JESSICA L. BURKE joined Black Gropper in January 2005. She provides legal representation to both public and private sector unions, acting as counsel at the BC and Canada labour boards, at grievance arbitration hearings and in court. Jessica also provides strategic and policy advice on collective agreement administration, labour, human rights, and privacy law matters.
She has delivered seminars and prepared papers on the following
topics:
- hiring and promotion,
- attendance management,
- the duty to accommodate,
- labour related legislation,
- harassment law,
- equality law,
- drafting collective agreements and workplace policies, and
- issues covered by the BC Labour Relations Code
Jessica obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, and
her law degree from the University of Victoria. Her law studies included an
exchange into the Civil (French) Law school at the University of Ottawa.
Before joining Black Gropper, Jessica interned with a government tribunal; with
the Department of Foreign Affairs
in the Canadian Mission (embassy) to the European Union in Brussels; and in the
Paris office of a large international law firm's International Arbitration
department. Jessica articled at a union side labour law firm in Vancouver.
Jessica is Co-Chair of the BC Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Labour
Law Section. She maintains memberships with the BC CBA's Human Rights and
Privacy Law sub-sections; and with the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers.
Jessica also volunteers with the West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund
(LEAF), participating on their public education committee, on their speakers'
bureau sub-committee, and as a presenter of LEAF's Transforming our Futures
workshop.
Jessica is away from the office on maternity leave until March 2011.