Board Members of St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi Colleges Recognized as “Exceptional” Lawyers with Queen’s Counsel (QC) Designation

Dec 20, 2016

Vancouver, BC – December 20, 2016 – The Community of St. Mark’s at UBC (St. Mark’s College, Corpus Christi College, and St. Mark’s Parish) is pleased to announce the recent appointment of two board members to the designation of Queen’s Counsel (QC).
 
Board chair Mr. Celso Boscariol and Board member Mr. Bruno De Vita were among the forty British Columbia lawyers announced to receive the honour by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton on December 16, 2016.
 
The QC designation is conferred each year on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution.
 
Minister Anton noted that the recipients, who were nominated by their peers as part of an annual selection process, “…have demonstrated professional integrity and dedication to their profession and have made valuable contributions as volunteers to communities across the province.” 
 
“Along with offering exemplary service to the legal profession, Mr. Boscariol and Mr. De Vita have both made strong contributions to Catholic education and to the Community of St. Mark’s at the University of British Columbia,” remarked Dr. Peter Meehan, Principal of St. Mark’s College at UBC and President of Corpus Christi College.
 
Also listed amongst the QC honourees is Mrs. Janet Jacy Wingson, a supporter of Catholic education, including Corpus Christi College.
 
“We extend our best wishes and congratulations to Mr. Boscariol, Mr. De Vita and Mrs. Wingson and their families,” added Dr. Meehan.
 

###

 

Backgrounders on Recipients

Celso Alessandro Andrea Boscariol is a partner with Watson Goepel LLP, which he joined in 1992 as an associate and became a partner in 1998. He is a senior corporate commercial lawyer with a practice focused on corporate commercial, real estate, environmental, government relations and business law matters. Boscariol is actively involved in mentoring young lawyers in the law, client service and the ethics of the practice of law. Celso serves on the Executive Committee of Lawyers Associated Worldwide. He volunteers with community organizations such as Burnaby Minor Baseball Association, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada, Burnaby Hospital Society and St. Mark’s College/Corpus Christi College. Boscariol has been honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, and the Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity). He has been a member of the Board of St. Mark’s College/Corpus Christi College since 2014.
 
Bruno De Vita is Managing Partner of Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP and a senior member of its litigation department. He has been with the firm since his call to the bar in 1984. In his practice, he handles a broad range of civil and commercial litigation in the areas of insurance, professional liability, class action, personal injury and local government. In 2014, the Canadian Bar Association of BC honoured De Vita as Insurance Lawyer of the Year in recognition of excellence and mentorship. He was appointed an arbitrator to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an international tribunal based in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2015; he sits on both the general and football panel. He has been a member of the Board of St. Mark’s College/Corpus Christi College since 2009.
 
Janet Jacy Wingson is a partner at McQuarrie Hunter LLP, where she conducts matters from initial instructions to trial and appeal in the areas of estate disputes, commercial, contract disputes, debt collection, real estate disputes and professional negligence claims. She has been with the firm since 1993 and shares her expertise with younger lawyers, the profession and the communities she serves. Since her arrival in B.C. from Trinidad in 1992, she has taken leadership roles in the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, B.C. and has been a member of the Canadian Bar Association Equality Committee. She is a supporter of Catholic education, including Corpus Christi College.
 

About the Community of St. Mark’s at UBC

 
The Community of St. Mark’s – including St. Mark’s College, Corpus Christi College, and St. Mark’s Parish – form an integrated Catholic centre at the University of British Columbia. Serving the needs of Catholic higher education in the Province of British Columbia, we are committed to promoting an authentic Christian humanism, marked by the pursuit of academic excellence and animated by a joy of searching for, discovering and communicating truth and meaning in every field of knowledge. We engage students in the integration and synthesis of faith and reason so as to return them to society charged with a commitment to think rigorously, to act justly and to serve faithfully.
 

For more information, please contact:

Elizabeth Morse
Communications
604-649-1434
[email protected]