Our Community Board and Committees

Miranda Lam is a partner in our Litigation Group in Vancouver. Her practice focuses exclusively on business disputes, including contractual claims and economic torts, and her areas of specialization include securities litigation, shareholder remedies, corporate governance issues, and internal investigations, as well as internet and e-commerce issues and defamation. She has been counsel in matters filed in British Columbia and Ontario, as well as represented clients in various commercial arbitration proceedings and class action proceedings.

Miranda is also a member of McCarthy Tétrault's Consumer & Retail, Financial Services, and Mining Litigation groups, having worked extensively with clients from each of these industries, and also has a particular interest in assisting private and family-owned enterprises resolve disputes and achieve their objectives. A skilled litigator, she is recognized for her strategic thinking and business-oriented problem-solving approach to all disputes.

Miranda is ranked in the 2016 edition of Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as a future star (British Columbia) in the field of general commercial litigation. She is the recipient of the Association of Women in Finance 2014 PEAK Women in Finance "Rising Star" Award, and was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver's 2013 "Forty Under 40". In 2015, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association presented her with its "Best Lawyers Under 40" Award".

Miranda is a contributing author to Defending Class Actions in Canada (now in its 4th ed.), published by LexisNexis, and a previous contributor to the Annotated British Columbia Securities Legislation (now in its 8th ed.), published by CCH Canadian Limited. Recently, she contributed to the firm's Mining in the Courts (Vol. VI) publication, released in March 2016. She is a frequent speaker on class action issues, investigations, shareholder disputes and dispute resolution processes, and has also served as faculty for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and for The Advocates Society.

Miranda was called to the British Columbia bar in 2004. She obtained her LLB from the University of British Columbia in 2002, where she received the Honourable Ray Herbert Award as the All-round Graduating Student and the Alumni Association Achievement Award as Outstanding Student of the Year. After graduation, she served as a judicial law clerk for five justices of the BC Supreme Court. In 2007, Miranda received the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna Award, and in 2001, she was named YWCA Young Woman of Distinction.

Miranda currently serves on the board of the Vancouver Foundation, and is Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the University of British Columbia Alumni Association (UBCAA). As Chair of the UBCAA, she chaired numerous committees, including the Chancellor Nomination Committee as well as the UBC Alumni Achievement Awards. She previously served on the boards of the United Way of the Lower Mainland and Imagine Canada, chaired the Board of Directors of Vantage Point and was a member of the Nominations Committee for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, including serving as Chair. She is a frequent speaker at various events and conferences on board governance, leadership, community building, and civic engagement, and has lectured extensively on the critical role of the board chair in a not-for-profit context.

Sarah joined the Initio Group, a Vancouver based early stage investment fund in June 2012. She is a practicing lawyer and provides advice regarding transactions in areas of corporate, commercial and securities law. Sarah began her career at a national law firm where she practiced for four years before moving to a Vancouver based law firm.

Sarah commenced her undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts (Major in Political Science and Minor in Publishing). She subsequently completed her Bachelor of Laws at the University of Manitoba where she also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Manitoba Law Journal.  She was admitted to the Bar in British Columbia in 2007.

Sarah currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Musicfest Vancouver and the United Way of the Lower Mainland. She is also a member of the Canadian Bar Association.

Sarah Morgan-Silvester is Chancellor of UBC, a Director of ENMAX Corporation and a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of Westerkirk Capital Inc.

She was formerly Executive Vice President, Wealth Management, for HSBC Bank Canada, President and CEO of HSBC Trust Company (Canada) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

Her past affiliations include: Chair of Port Metro Vancouver; Chair, Vancouver Port Authority; Chair, HSBC Securities; Chair of the Blue Ribbon Council on Vancouver’s Business Climate; Director, Canadian Direct Insurance Inc.; Director, CD Howe Institute; and Member, David Suzuki Foundation National Business Advisory Council.

Sarah serves on UBC’s Board of Governors and as a Director and Past Chair of BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre Foundation.

She has received numerous awards recognizing her achievements including: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012; Association of Women in Finance Lifetime Achievement Award; Influential Women in Business Award; Canada’s Top 40 under 40 Award; she has been named one of BC’s 100 Women of Influence; and included in Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list.

Prior to his appointment, Branislav served as Executive Director of Ballet BC, overseeing the company’s transformation and expansion to national and international stages. Previously, as the Executive Producer for the Michael Clark Company in London, Branislav produced and toured a number of high profile theatrical works and museum commissions world-wide.  As Head of Programming and Learning for DanceEast, a national dance organization overseeing dance development and artistic programming in the East of England, and the Artistic Curator for New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, Branislav led a wide range of initiatives to promote the development of emerging choreographers involved in new classical choreography. 

Originally trained as a dancer in Munich, Branislav later deepened his studies at the conservatory level at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University, is a DAAD German Academic Exchange Fellow and a New York University Dean's Fellow. He formerly served on the Board of Canadian Dance Assembly as the Chair of Ballet Companies Standing Council and has been recognized as one of Business in Vancouver's Forty under 40.

David Christopher was born and educated in Vancouver. He graduated from UBC in 1985 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree specializing in Finance and Urban Land. He spent several years working for CIBC Wood Gundy in Vancouver prior to relocating to Tokyo, Japan to run CIBC’s Fixed Income business in Asia. 

David worked in Toronto for seven years. He served as a Director of CIBC Wood Gundy followed by Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Merrill Lynch Canada. After working for Merrill Lynch for thirteen years, he transitioned to a family business focusing on commercial real estate and investments in public and private securities. 

David has twenty-five years experience in the investment industry and has completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program and the ICD-Rotman Director’s Education Program. He was a member of the board of West Point Grey Academy School and is currently a member of the Client Committee of the UBC Portfolio Management Foundation. David is also a member of the Vancouver Foundation Investment Committee.