Canadian Lawyer

Cross EXaMinEd Putting it out there B.C. lawyer uses enthusiasm for film to highlight Canada's most overlooked export — its justice system. Stephan Herman has been 'hooked' on filmmaking from his pre-law days. by jean SorenSen S tephen Herman admits he was in awe of many of the Central American judiciary and police officers he spoke with while making his video The Most Violent Place on Earth. "We have all sat across from someone whom we have known to be dangerous," says the New Westminster, B.C., lawyer, "but there, people live it everyday they come to work." It's a message Herman conveys in his video, the third he has filmed, edited, and produced with his wife Evelyn Neaman, the international program manager for the Justice Education Society in Vancouver. But the video, completed in early 2012, also shows the strides countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are making in reforming their justice systems and investigating and prosecuting crimes with the help of Canadian agencies, lawyers, and police. It is Herman's work, which has taken him into 26 September 2013 www.CANADIAN back-alley midnight murder scenes, that is helping to publicize one of Canada's least known exports — its justice system. A civil litigation lawyer and partner at Scarborough Herman & Bluekens with offices overlooking the Fraser River, Herman admits he is "hooked" on filmmaking, a passion rekindled from pre-law days. In 1974, at 14, through family friends and B.C. writers Paul and Audrey Grescoe (who recently published The Book of War Letters), he landed a part-time job with New York photographer Stephen Shames, who came to B.C. with impressive credits including Newsweek and Time covers. He had also photographed the Black Panthers and the Berkeley anti-war riots. His work is known throughout the U.S., where he has worked on youth empowerment projects with individuals such as Hilary Clinton. For six years, Herman worked in the darkroom and alongside Shames. "I thought that photojournalism might be L a w ye r m a g . c o m my career," he says. But, Shames was not finding the material he wanted in B.C. and returned to New York, although not without leaving Herman a rich legacy of experience. He then went to work for Fred Schiffer, a sought-after Vancouver portrait and wedding photographer who had shot Pierre Elliott Trudeau's wedding. It was a time of change for Herman, who had made the decision to attend law school and balance both interests. "I liked taking pictures," he acknowledges, but by second-year law, he realized a decision was needed. He reflected on how Shames had struggled in B.C. and law won out. In 1986, he was called to the bar. He continued to keep his love for photography alive. He volunteered his skills with JES, shooting special events, or provided images for promotional material and annual reports. But despite a wonderful family and a thriving law partnership, Herman approached his birthday in 2010 with a sense of unease. "I was dreading

• Cover