Our team

Our staff team is passionate about making the law accessible and understandable by the public. Our team carries out our mission, supported by our board of directors and many outside collaborators and volunteers.

Shoutout to our many volunteers: We couldn't offer the range of service we do without the volunteer contributions of dozens of legal professionals, reviewing materials for legal accuracy and speaking at webinars and classes.

Meet the staff team

Patricia Byrne

Patricia is a lawyer with 25+ years of experience in senior roles in public and professional legal education in Toronto and Vancouver. Prior to these roles, Patricia was a practicing business lawyer. As executive director of People’s Law School, Patricia's priority is to use her legal and business management skills to guide the society toward fulfilling its mission and long-term strategic goals.

Drew Jackson

Drew is a lawyer and librarian. He has worked for 20+ years in providing education and information on the law. As digital & content lead with People's Law School, he spearheads the development of information for the public on everyday legal problems. He is keenly interested in making legal information easier to understand, and in applying technology to help people learn. Contact Drew by email.

David Kandestin

David is a Vancouver lawyer and legal content developer at People's Law School. Born, educated and trained in Montreal, David hitched his wagons west in 2013, practicing corporate, commercial and securities law in Vancouver. His practical, risk-focused approach helps people realize that lawyers aren't always roadblocks (and at times expensive ones!) to success. Contact David by email.

Manjeet Chana

Manjeet is a Vancouver-based lawyer who started her legal career practicing in the areas of family law, wills and estates, and personal injury law. Her interest in helping people with their everyday legal problems led her to join the non-profit sector, where she has worked and volunteered for 18 years. She has broad experience in social justice law and is dedicated to using her legal writing skills and experience to help make the law accessible to everyone. Contact Manjeet by email.

Spencer Keene

Spencer is a lawyer with experience working at a small firm, handling matters from commercial transactions to wills and estates. He is a keen writer and a technology enthusiast. He has also worked as a volunteer — in Canada and internationally — and is dedicated to using his experience to strengthen public legal education in British Columbia. Contact Spencer by email.

Veronica Lorimer

Veronica is a lawyer called in Australia and Canada. After practising as a tax lawyer, her interest in writing led her to work as an editor for not-for-profit and academic publications. Before joining People's Law School, she worked to protect the interests of vulnerable people in estates law matters. Veronica believes that access to justice is a human right and that public legal education is an important piece of the puzzle. Contact Veronica by email.

Paula Price

Paula is a lawyer and certified executive coach. As legal specialist — digital education with People's Law School, Paula creates and delivers digital programming for public legal education. Paula practiced civil litigation in Vancouver for 12 years before shifting to coaching and educating. She believes in using technology, online learning tools, and social media to connect people and ideas and increase access to information. Contact Paula by email.

Elena Renderos

On joining People’s Law School in 2008, Elena served as communications coordinator on immigrant education projects. Her role is now publishing and web assistant. In this capacity, Elena is integral to the design, development and delivery of our information across digital and print formats. Contact Elena by email.

Ula Lipska

Ula provides accounting, supplier management and administrative services for People’s Law School. Before joining People’s Law School in 2012, Ula’s career included working as an accountant in industry as well as in private practice, in Canada and in Poland. Contact Ula by email.

Get to know the team

Get to know our People's team, and what powers their enthusiasm for making the law accessible and understandable.