Lisa Southern | Founding Partner, Barrister & Solicitor
Called to the Bar
British Columbia Bar: 1997
Northwest Territories Bar: 2019
Noteworthy
Appointed as the Integrity Commissioner for the Vancouver Park Board in July 2023
Appointed by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner as Independent Investigation/Assessor member in 2022
Appointed as the first Integrity Commissioner for the City of Vancouver in January 2022
Member of the Government of Canada’s national roster of workplace harassment & violence prevention investigators since 2021
Recognized in Best Lawyers Canada since 2021 for achievements in labour and employment law in British Columbia
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Lisa Southern received her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1996. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1997.
Lisa is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of British Columbia, and the Law Society of the Northwest Territories. She has been recognized in the Best Lawyers in Canada since 2021 for achievements in labour and employment law in British Columbia.
Lisa is committed to serving her community. She has worked as a director on several non-profit boards, including six years with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of British Columbia and Yukon. She has sat on the boards of WISH, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Endeavour, the Team Finn Foundation, and KidSafe Project Society. In 2019, she contributed to the British Columbia Ministry of Education’s Maintaining School Safety: A Guide for School and Police Personnel in B.C.
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Lisa Southern is an investigator, trainer, mediator, and arbitrator. She is a recognized leader in the field of labour and employment law, particularly in providing neutral investigation, arbitration, and mediation services when guiding organizations through complex issues. Lisa’s practice focuses on work as a neutral third party for both public and private sector organizations, and she has conducted a large number of investigations and workplace assessments into complaints involving privacy issues, human rights, harassment, and workplace health and safety. She is often sought out by clients for her experience in complex, contentious, and sensitive investigations and because of her knowledge of workplace law and experience conducting investigations into a variety of issues. She is frequently appointed as a mediator and also arbitrates labour disputes. In further support of proactive organizational change, Lisa provides training on a variety of issues including workplace bullying and harassment, sexual harassment, and conducting investigations.
Federally Regulated Employers Investigator (National Roster)
Lisa is an experienced investigator for federally regulated organizations under the Canada Labour Code. In January 2021, she was named on the Government of Canada’s workplace harassment and violence prevention Roster of Investigators.Mediator
Lisa Southern has been practicing workplace law for over 25 years and has been mediating disputes since 2003. Lisa gained her experience and strong reputation as a workplace mediator while at the BC Labour Relations Board. In her role as Registrar, she mediated many disputes, including complex collective bargaining matters, essential services, and unfair labour practice complaints. Lisa continues her mediation practice in various ways. She is frequently selected by various parties to mediate wrongful dismissal complaints and grievances. Since 2017, Lisa has served as the Registrar for the BC Nurses’ Union and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC), assisting them to resolve grievances efficiently and fairly. Her work as Registrar was noted in the “Recommendations for Amendments to the Labour Relations Code,” submitted August 31, 2018 (at page 29). In this role, Lisa has successfully case managed and mediated hundreds of disputes between the BC Nurses’ Union and HEABC. Lisa is also asked to mediate conflict between individual employees or groups of employees. This work often flows after (or, with the parties’ consent, during) the investigation process. Her approach is described by parties as “creative,” “honest and direct, but also compassionate.”Arbitrator
Building on several years of adjudication at the BC Labour Relations Board, her work as the Registrar for the BC Nurses’ Union and the Health Employers Association of BC assisting them to resolve grievances efficiently and fairly, and her appointment to the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau’s Register of Arbitrators, Lisa Southern is a practical, no-nonsense adjudicator of disputes. -
In 2003, Lisa was appointed to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board, first as a Vice Chair, and then as Registrar and Vice Chair. In 2009, she returned to private practice.
In 2017, Lisa was appointed as the Registrar for the British Columbia Nurses’ Union and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia, assisting them to resolve grievances efficiently and fairly. Her work as Registrar was noted in the “Recommendations for Amendments to the Labour Relations Code”, submitted August 31, 2018 (at page 29).
In 2019, Lisa was appointed by the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General to the 2019 Judicial Compensation Commission.
In July 2020, Lisa was added to the British Columbia Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau’s Register of Arbitrators.
In January 2021, she was named on the Government of Canada’s workplace harassment and violence prevention Roster of Investigators published on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s website.
In January 2022, Lisa was appointed as the first Integrity Commissioner for the City of Vancouver under the new Code of Conduct By-Law No. 12886.
In September 2022, Lisa was appointed by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner as an Independent Investigation/Assessor member of the OSIC Investigation Unit and Sport Environment Assessment Unit.
In July 2023, Lisa was appointed as the Integrity Commissioner for the Vancouver Park Board.
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Lisa Southern wrote an article titled “From Sole Practitioner to Mid-Size Firm in 10 Years” for the February 2023 edition of The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch’s publication, BarTalk. In her feature, Lisa describes where she started, how she got to where she is now, and lessons learned along the way.
Lisa Southern was interviewed January 2023 by CBC for the Early Edition, speaking about her experience as the Integrity Commissioner for the City of Vancouver.
Contact
Lisa Southern* she/her
Southern Butler Price LLP
301 - 1835 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J8
778-918-7294
*Law Corporation
