T h e   P e o p l e

L a w y e r

Stewart Johnston

RAISED IN LONDON ONTARIO, Stewart studied psychology and urban & regional planning at Queen’s University. The west coast beckoned and a one-year ‘visit’ became 33. Graduating from UVic Law School in 1982, Stewart articled with the BC Ministry of Attorney General and entered private practice in 1983 focusing on his preferred areas of practice: real property law including land development and leasing, business and corporate law, and estate planning.

Stewart was founding Chair of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and of the Victoria Esquimalt Harbour Society, a past chair of Tourism Victoria and a former co-chair of the Tourism Working Group of the Pacific North West Economic Region. Stewart is a director of the Victoria Symphony Society and he has served on the boards of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, yep Youth Employment Project, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria Ocean Observatory and the Camosun College Foundation, just to name a few.

In addition to his wife Penny, Stewart’s passions include gourmet cooking and a love of the great outdoors. When not at his desk you can find him at the gym, motorcycling, mountain biking, camping, gardening or chasing his 22-year-old grandson, Tim, down the ski slopes.

L e g a l   A s s i s t a n t s

Eloise Gladders

ELOISE GLADDERS HAS A BACKGROUND OF EXPERIENCE in law in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. British Columbia law experience was in conveyancing, residential and commercial, for many years and morphed into a consuming interest and wide experience in the areas of trusts and estates Many years of the most complex work in this field of estates and trusts lends itself to a combination of intuitive and skill based practice. Eloise’s greatest joy is the interpersonal aspect of her work and time with clients in person or by telephone.

Eloise Gladders loves the outdoors, good company, hot tubbing, hiking, 5 Rhythms Danceand travel, and music is part of every day. Eloise really and truly enjoys people. She takes care of her spiritual life and resonates with the spiritual aspects in nature and in music. She has an interest in social justice and is involved in an ongoing way with the street youth shelter, the food bank and mission work for orphaned and abandoned children in Myanmar. Eloise is not very interested in accumulating material possessions other than enough to be comfortable and cooks because she has to.

People are attracted to Eloise’s energy and joy.

 

Kirsten Lalonde

FROM A YOUNG AGE KIRSTEN acquired an interest in law and decided that her career would be involved somewhere within its spectrum. Following graduation from Ballenas High School she attended Vancouver Island University. After completing the Legal Administrative Assistant program Kirsten decided to further diversify her skills by enrolling in the Paralegal program at Westervelt College in London, Ontario. Upon returning to British Columbia she began working with Stewart Johnston Law Corporation where she developed a passion for Corporate Law and LCLB Applications. Outside of work Kirsten enjoys photography, travelling, the outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.

 

Carolyn Goff

CAROLYN WAS RAISED IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND. She attended the Canterbury School of Business and worked as a Law Clerk for one of the oldest law firms in Christchurch. The love of travel brought her to Victoria in 1980. Carolyn worked as a Legal Assistant/Conveyancer for one firm for 20 years and then joined Stewart Johnston Law Corporation in 2004 as a Paralegal/Conveyancer and shortly thereafter was promoted to Office Manager. Carolyn’s law experience is in conveyancing, residential and commercial and now specializes in corporate and commercial transactions.

Carolyn’s main passion is tennis. With her competitive spirit she enjoys playing many tournaments including BC provincials and Canadian Nationals. One of her goals is to make it on the Canadian Team to play at the Worlds for Canada. Carolyn currently serves on the Board of the BC Senior Women Tennis Association (BCSWTA) for Vancouver Island.

Carolyn’s other passions include music, travel, rowing, the outdoors, friends and family.

 

Ramona Reynolds

RAMONA REYNOLDS IS A SELF-EMPLOYED CONTRACT PARALEGAL. For over 20 years she has had the privilege of working in a number of areas of law including estates, criminal law, general litigation, personal injury, employment law, historical sexual assault including residential school claims, aboriginal and environmental law. Ramona specializes in large scale complex litigation, particularly aboriginal rights and title matters. While most of the work she does focuses on education in preparing for litigation and the use of litigation support systems, she works closely with law firms and their clients on discovery collection (both electronic and paper), interviewing witnesses, and working with experts. At SJ Law, Ramona’s focus has been on estate administration and streamlining office systems.

What Ramona most enjoys about her work is creating relationships with clients and taking some of the fear out of the court process. In her spare time, Ramona can be found hiking with her children or flying a little Cessna out of the Victoria Flying Club.