Crystal Reeves
Associate, Mandell Pinder LLP
Phone: 604.566.8566
crystal@mandellpinder.com
Assistant: Nicole Chipman | nicole@mandellpinder.com
Profile
Crystal has devoted her scholarship and legal practice to advancing the
interests of Indigenous peoples in Canada and internationally.
Crystal completed her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she combined
a certificate in International, Comparative and Transnational law with a focus
on Aboriginal Law. At Osgoode, she participated in the First Nations Intensive
Program, interning at the New South Wales Native Title Services in Sydney,
Australia, where she drafted a legal brief for test case litigation on Native
Title in newly created National Parks in New South Wales.
After graduating from law school, Crystal was chosen to intern as the Legal
Research Officer at the Pacific Judicial Education Program in Suva, Fiji, under
the Young Professional Internship Program and through the Native Law Centre at
the University of Saskatchewan. Crystal conducted legal and community based
research on Indigenous customary courts, criminal law and human rights law and
co-authored Judicial Bench Books for the Samoan Land and Titles Court, and the
Magistrates’ Courts of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Fiji, Niue and the Cook
Islands.
During her LL.M. in Law and Society at the University of Victoria, Crystal was a
teaching assistant in legal research and writing for first year law students,
and developed curriculum and taught courses in International Indigenous Rights
and Métis History at the Institute of Indigenous Government. Upon completion of
her LL.M. thesis, Crystal was hired as the Legal Researcher at the Social
Planning and Research Council of BC, where she led the Family Relations Act
Reform Project. The purpose of the project was to engage adults and youth who
have lived experience with the family law system in British Columbia, in order
to receive their recommendations on proposed reforms to the Family Relations
Act.
Crystal received a Public Interest Articling Fellowship from the Law Foundation
of British Columbia to article at the Upper Skeena Counselling and Legal
Assistance Society, a community legal aid clinic located on Gitxsan territory
(Hazelton, British Columbia). She has appeared in provincial court on criminal,
child protection and family matters for Aboriginal clients.
Education
| LL.M. | Law and Society, University of Victoria, 2007 |
| LL.B. | Osgoode Hall Law School, 2003 |
| B.A. | University of Lethbridge, 2000 |
Professional Standing
Member, Law Society of British Columbia, 2009
Selected Publications and Presentations
Law as Woven Object, Law as Weaving Process: An Interdisciplinary Conception
of Legal Pluralism in Samoa. Presented at Indigenous Peoples and Governance,
Major Collaborative Research Initiative Student Conference, Montreal, Quebec,
December, 2007.
Building Bridges between Communities and the Law: Including Community Members
as ‘Experts’ in Legal Reform Initiatives. Presented at Canadian Association
of Law Teachers Annual Conference, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, May, 2007.
Meeting in the Courts: Transformative Performances, (Mis)Recognitions,
Othering and Power in Kadlak v. Nunavut (Minister of Sustainable Development).
Presented at Canadian Law and Society Association conference, Halifax, Nova
Scotia, June, 2003.
The Family Relations Act Reform Project: Final Report. (March, 2008)
Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia.
Youth Included: Youth Recommendations for Children and Youth Participation in
British Columbia’s Family Justice System. (May, 2008) Social Planning and
Research Council of British Columbia.
Book Review of "South Pacific Property Law" by Don Richardson and Tess
Cain-Newton. Pacific Affairs 78:1 (June 2005): 180-181.
Courses
International Indigenous Rights, Institute of Indigenous Government, winter term
2006
Métis History, Institute of Indigenous Government, winter term 2006
Other Activities
Spending time with her partner Scott, travelling, gardening and cycling.