Jean M. McBean Q.C.
July 25, 1948 - April 7, 2012
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our former colleague Jean McBean, Q.C., B.A., LLB., on April 7 in Victoria from cancer. Jean was a sessional instructor at the Faculty of Law, in the areas of Women and the Law, and Family Law, for over 15 years.
Jean McBean graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Law in 1972. In 1985, Jean completed the professional mediation training offered by the New Family Centre. She was the recipient of a Viscount Bennett Fellowship in 1986, which enabled her to obtain a Master of Laws degree from McGill University.
Following her articling with the firm of Wright, Chivers & Company in 1973, Jean was invited to join the firm as a partner. She remained at the firm until 1979, when she left to continue private law practice, from 1979 to 2001, first as a sole practitioner and later joined by new partners under the firm name of McBean Becker. Jean's firm was the first all female law firm in Edmonton and specialized in Family Law. With the addition of new partners, the firm, then known as McBean Becker Cochard and Gordon, was on the cutting edge of major social change in the area of family law, during an era when the battle for women's equality was transforming divorce, child custody and rules for sharing property after marriage breakups.
After being approached by the Family Law, the Legal Aid Society of Alberta', Jean established, between 2001-2003, a Legal Aid Office for Family Law in both Edmonton and Calgary, to provide low income families with access to legal representation in dealing with their family law problems. When asked what she was most proud of in relation to her contribution to the legal community, Jean pointed to the leadership that she was able to provide to establish both of the Family Law Legal Aid offices in Alberta. Jean returned to private practice from 2003 to 2006, before retiring and moving to Victoria to be closer to her children and grandchildren.
Jean's contributions to the legal profession were recognized by her peers by both appointments as a Queen's Counsel by the Province of Alberta in 1988 and as a Bencher of the Law Society of Alberta for the years 1999-2001. The Benchers are the governing body of the Law Society of Alberta who oversee the Code of Conduct and conduct hearings related to the disciplinary matters regarding the conduct of members of the legal profession.
For four decades, Jean was an active teacher in the areas of family law and matrimonial property law to both members of the legal profession and members of the Bench, through seminars offered by the Legal Education Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association, as well as to the members of the general public. These lectures and seminars extended beyond provincial borders to include national conferences. Jean also contributed her knowledge and experience to committees addressing the Rules of Court and to legal reform. In addition, Jean was co-chair of the National Legal Committee of the Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF).
Jean produced a number of unpublished works relation to Matrimonial Property law and many published articles over a period of 15 years from the mid-1970s to 1990 in law reviews, book chapters, and conference papers, as well as legal information for the lay person relating to Marriage and Family Law in Alberta. A very significant contribution was the writing and publishing of Marriage & Family Law in Alberta, published by International Self Counsel Press in 1975. This helpful guide designed for the lay person was published again in 1979, with a third edition in 1987 and a fourth edition in 2004.
Beyond her very significant contributions to the legal profession and legal education, Jean was a leading voice on feminist, political and family law related topics, both as a panellist, and a presenter and a resource person for both radio and television. In 1990, Jean served on Alberta's electoral boundaries commission when the ND party was official Opposition. She became party president while Ray Martin was party leader. She held numerous constituency executive roles, at both the provincial level and federal level. She served the University of Alberta as a member of the U of A Senate and a member of the Visiting Committee for the Faculty of Arts. Jean served as a Commissioner of the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission from 1991 to 1992.
In Victoria, to where she and her husband John retired to be closer to their family, Jean continued to be active and volunteered with local organizations, including the Victoria Unitarian Church, Art Gallery of Victoria, Grandmothers to Grandmothers (supporting AIDS orphans in Africa), and Child Have (supporting children's homes in India, Nepal, Tibet and Bangladesh), until 2010 when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Jean was truly a mentor for law students, legal practitioners and members of the public who wished to contribute to a better quality of life at home and abroad for all children. She was an outstanding citizen with exemplary ethics in demonstrating with her actions and leadership how to give back to the global community and how to value each individual and provide them with opportunities to improve their lives and those of their families.
The University of Alberta awarded Jean McBean the Alumni Honour Award in 2012. The Alumni Association was privileged to have presented this award, which is normally awarded in the fall, to Jean McBean in Victoria on April 1, 2012.
The faculty, administrative staff and students of the Faculty of Law extend our deepest condolences to Jean's husband John, their children, grandchildren, and to all of Jean and John's immediate and extended family and friends.
A celebration of her life will take place on Friday, May 11, 2012, at the north Unitarian Church in Edmonton.
Edmonton Journal article on the life of Jean McBean: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/life/6573393/story.html