We are honoured to announce that our very own James (Jim) T. Neilson has been appointed as a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. Justice James T. Neilson was born and raised in Paris, Ontario. He is a graduate of Trinity College, University of Toronto (Hon. B.A. 1976, majoring in history) and Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B. 1979). Since his call to the Alberta Bar in 1981, he has practiced with the firm of Parlee McLaws LLP in Edmonton, primarily in the area of civil litigation at all levels of court in Alberta. His professional experience has involved a wide range of commercial and insurance-related disputes, including complex multi-party litigation. In addition, he has acted as counsel for residential school survivors in the Residential Schools Independent Assessment Process. He was certified as a Qualified Arbitrator by the ADR Institute of Canada and has practiced as an arbitrator in commercial and insurance cases. He has also been a member of the Bar in the Northwest Territories and Ontario. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2010. Jim is past president of the Edmonton Bar Association and was a volunteer instructor in civil litigation for the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) Bar Admission Course. He was a sessional chair and instructor at the LESA Civil Litigation Refresher Course at Lake Louise. He has served on several committees of the Law Society of Alberta, including the Practice Advisory, Audit and Conduct Committees. For the past ten years, he has been a volunteer legal advisor with the Edmonton Legal Centre and has also volunteered with the Civil Court Duty Counsel project. He has been a member of the Edmonton Community Legal Centre Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for the Legal Archives Society of Alberta. Community service has been an important part of Jim’s life. He has contributed in many capacities to different non-profit organizations, including the Edmonton Community Foundation, the United Way of Edmonton and District, the City of Edmonton Historical Board, and Big Brothers Association of Edmonton District. Jim has been a dedicated and much loved and respected partner of Parlee McLaws LLP for many years. There is a reason his nickname in the legal community is “Gentleman Jim”. Alberta Justice’s gain is our loss. Best wishes on your new chapter Jim!