COURSE CHAIRS Kyle C. Hyndman McCrea Immigration Law, Vancouver Kyle Hyndman is a partner at McCrea Immigration Law in Vancouver, where he practices immigration law with a focus on business immigration. He is an executive member of the CBA s National Immigration Law Section and a past chair of its BC subsection. He has served on the boards of non-profit agencies serving immigrants and refugees, has been a member of the Federal Provincial Immigration Advisory Council, helped found a pro-bono immigration law clinic and regularly mentors law students seeking to pursue careers in immigration. Kyle completed his LLB at UBC in 1999 and his LLM at the University of Toronto in 2013, where he won the Howland Prize for his thesis on the immigration lawmaking process. He has organized and co-chaired numerous legal education conferences and courses on immigration and citizenship law and has spoken and moderated at both national and provincial conferences. Kyle has frequently been invited to speak on immigration and citizenship law to the media, educational institutions and community groups. Craig Natsuhara EY Law LLP, Vancouver Craig Natsuhara is an Associate Partner at EY Law LLP in Vancouver, where he coleads the Canadian Immigration practice. He received his LLB from UBC and BComm from UVic before being called to the BC bar in 1999. Craig has practiced business immigration law since 2000. Since the last CLEBC conference in 2015, Craig has continued to promote Vancouver as a strategic location for foreign companies to set up North American operations by supporting the development of the Global Skills Strategy, sitting on the Immigration sub-committee of the BC Labour Market Partners & Workforce Development for Technology initiative, and working with the tech sector resource support company True North. Craig has been recognized by the international Who s Who Legal in its Corporate Immigration listing since 2012. He was the Chair of the CBABC s Immigration Section from 2007 to 2009. He has also been an instructor for UBC s Certificate in Immigration: Laws, Policies and Procedures program since 2009, where he has been teaching the in-person module on temporary foreign workers. Craig has been a Director of the SPARK Computer Graphics Society since 2010 and a Director (and past President) of the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre
since 1998. Ryan N. Rosenberg Larlee Rosenberg, Vancouver Ryan Rosenberg is a Vancouver based Canadian immigration lawyer who advises clients on all Canadian immigration and citizenship issues. Called to the bar in 2003, he has significant experience assisting Canadian and multi-national corporations transfer key employees to Canada through the utilization of Labour Market Impact Assessments, Provincial Nominee Programs, and various international trade agreements. He is particularly active with clients across Canada working in engineering, civil infrastructure, natural resources, e- commerce, and various skilled trades. Ryan also customizes strategic immigration solutions for individuals and families, with an emphasis on employment, investment, and family sponsorship based applications. Ryan co-founded Larlee Rosenberg in 2009 and serves the firm as Managing Partner. He is a published columnist, a regular panelist at immigration law conferences, and an active member of the CBA. In 2011 he testified as an expert witness before the Senate of Canada on proposed amendments to Canadian immigration laws. FACULTY Reut Amit Singleton Urquhart LLP, Vancouver Reut has a general civil litigation practice with a focus on all aspects of workplace law and commercial litigation. Reut represents and advises clients on a broad range of matters involving private and commercial law, including breach of contract, negligence claims, occupier s liability claims, civil fraud, and coverage and personal injury claims. In the area of workplace law, she regularly represents and advises clients on matters involving wrongful dismissal actions, employment standards and human rights complaints, accommodation, employment contracts, intellectual property and breach of confidence, and policies and issues related to privacy, discipline and dismissal. Reut has also worked with pro bono clients on refugee sponsorship applications and has represented clients before the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division.
Brendan Dawes Singleton Urquhart LLP, Vancouver Brendan Dawes is an associate at Singleton Urquhart LLP, where he maintains a diverse civil litigation practice, including a focus on matters related to Canadian immigration and the workplace. In the area of workplace and immigration law, Brendan has successfully represented clients before various administrative boards and tribunals, including the Immigration Appeal Division. He has experience litigating employer non-compliance with the LMIA and work permit process, advising employees and employers on overcoming inadmissibility to Canada, and developing strategies for his clients to obtain permanent residency through sponsorship based applications. Pavan Dhillon Seyfarth Shaw LLP, San Francisco Pavan Dhillon leads the Canadian immigration practice and is resident in Seyfarth Shaw LLP's San Francisco office. Pavan assists clients in securing a wide range of temporary and permanent status options in Canada. She has successfully completed a wide range of Canadian immigration applications including Labour Market Impact Assessments, NAFTA and GATS professional work permits, intracompany transfer work permits for specialized knowledge and senior managers, provincial nominee programs, investor class applications, federal skilled workers, Canadian experience class and family-based sponsorships. She has also worked extensively on Canadian citizenship applications as well as permanent resident card renewals. Whether her clients are multi-national corporations or individuals, Pavan devises immigration strategies taking into account her client s long-term and immediate goals. Pavan is fluent in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, and has served clients in each of these languages. Meika Lalonde McCrea Immigration Law, Vancouver Meika Lalonde is a partner at McCrea Immigration Law in Vancouver, where she practices in the area of business immigration law. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for a multi-national software company where she provided immigration expertise and managed immigration compliance on a global basis, and for a national law firm and boutique human resources firm as an immigration lawyer. Meika received her law degree from the UBC in 2003. She is the Past Chair of the CBA s Immigration Law Subsection of BC and a volunteer lawyer at Access Pro Bono s immigration law clinics in Vancouver. She has worked and studied internationally, including in Mexico, England and France.
