Tami Prince, President
Tamara Prince serves as General Counsel and Chief EDI Officer at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. In this role, Tami drives both the firm’s risk management and inclusion and diversity strategy. Tami is also a partner in the firm’s Ligation Group and her legal practice focuses on complex corporate/commercial litigation, including matters involving energy and environmental law, construction, commercial leasing, class action defence, competition, pensions, tax, securities, employment defence, and franchise disputes. Over the course of her career, Tami has represented a wide range of corporate clients, including those involved in the global energy sector, petrochemicals, commercial property, telecommunications, mining, global transportation, manufacturing, franchising, and construction. She is recognized as a leader in her field by Best Lawyers in Canada.
Tami was first called to the bar in Saskatchewan in 2003 where she began her career as an associate at a prominent Saskatchewan firm before moving to Alberta in 2006 where she spent 13 years at a reputable national law firm. Just prior to joining Cassels, Tami spent nearly two years working as part of the in-house legal team for an international oil and gas company, where she worked with outside counsel on numerous litigation and insolvency matters and served as a trusted business advisor, providing internal advice on diverse legal issues to various business groups within the company. In addition to being a member of the AWL Board and serving as Vice President, Tami is the current Chair of the Alberta Regional Advisory committee for The Advocates’ Society.
Melissa N. Burkett, Vice President
Melissa is a litigator with Alberta Justice, Legal Services Division, where she represents and advises the Crown, government departments and boards in litigation, administrative and regulatory proceedings. Originally from Winnipeg, Melissa earned her B.A. (Adv.) in Political Studies from the University of Manitoba, her LL.B. from Université de Moncton, and her LL.M. from New York University. Melissa is called to the Bars of Alberta and Manitoba.
Prior to joining Alberta Justice, Melissa articled and practised medical malpractice defence with a large regional firm in Winnipeg, and commercial litigation with a national firm in Calgary. She also previously interned in with the International Arbitration group in the Paris office of a large international firm.
In addition to serving on the AWL Board as Vice-President and Communications Chair, Melissa is a Director of The Advocates’ Society (“TAS”), a member of TAS’s Alberta Advisory Committee, a Vice Chair of the CBA Public Sector Lawyers Section Executive. She volunteers with Calgary Legal Guidance, is a Sessional Instructor (Civil Procedure) at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, and coaches the University of Calgary Laskin Moot team. Melissa is the recipient of the 2021 Women in Law Leadership Award for Leadership in the Profession (In-House/Government) and the 2022 Calgary Black Chambers Achievement Award in Law. When not working or volunteering, Melissa enjoys travelling, craft beer, learning new languages, and supporting Liverpool FC (preferably all at the same time).
Emily Paplawski, Secretary
Emily is a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in the civil litigation and insolvency and restructuring groups. She regularly acts for creditors, debtors, and court-appointed monitors, receivers and trustees in bankruptcy in large and complex insolvencies and restructurings, including cross-border insolvency proceedings. Emily holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and was admitted to the Alberta bar in 2013. Prior to attending law school, Emily earned a B.A. in English Literature from St. Francis Xavier University where she played varsity basketball for the X-Women and was named an Academic All-Canadian.
In addition to serving on the AWL Board, Emily is a Director of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (Western Canada Network) and volunteers with Pro Bono Law Alberta through the Civil Claims Duty Counsel project. When not working or volunteering, Emily enjoys playing basketball, reading fiction, and exploring new places with her family.
Kara Davis, Treasurer
Kara Davis is an associate at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and practices in the area of restructuring & insolvency. She was admitted to the Alberta bar in 2017 and the New York bar in 2020. Kara joined the AWL Board in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and a J.D. from the University of Calgary.
Outside of the office and volunteer work, Kara enjoys golfing, travelling, and playing soccer.
Kourtney Pratt, Membership Chair
Kourtney is an associate at Lawson Lundell LLP. She maintains a litigation practice with an emphasis on commercial and business litigation. She was admitted to the bars of Alberta and New York in 2018 and was admitted to the bar of Saskatchewan in 2023. She holds a J.D. from the University of Windsor and a J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy. Prior to obtaining her law degrees, she received a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Dance from the University of Calgary.
In addition to serving on the AWL Board, Kourtney serves as Secretary for the Board of Directors of Dancers’ Studio West, a dance service organization supporting dance artists in Alberta. Kourtney also volunteers with Calgary Legal Guidance and with Pro Bono Law Alberta through the Civil Claims Duty Counsel project.
In her spare time, Kourtney enjoys travelling, yoga, trying new restaurants, and of course dancing.
Sania Chaudhry, Director
Sania Chaudhry is a lawyer with Forte Workplace Law offering services to employers and employees in employment, labour and human rights matters, as well as conducting workplace investigations and respectful workplace training for clients in both Alberta and BC. Prior to that, she was Conduct Counsel at the Real Estate Council of Alberta, prior to which she practiced in family and immigration law. She is also a current part-time student at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law in their Masters of Law program, with her research focusing on critical race theory and administrative law in the context of reasonable apprehension of bias.
