Mark Andrews (lawyer)
Mark David Andrews (25 November 1959 – 20 March 2020) was a lawyer and rower.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian (formerly British) |
| Born | 25 November 1959 |
| Died | 20 March 2020 (aged 60) |
Profile
Andrews grew up in southern England. He graduated from Abingdon School where he made close friends and competed in rowing, rugby, and other sports. After leaving Abingdon in 1978, Andrews spent a year in the army and then attended Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford, he studied law, rowed at the highest level, and met his future wife. In 1983, Andrews got married and moved to Vancouver, Canada. Over the ensuing 37 years he built a distinguished legal career whilst he and his wife raised a large, tight-knit family. Outside of work, Andrews was a keen outdoorsman with particular passions for bird watching, gardening, fly-fishing, cycling, and hiking. His family and friends remember him as a caring and passionate man, with a keen intelligence, an astonishing work ethic, and a great enthusiasm for life.
Legal Career
Andrews had a distinguished career as a civil litigator with a wide-ranging practice. Early in his career he successfully challenged British Columbia legislation restricting legal practice to Canadian citizens. His case created the first Supreme Court precedent for equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and has been cited thousands of times since the judgement was released in 1989.[1] After overcoming that hurdle, Andrews went on to represent clients in an impressive volume and range of commercial and regulatory disputes. He was named Queen's Counsel in 2004 and by the end of his career he had appeared as counsel in more than 150 reported cases.[2] In 2020, the Law Society of British Columbia created the Mark Andrews Excellence in Litigation Award to honour Andrews's professional legacy.[3] Going forward, the award will be used to recognize an individual with outstanding lifetime achievements in litigation.
Rowing
Competing for Oxford, Andrews won the world-renowned Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in 1980 and 1981. [4]
Andrews represented Great Britain and won a silver medal in the eights at the 1981 World Rowing Championships in Munich.[5]