Bryan Williams

Bryan Williams (September 14, 1932 – September 4, 2025) was a Canadian lawyer and retired judge from Vancouver, British Columbia. He was a puisne justice on the British Columbia Court of Appeal and also Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court. In addition to an extensive litigation practice, he was heavily involved in a number of organizations relating to the practice of law and the administration of justice, including a term as national president of the Canadian Bar Association.

Early life and family Williams was born in Calgary, Alberta, but his family moved to British Columbia when he was young. He grew up on Vancouver Island and then attended law school at the University of British Columbia. His wife, Audrey Williams, was a competitive ice skater and ice skating judge, including judging at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994. They have four children together.

Legal career Litigation practice Williams was called to the British Columbia bar in 1959. He practised law with the Vancouver firm of Swinton and Company for close to forty years, being made partner in 1961. A litigator in commercial matters, administrative and environmental law, he eventually led the firm's litigation department. He developed a very busy practice in the courts, often juggling different complicated court matters simultaneously.

One of his major cases was acting as counsel for the government of British Columbia in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia at the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The case was one of the most important cases relating to aboriginal title in Canada. He was asked directly by the Premier of British Columbia to argue the province's position. Williams later said it was the most interesting case of his career. The case went on appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, but Williams was not able to act for the provincial government in the Supreme Court because by then he had been appointed to the bench.

Leadership at the bar Williams was heavily involved in a number of organizations relating to the legal profession and the justice system. At various times he was a member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal; a commissioner on the British Columbia Law Reform Commission; chair of the British Columbia Legal Aid Society; and Governor of the British Columbia Law Foundation. He also served as permanent chair of a number of arbitration committees under various collective bargaining agreements.

Williams was heavily involved in the Canadian Bar Association throughout his legal career. He was the president of the British Columbia Branch of the CBA in 1977-78, and the national president of the CBA in 1986-87. In 1983-84, he was the chair of the CBA National Law Reform and Legislation Committee and in 1984-85, he was the founding chair of the CBA Law for the Future Fund. At the provincial level, he was involved in the British Columbia Social Credit Party. The Committee recommended the creation of several new wilderness parks and also changes to the boundaries of some existing parks, such as South Moresby Island. In 1995, he was appointed Canada's special advisor in relation to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Other Activities Williams was on the board of Air BC, a regional subsidiary of Air Canada. He was also the chair of the YVR (Vancouver airport) Art Foundation, and a director of the Laurier Institution. He was only on the Court of Appeal for a short time, as a year later he was appointed Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, the superior trial court.

In 2000, after four years as Chief Justice, Williams resigned from the Supreme Court. The circumstances of the resignation were not clear. There were rumours that nude pictures had been found on Williams's computer. He denied those rumours, saying that someone had e-mailed the images to him and he deleted them as quickly as possible. He was quoted as saying that the reason for the resignation was friction with the executive committee of the judges of the Supreme Court.

A well-known political commentator, Rafe Mair, criticized the lack of transparency about the reasons for the resignation. He served in this position until 2004.

Honours 1990 - awarded an LLD (honoris causa) by the University of Victoria.