Panellist Profile

Aboriginal Law, Commercial Law, Commercial Leases, Construction Law, Contract Law, Corporate Law, Employment Law, Entertainment Law, General Civil Law, Insurance Law, Leaky Condo Disputes, Maritime Law, Mining Industry, Multi-Party Law, Municipal Law, Negligence Law, Online Dispute Resolution, Partnership Disputes, Personal Injury Law - Motor Vehicle, Professional Disputes - Negligence, Real Estate Law, Resource Industry - Forestry, Small Business Law, Estate Law - Wills, Workplace Law

Ms. Cattell was called to the Bar in 1986 and practised with the Vancouver law firm Douglas, Symes & Brissenden, and subsequently McKechnie & Company. Her practice focussed on commercial and construction litigation and professional negligence claims. She started mediating in 1998 and was appointed Queens Counsel in 2006.

She now works as a full-time mediator and arbitrator in a wide range of areas including construction and business disputes, personal injury and insurance claims, and wills & estates litigation.

Ms. Cattell is a Chartered Mediator of the ADR Institute of Canada and a member of Mediate B.C. (Civil and Child Protection Rosters), the Law Society of British Columbia, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Arbitration and Mediation Institute, and the Commercial Mediation Association.

She served from 2003 to 2007 as President of Mediate B.C, and taught Mediation Advocacy as an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law. She also acted as Manager of the Small Claims Court Pilot Project launched in 2007 for the Dispute Resolution Office of the Ministry of Attorney General, and as a Mentor in the Child Protection Mediation Practicum Program.

A frequent CLE presenter, Ms. Cattell has written and spoken extensively on construction and commercial litigation and alternate dispute resolution and teaches the Fundamentals of Mediation course for CLE. Since 2003 she has provided negotiation consulting and training to clients around the world with ENS International based in Sydney, Australia, a global consulting network in over 48 countries and 10 languages.

• Completed mediation training through CLE and started mediating in 1998 and arbitrating in 2006
• Completed mediation practicum with CDRC (Canadian Dispute Resolution Corporation)
• Completed professional negotiation training and certification with ENS International in 2003
• Served from 2003 to 2007 as President of Mediate BC
• Taught Mediation Advocacy at the UBC Faculty of Law from 2003 to 2007, has taught the Fundamentals of Mediation course for CLE since 2013, and is a frequent presenter and author on ADR
• Co-chaired the CLE Annual ADR Conference in 2006, 2012, 2014, and was a speaker in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2015
• Became lead instructor of the CLE Fundamentals of Mediation course in 2013

• Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006
• Chartered Mediator of the ADR Institute of Canada
• President of BC Dispute Resolution Practicum Society, now Mediate BC, from 2002 -2007
• Member of the Law Society of BC and the Canadian Bar Association
• Member of the Commercial Mediation Association
• Appointed to the Health Professionals Review Board in 2013 and the Civil Resolution Tribunal in 2015
• Past Board member of the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal, Health Professions Review Board and the West Vancouver Community Foundation
• Past National Chair of the Women's Legal Education & Action Fund ("LEAF"), Director and Vice-President of West Coast LEAF
• Past President of Mediate B.C. and Executive Member of the CBA (BC Branch) Women Lawyers Forum

LL.B., University of Victoria – 1985
B.A., Honours, University of Victoria – 1982