Susan Martyn PwC Law LLP, Vancouver Susan is a Director and Senior Lawyer with PwC Law LLP based in Vancouver, BC. Susan has over a decade of experience advising corporate clients on a range of immigration matters including work permits, temporary resident visas, permanent residence, citizenship and inadmissibility issues. She also partners with clients to strategize on complex immigration scenarios, engage in workforce planning and develop fully compliant immigration programs. Susan has represented clients across a wide variety of sectors including technology, entertainment, engineering, retail, energy and transportation. Susan is a frequent speaker on immigration law topics at industry and professional events. Most recently, Susan presented on technology sector foreign worker recruitment and retention issues at the BCTECH Summit and at the HR Tech Group s annual conference. Susan has also published numerous articles on Canadian immigration law. Prior to joining PwC Law, Susan worked at a boutique immigration law firm in Vancouver, where she prepared a full range of immigration applications and provided strategic advice on immigration policies, compliance issues and regulatory developments. Susan also practiced employment law and business immigration at a major Calgary law firm, in which capacity she facilitated temporary and permanent entry to Canada for key personnel of domestic and multinational corporations. Susan is a member of the Law Society of BC. She is also a member of the executive of the CBA BC Immigration Section and a member of the BC Business Council s Employee Relations Committee. Steven Meurrens Larlee Rosenberg, Vancouver Steven Meurrens is a partner of Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where he obtained a Juris Doctorate. He also attended UBC, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science and a minor in Chinese Language. Steven practices in all areas of immigration law. He is the past chair of the CBA BC's Immigration Law Section, and is also a frequent blogger and podcaster on Canadian immigration law.
Ryan Neely - Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Kelowna & Vancouver Ryan Neely practices almost exclusively in the area of employment based Canadian immigration for Farris and has done so since his call to the BC Bar in 2004. Ryan endeavors to offer clients unique solutions to foreign worker needs and sees particular value in identifying and utilizing any and all available exemptions to the requirement to obtain LMIA s. While Ryan offers professional services to a host of clientele, a significant portion of his practice involves the movement of highly skilled or senior managerial or executive level employees. Ryan practices from both the Kelowna and the Vancouver offices of Farris, but admittedly spends a significant portion of his time in the sunny Okanagan. Given his practice in the Okanagan, Ryan is currently the Regional representative on the executive of the BC CBA Immigration subsection, the legislative liaison and a member of the BC PNP subcommittee. Helen Park Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver Helen Park practices immigration law with a focus on business immigration for corporate clients and businesses in Canada, the United States and worldwide. She has extensive experience in all categories of work permit applications and she works closely with clients to provide strategic advice to fulfill their specialized work force and labor shortage needs. Her past experience working as a corporate commercial lawyer has provided her with greater insight in understanding the needs of businesses and how to most effectively utilize the various foreign worker categories to meet those needs. She also advises business clients on the various options for permanent residence to Canada including provincial nomination programs, the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker program and Family Class sponsorship applications. Helen started practicing law in 2003 and was called to the bar in both BC and Alberta. Prior to joining Dentons, she practiced in the areas of immigration law and corporate/commercial law at a boutique immigration law firm, a leading national law firm in Vancouver as well as a full service regional law firm in Edmonton. She is a member of the CBA Immigration subsection and has organized and presented at immigration conferences in Vancouver. Helen is the co-editor of the The Global Mobility Review" (www.globalmobilityreview.com) where she regularly provides key insights, commentary, analysis and news on moving business personnel around the
world. Joshua B. Sohn Guberman Garson LLP, Vancouver Joshua Sohn is a lawyer at Guberman Garson LLP in Vancouver. Joshua has been practising immigration and citizenship law since 1993. He successfully represents businesses and individual clients in a broad range of immigration matters. Joshua advises clients in all matters related to immigration and citizenship law issues. His clients include multi-national and local corporations as well as individuals. Joshua advises clients with respect to obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessments, Work Permits and Permanent Residency. He also assists clients with Criminal Rehabilitation and Temporary Resident Permit applications. Joshua is a Past-Chair of the CBA s National Immigration Law Section and a Past Chair of the CBA-BC Immigration Section. He sat for six years on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (BC/Yukon) Advisory Committee, including a term as Chair of the Advisory Committee and was then appointed to the Joint Federal- Provincial Immigration Advisory Council in BC. He is a frequent presenter at CLE conferences and immigration seminars. Vivian Yuen Electronic Arts Canada, Burnaby Vivian Yuen is Canadian Immigration Counsel at Electronic Arts Canada, where she manages the Canadian immigration program. Prior to joining Electronic Arts in 2016, she practiced immigration law at Larlee Rosenberg for ten years. Vivian currently sits as a Director of the Burnaby Board of Trade, and serves as Chair of its Pacific Gateway Committee. She previously served as a committee cochair of the CBA BC Women Lawyers Forum. Vivian has presented at conferences on various immigration topics.