Sania is also a current Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Alberta Board Director, Board Liaison and Past Chair of the CBA Alberta Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Member of the CBA National Equality Subcommittee, President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers – Western Chapter, Practice Group Leader and Secretary of The Advocates’ Society Regulatory & Administrative Law Group, Past Member of the Law Society of Alberta Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Board Director of the Centre for Sexuality, and Chair and Founder of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association. She is also a Member-at-Large of the CBA National Administrative Law section and a Board member of the Young Advocates Standing Committee of the Advocates’ Society. Her op-ed highlighting intersectionality and mental health in the legal profession was published in the Globe and Mail in 2022 and she has published other articles on EDI issues in the profession elsewhere as well over the years. She was recognized in 2022 as a Top 30 Under 30 by the Alberta Council of Global Cooperation. Also in 2022, she was the recipient of the Women Who Inspire Award by the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and the Community Crusader Award by the South Asian Inspiration Awards. Sania was also recently appointed in 2022 onto the Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council.
Ellen Embury, Director
Coming soon.
Anna Galanter, Director
Coming soon.
Suzanne Kendall, Director
Coming soon.
Thu Libin, Director
Coming soon.
Sonja Lusignan, Director
Coming soon.
Lan X. T. Nguyen, Director
Lan is legal counsel at Pembina Pipeline Corporation. Prior to this role, Lan worked as an associate at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, where she maintained a general corporate commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice.
Lan received her Bachelor of Commerce degree (with Distinction) from the University of Calgary and her Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria. She was admitted to the Alberta bar in 2018. Prior to law school, Lan worked in the human resources department of a multinational energy company.
In addition to serving on the AWL Board, Lan volunteers with Pro Bono Law Alberta through the Civil Claims Duty Counsel Project, which provides pro bono legal advice for unrepresented litigants in the Alberta civil courts. In her spare time, Lan enjoys cooking cultural dishes, exploring new hiking trails, yoga, and attempting to take her pug on long walks.
Sophie Mansfield, Director
Coming soon.
Lillian Pan, KC, Director
Lillian Pan is a Senior Advisor at Dentons Canada LLP who focuses on commercial litigation, including the areas of business litigation, securities, product liability, shareholder disputes, energy and employment litigation. She has appeared before many levels of court, including the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court and the Federal Court; as well as the Alberta Securities Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission. She also deals with enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
Lillian is passionate about mentoring and an advocate for diversity. She is a senior advisor and mentor to the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) since 2014, and an instructor in the trial advocacy programme at the University of Calgary Law School since 2012. She is on the Board of the Chinatown Business Improvement Area, which assists the business community of Calgary Chinatown. She is part of the China Services Desk for Dentons Canada and a member of Dentons Diversity and Women’s LEAD groups.
Lillian has practiced civil litigation for over 35 years, 13 years at a Toronto Bay Street firm, 18 years at a Calgary mid-sized firm and is now at Dentons LLP, the world’s largest law firm. She speaks Mandarin fluently, coming to Canada as an immigrant at the age of 6 years old.
Sadaf Raja, Director
Sadaf received her Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa in 2014 and was called to Alberta bar in 2015. Sadaf practices in the area of family law and criminal law and has appeared in all levels of courts in Alberta. Sadaf is a qualified mediator. She speaks Urdu/Hindi and Punjabi fluently and can converse in French.
Sadaf is a fearless advocate in and outside of the courtroom. When she is not in a court room, you can find her volunteering at a community event promoting education and advancement of women. She appears on radio often to discuss emerging legal issues. In addition to serving on the AWL Board, Sadaf volunteers with Calgary Legal Guidance. In her spare time, Sadaf enjoys being a mother and spending time at CrossFit and riding her horse. Sadaf has travelled to over 25 countries and has completed internships internationally including the United Nations in Thailand and EURAC in Italy.
Wilma Shim, Director
Wilma Shim is a member of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and a sports law instructor in the Faculties of Law and Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Wilma earned her LLM in Sports Law from DMU in 2024, her Juris Doctor from the University of Calgary in 2010, and her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary in 2007. Called to the Bar in 2011, she worked for Alberta Justice as a Prosecutor and Barrister and Solicitor for 10 years.
As a proud alumna of the University of Calgary, Wilma is the Chair of the Chancellor’s Club Scholars Alumni network, Faculty of Law Alumni network, and Faculty of Kinesiology Alumni network. She is also a University of Calgary Senator and is a board member of ASSIST and FACL. Wilma founded the AWL Mothers in the Law group in 2017 and has hosted over 20 playdates since its creation.
In 2023, she was named a Lexpert Rising Star and is part of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 Class of 2015. She was inducted to the Order of the University of Calgary in 2010.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, including her husband and 3 young sons.
Fanny Tam, Director
Fanny Tam is a lawyer at KH/Dunkley Law Group and her practice focuses mainly on residential and commercial real estate, wills and estate administration, and corporate law. She has extensive experience assisting clients in purchasing and selling real estate, obtaining grants of probate and administration, drafting wills and other estate planning documents, and preparing commercial contracts.
Fanny received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Calgary in 2009 and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2013. She completed her articles with KH/Dunkley Law Group in 2014 and remained with the firm until 2017, when she took some time off to grow her family. Fanny has since returned to the firm to resume her practice and mainly works out of our satellite offices.
Outside of her law practice, Fanny engages in activities with different organizations that focus on empowering women, spends time with husband and two young daughters, and takes care of her Sheepadoodle, Pinot.
Staci Tannahill Smith, Director
Coming soon.