February 9, 2012


Vancouver (Canada) – Fasken Martineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, announced today that Geoff Cowper, Q.C., leader of the firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution group, has been asked by the Premier of British Columbia to review the justice system with a view to making recommendations for reform.

Cowper will consult with the judiciary, Crown counsel, the legal profession, police and others to look at challenges set out in a new Green Paper, called "Modernizing British Columbia's Justice System", released today. He will identify the top issues that are affecting the public's access to timely justice and what can be done to ensure the efficiencies already underway have the desired impacts while respecting the independence of the judicial system.

Cowper has served on three previous commissions: the Davies Commission on the justice system's response to the death of Frank Paul, the Matkin Inquiry on Securities Regulation in 1994 and the Hall Commission on Indian Affairs in 1987. He served as a director of BC's Legal Services Society for several years and was Chair for three terms.

About Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With over 675 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris and Johannesburg. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.