on representing plaintiffs in two distinct areas: (i) class actions and (ii) sexual misconduct claims, including civil sexual assault. I am drawn to both areas because of a common theme: access to justice.

I am a fourth-generation Japanese-Canadian with mixed Irish heritage, born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both of my parents are visual artists. Growing up, I witnessed their boundless dedication to storytelling through painting and filmmaking: telling, for example, the stories of draft dodgers, of Japanese-Canadian families interned during World War II, and of farmers in southern Alberta, including my grandparents, whose livelihoods were lost to bank foreclosure.

I believe that law, much like the visual arts, can help individuals and groups be seen and heard — to get histories and voices out into the public realm when those histories and voices might otherwise be lost or missed. Doing this can help promote accountability, fair outcomes and, where needed, healing.

As a lawyer, I am driven by the belief that our legal systems in Canada, despite all of their challenges and intricacies, can be powerful vehicles for positive social change. As a litigator, I also ground my practice knowing that behind every court judgment and legal brief is an important human story.

For my prior counsel work, I have been recognized as a Rising Star in British Columbia Dispute Resolution by Legal 500 (2022 and 2023), and in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada™ for Corporate and Commercial Litigation (2022 and 2023). I have experience representing clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and before the Supreme Court of Canada on matters involving leave to appeal. My legal experience also includes a judicial clerkship with two justices of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Honourable Madam Justice Pamela A. Kirkpatrick and the Honourable Justice Richard B.T. Goepel.

In addition to my legal practice, I am the mother of an energetic preschooler, a frequent contributor to continuing legal education and pro bono legal services, and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, where I enjoy teaching Advanced Contract Law to second- and third-year law students.

Education

• University of British Columbia, J.D., 2015
• University of British Columbia, B.A., 2011 (International Relations)