B.C. Chief Justice Robert Bauman: Pushing for change, while respecting tradition

When crisis hits, a steady experienced hand is often appreciated. But uncertain times also require imagination, and leaders too steeped in tradition may lack the courage to put aside unhelpful dogma.

The chief justice of British Columbia, Robert Bauman, has been in his role since 2013 and has been a judge since 1996. When the pandemic hit the justice system in March, his experience helped reassure the bar in B.C. that the province’s top appeal court was in steady hands as it transitioned to virtual trials and social distancing.

But throughout his career, Bauman has demonstrated an unconventional approach that has also served his court well, an approach that could usher in new approaches to dispensing judgment that draw on his years of experience.

While Bauman had what he describes as a “traditional upbringing in Toronto and Montreal,” which eventually led him to study law at the University of Toronto in the early 1970s, his decision to article in Northern British Columbia was unconventional. Bauman had worked in B.C.’s lumber industry in the summer during his undergraduate studies where he met a lawyer who he admired. He then worked at the lawyer’s Prince George firm in between his second and third year of law school and completed his articles there.

It was, Bauman says, “a choice that I think probably perplexed a number of my friends and classmates and profs. I didn't come from a legal family. Nobody said to me, ‘This is what lawyers should do.’ I didn't know I should go to a big firm in Toronto. . . . I felt comfortable in Prince George. So, I found that kind of attractive; I knew people. And I didn't really consider there'd be much of a difference between a small city and a big city practice. That's how naïve I was.”

Naïve perhaps, but it may also have been a precursor to a general approach Bauman has taken to questioning conventional thinking while still respecting the traditions of his chosen profession.

After eventually becoming a partner at the firm in Prince George, Bauman moved to Kelowna, B.C. to open a two-person firm with another lawyer. He then joined Bull Housser & Tupper in Vancouver in 1982, where he became a partner and continued to practise in local government and administrative law.

While Bauman enjoyed his time in Vancouver, it was not until he was called to bench that he felt truly at home. “I wasn't the world's biggest biller. I was a pretty good client lawyer, but I enjoyed things judges do normally that you do in practice [but less like] research, writing, opinions, legal analysis. I liked that an awful lot. And, of course, as a judge, you do fully nothing but that. So, it spoke to my talents.”

Bauman’s other talent — of keeping an open mind to unconventional approaches — also came in handy as he wound his way through the judiciary to become the province’s top judge. In 2012 and in 2013, just as Bauman began as chief justice of British Columbia, he was listed as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by this magazine. At the time, he was credited with authoring the much-anticipated B.C. polygamy reference and taking a strong stance on judicial independence when the provincial government was launching its justice system modernization. In 2013, he was recognized again for being “outspoken about problems of accessibility and accountability in the profession.”

Since then, Bauman has balanced tradition with change, prodding the profession to do better while still recognizing the importance of the profession.

In February, just before the pandemic hit Canada, Bauman delivered a speech where he praised online dispute resolution and cited legal tech advocate Richard Susskind. However, he also reassured his audience that, while “the prospect of making big changes to the way we do things may seem overwhelming, I am confident the legal profession remains not only relevant but essential in the face of these changes.”

When change went into overdrive in March, Bauman was in his element. He also sits on the Court of Appeal of Yukon where he participated in his first virtual courtroom in early May, which he sees as a template for the less complex appeals that may not require lawyers to be physically present in court. “It's quite incredible when you consider what that represents, from the point of view of savings.”

He also saw major progress over a few weeks in the use of e-filing, since the pandemic forced the court to make it required instead of optional. E-filing was a project that had steadily, but very slowly, progressed in B.C., but Bauman welcomes the push the pandemic provided to that.

Bauman’s real passion, though, is access to justice, an area where he cites other courts as examples of success. As head of Access to Justice BC since its inception, Bauman has worked with organizations across the province and mentions the Provincial Court of British Columbia as “a shining example of a progressive court addressing very basic problems for a lot of British Columbians” through, for example, its use of specialty courts.

For access to justice, he continues to prod the justice system and lawyers to do better. “I don't want to say it's a matter of survival for the judiciary or the legal profession, but I guess you could look at it from that perspective,” Bauman says. “To remain relevant as a profession, and as a judicial institution, in this century, we have to ensure that ordinary people can get in access the promise of the rule of law and actually enjoy its fruits.”

Whether it is ensuring survival, or simply relevance, in a time of crisis, a steady experienced hand leading your court can’t hurt, provided that is mixed in with the imagination to doing things differently when required.

Current position:

Chief justice of British Columbia, chief justice of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia and chief justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon

Key dates

1982: Joined Bull Housser & Tupper in Vancouver

1996: Appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia

2008: Appointed to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia

2009: Appointed as chief justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia

2013: Appointed as chief justice of British Columbia

2012 and 2013: Named by Canadian Lawyer as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers and Judges”

2013 to 2016: Acted as vice chairman of the Canadian Judicial Council

2015: Confirmed as the chairman of the BC Access to Justice Committee at its launch

2020: Launches the first virtual courtroom at the Court of Appeal of Yukon

Operations before the pandemic

Chief Justice Bauman listed a few key accomplishments of his court in its 2019 annual report:

• Issued dispositions in 767 appeals
• New Civil Appeals Program means that every self-represented person who files a civil appeal can contact a lawyer
• Amended, repealed and replaced several practice directives
• Webcast Reference re: Proposed Amendments to the Environmental Management Act, and webcasting of select appeals will continue indefinitely
• Worked with the Ministry of Attorney General to complete public consultation on proposed reforms to the Court of Appeal Act and Rules
• Participated in a twitter town hall to kick off British Columbia’s second ever “Access to Justice Week.”