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BRENNER WAS A Donald Brenner passed away suddenly on March 12. Brenner, 64, served nine years in the top job with the court. He retired in 2009, having been a judge since 1993. He was called to the bar in 1971. L ess than two years after his retire- ment from the bench, former B.C. Supreme Court chief justice Upon retiring, Brenner wrote an article for the Canadian Bar Association B.C. branch's BarTalk. He opined on the courts and the role of a chief: "In today's world one of the few constants is unremitting and indeed accelerating change. Managing that change to improve the court system and access to our court must always be Practice Management LexisNexis® PCLaw® a significant part of a chief justice's role. Leading our court further into the digital age will also be an important task facing my successor. "A chief justice must remain ever vigilant to guard against any erosion of the independence of either the courts or the bar. Without an independent bench and bar, the rule of law is but a hollow phrase." Supreme Court of Canada Chief Accounting software that SPEAKS LEGALESE. PCLaw® billing and accounting software combines what you need to track your time and money all in one system — from time and billing to trust accounting, cheque writing, financial statements, client identification and verification, automatic backup, offline file management, advanced reporting tools and more. Best of all, it's easy to use and ready to go to work instantly. Download and Try PCLaw for FREE* For more information, call 1-800-328-2898 or visit www.lexisnexis.ca/pclaw. * Download PCLaw free for 30 days. Certain conditions apply. Justice Beverley McLachlin called Brenner "a highly respected member of the Canadian Judicial Council for over nine years." McLachlin and Brenner had served together on the CJC. "All council members remember him as a perfect gentleman with a great sense of justice. His work in the areas of access to justice, professional development, judicial independence, and technology was of great value. . . ." News of Brenner's death elicited sad- ness among B.C.'s legal community. The B.C. Supreme Court "is shocked and sad- dened at the news of the sudden death of Don Brenner," said current Chief Justice Robert Bauman. "Our thoughts are very much with Don's wife Robin and his fam- ily at this time." "This is an absolute shock," Wally Oppal, a judge under Brenner and former B.C. attorney general, told The Province. "He provided a quiet, firm leadership and he was highly respected by the judges and the members of the bar." Following his retirement from the bench, Brenner practised at Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP, a firm he summered at in 1968. Farris chairman Keith Mitchell, who knew Brenner since law school, said: "Don wore his achieve- ments lightly. But those who have had the privilege of working with him know that he was a person of far-reaching accom- plishments whose life served the law, our province, and our country. He was a prince of a lawyer and a treat to have as a friend." He leaves behind his widow and two LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under licence. PCLaw is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Practice Management Systems Inc. © 2011 LexisNexis Canada Inc. All rights reserved. daughters. — GAIL J. COHEN gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com 12 A PRIL 2011 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com ntitled-3 1 12/9/10 4:12:40 PM 'RIN P C E O F A LA WY ER '