RICHARD WOLSON, Q.C. LEAD COMMISSION COUNSEL, graduated from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law in 1972 and was called to the Bar of Manitoba in 1973. Appointed Queen's Counsel in 1995, he joined the firm of Walsh, Micay and Company in 1974 and became a partner in 1977. He became a founding member and partner of the firm of Gindin, Wolson, Simmonds, Roitenberg in 1995 where he presently practices. Since his call to the bar he has practised exclusively in the field of Criminal Law and Administrative Law.

He is the past president of the Criminal Law Subsection of the Manitoba Bar Association; founding Member of the Inns of Court; Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. Lecturing faculty member Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program 1985-2005.

Author of numerous articles in the area of Criminal Law and Wrongful Convictions, he has practiced before all levels of Court in Manitoba and as counsel in all Western Provinces, Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories. Mr. Wolson served as Commission Counsel in the Sophonow Inquiry and acted as counsel to parties in the Monnin Inquiry and Driskell Inquiry.

Nancy Brooks – SENIOR COMMISSION COUNSEL, is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP where she practices public law and commercial litigation. Ms. Brooks has acted as counsel to several inquiry bodies and administrative tribunals and for private clients on procurement review challenges under the Agreement on International Trade, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement on Government Procurement before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT). Her commercial litigation practice focuses on employment law, contractual disputes, product liability claims, and shareholder disputes. She has appeared before the superior courts in Ontario, the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ms. Brooks served as Executive Legal Officer to the Chief Justice of Canada, The Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin P.C. from 2004-2007. In that role, she advised on legal matters pertaining to appeals and applications for leave to appeal, served as a member of a number of Supreme Court of Canada Committees, and as Secretary of the Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute, an independent institution dedicated to the development and delivery of educational programs for all federal, provincial and territorial judges.

Ms. Brooks is a member of The Advocates’ Society, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association and the County of Carleton Law Association. She has taught Remedies at the Faculty of Common Law, University of Ottawa, and has been an invited speaker at numerous seminars and conferences.

EVAN ROITENBERG, SENIOR COMMISSION COUNSEL, graduated from Robson Hall, University of Manitoba Law School in 1991 and was called to the bar in 1992. In 1998 he became a founding member of Pinx, Roitenberg, Campbell, and practiced there until 2003 when he joined Gindin, Wolson, Simmonds, Roitenberg.

Mr. Roitenberg has practiced almost exclusively in the area of criminal law. He is the President of the Manitoba Criminal Trial Lawyers Association; Board Member of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers; member of the Manitoba Criminal Justice Committee; member of the Tariff Review Committee with Legal Aid Manitoba; and a past Co-Chair of the Criminal Justice Subsection of the Manitoba Bar Association.

He currently serves as a Learning Group Facilitator in Advocacy for the Manitoba CPLED Program (Bar Admission Course), has been a guest lecturer at the University of Manitoba Law School and University of Winnipeg, presented at Continuing Legal Education workshops, and has sat on a number of committees for the Law Society of Manitoba.

Mr. Roitenberg regularly appears before all court levels in Manitoba, and has appeared as counsel in B.C., Saskatchewan, Ontario, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Giuseppe Battista,, SENIOR COMMISSION COUNSELgraduated from the Université du Québec à Montréal, département des sciences juridiques, in 1985. He was called to the Bar in 1986. He worked at the Montreal Legal Aid Office, Criminal Division, from 1986 to 1990 and has been in private practice since 1991, and has appeared at both the trial and appellate level, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Battista has also appeared before Disciplinary Committees of the various Professional orders in Quebec. He was counsel for the Commission d’enquête chargée de faire enquête sur la Sûreté du Québec (the Poitras Commission).

Mr. Battista has been a speaker at conventions relating to the practise of criminal and disciplinary law and he has taught at the Quebec Bar school and a lecturer at McGill University and has been involved in training sessions in Chile and Senegal. He has been a member of the body that oversees the activities of the Bar school and a member of the advisory committee on criminal matters of the Quebec Bar. He was a member of the executive of the Montreal Defence Lawyers Association from 1994 to 1998 and the Vice-president from 1997 to 1998.

Mr. Battista is on the Board of Directors of the International Defence Lawyers Association, a member of the Council of the International Criminal Bar (ICB) and was co-chair of the Ethics Committee of the ICB.

Commission Junior Counsel

Myriam Corbeil graduated from the Université de Montréal Law School in 2003 and was called to the Quebec Bar in 2004. At Université de Montréal, she received an award for excellence in Administrative Law. She acted as a junior counsel for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities (Gomery Commission). She is the author, with Justice Guy Cournoyer and Erick Vanchestein, of Code des professions annoté, the first text to consider Quebec’s professional code, which was enacted in 1973. She practices in the area of penal, criminal and disciplinary law.

Peter Edgett graduated from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law and was called to the bar in 2007. He is a member of the Manitoba Criminal Trial Lawyers Association. He practices almost exclusively in the area of criminal law and has appeared before all court levels in Manitoba.

Sarah Wolson graduated from Robson Hall, University of Manitoba Law School in 2005 and was called to the bar in 2006. While at Robson Hall, she was a finalist in the Carrigan Cup Moot Court Competition, was on the Dean’s Honour List and received awards for excellence in criminal law and in children and the law. She practices almost exclusively in the area of criminal law and has appeared before all court levels in Manitoba. Ms. Wolson is a member of the Manitoba Bar and the Manitoba Criminal Trial Lawyers Association. She acted as Junior Counsel to a party at the Commission of Inquiry into Certain Aspects of the Trial and Conviction of James Driskell.

Martin Lapner attended the University of Ottawa, School of Management for his undergraduate studies and achieved the top GPA in his program. He attended law school at the University of Toronto, and articled at the Ottawa office of Stikeman Elliott LLP, where his focus was on federal regulatory law. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2008.