Krista James is the National Director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law and a staff lawyer with the British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI), located in Vancouver. Krista is also the project manager of the BCLI’s B.C. Family Status Legal Research Project. This project involves a review of legislation and jurisprudence in relation to the family status ground in order to explore whether existing approaches to the ground reflect contemporary expansive notions of family and address barriers to full participation in society faced by different kinds of families.

In recent years, Krista has written and presented on various topics including elder abuse and neglect, adult guardianship, mental capacity, family caregiving and family status discrimination, and in 2010 she authored the BCLI Workplace Dispute Resolution Report, funded by the B.C. Ministry of Labour. Krista’s work includes international comparative legal research, policy analysis and public legal education, and involves working with diverse stakeholders from sectors such as health care, law, labour and justice. Krista has worked with a number of non-profit legal clinics, women’s centres and community organizations serving low-income people in British Columbia over the years. Prior to joining the BCLI, Krista practiced labour law with Victory Square Law Office in Vancouver.