A guardian of the rule of law

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Robyn Trask wasn’t like most young children when it came to career aspirations.

She didn’t dream about being a veterinarian, a ballerina, or a firefighter. Being an astronaut wasn’t on her radar either.

“I wanted to be a lawyer since I was eight,” says Trask, which admittedly is a “little bit unusual.”

She remained committed to that path and is now a litigator in British Columbia, specializing in labour, human rights and constitutional law, primarily representing unions and their members.

As of this month, she’s also the Canadian Bar Association’s newest vice-president. 

Learning law abroad

An early interest in international development motivated Trask’s first substantive involvement with the Canadian Bar Association as a young lawyer. When she was a second-year call, she joined the then-active CBA Young Lawyers International Program and spent seven months working with the Ethiopian Women's Lawyers Association.

In Ethiopia, Trask worked with Ethiopian lawyers to conduct research and advance advocacy projects, including an effort to create spousal support legislation. 

“That was obviously very early in my career and really strengthened my ties with the CBA,” she says. 

Trask also spent a year of her undergrad studying political science at the University of Zimbabwe, did a three-month internship in Sierra Leone, worked on the CBA Supporting Inclusive Resource Development Project in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and on another project in Ethiopia with the Justice Education Society of BC. The latter involved partnering with a local organization to deliver training on crime scene investigation, advocacy, and judicial determination to address violent crimes against women.

All of this helped her see the world through a broader lens.

“I think those work experiences also probably helped me to understand more about the importance of working together,” she says. 

“We know that the top-down models don't work. Partnership and collaboration are important. International work was really changing throughout this time, and so it was interesting to be working on these sorts of justice-related projects while there was more recognition of that.”

Ultimately, a collaborative approach is how she prefers to work. 

“As you gain more expertise, you can work on things more efficiently,” Trask says. 

“But I always feel like everything that I work on, I gain more out of it than I put in because if you're paying attention, you're listening and learning more than you're contributing. And that is definitely true of international work.”

Working alongside international legal associations helped her refine the skills she brings to her legal career and volunteer work in Canada. Trask is now a partner at Victory Square Law Office, a labour law firm in Vancouver that provides advice and advocacy for workers and their unions. On the pro bono front, she’s done extensive work with West Coast LEAF, including serving as president of the board and acting as pro bono counsel for the organization. 

Her volunteerism with the CBA also runs deep: she’s served on the CBA’s board of directors, chaired the National Labour and Employment Law Section and the CBA Sections Subcommittee, and co-chaired the Labour Law Section of the BC branch. 

Her eight-year-old self would no doubt be impressed by how many cases she’s tackled that deal with a myriad of human rights and social justice issues. She’s advocated for women leaving violent relationships, worked on cases advancing LGBTQ rights and pregnancy discrimination.

Trask has a broad range of litigation and appellate litigation experience before tribunals and courts, including six appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada. She was counsel for the appellant in Hansman v. Neufeld, a defamation case which marked the first time the Supreme Court of Canada addressed discrimination against the transgender community. She also brings the perspective of working with a large member-based organization, having spent 16 years as in-house counsel with the BC Teachers Federation, six of which were as general counsel. With around 50,000 members, the federation is only slightly larger than the CBA. 

Creating a more just world

Trask has always seen the potential lawyers have to shape the legal profession for the better and to help create a more just world, even as it changes rapidly.

“Reinforcing the CBA's role as a guardian of the rule of law seems to be an ever-present and ongoing issue,” she says, referring to her priorities as she steps into the role of VP.  

She wants to help build a truly inclusive profession and enhance value and engagement for all members, while building an association that reflects the size of the legal profession in Canada and its values. 

“I wanted to be a lawyer because I was motivated by social justice reasons and wanting to make the world a better place,” Trask says.

“I’ve sought to pursue that throughout my career. I feel very lucky that I've been able to do work that aligns with my values and that fits with my goals of trying to help people.”