Ali Elman
From Dusty Huts to Mountain Sheds, Ali Elman, Law Society Paralegal, Goes Where She’s Needed to Help British Columbians
Words by Jessica Natale Woollard Photos by Jeff Topham
On one memorable work trip, Ali Elman travelled into the mountains in the middle of winter. She trekked down a snowy pathway to her destination: a wooden shed among the trees, tucked away behind a cottage. What treasures—or hazards—lay within?
Another time, she arrived at her destination to find an old building with mud floors and stone walls. Stepping inside, she felt she had entered ancient catacombs. She proceeded cautiously, steeling her courage to face the secrets lurking in the darkness.
And on yet another adventure, she travelled in a small Bombardier plane to a remote community in south-central British Columbia. When the aircraft veered, flying perpendicular to the mountain, Elman, a nervous flier, put her purpose before her panic and conjured nerves of steel.
“It was heart stopping,” she recalls. “It felt like we were going to kiss the side of the mountain.”
Despite what her work expeditions imply, Elman is not a private investigator, following the story to remote corners of the province. She is not a museum curator seeking relics lost to time. She is not Indiana Jones, hunting down artifacts with unique powers. She is, however, an archaeologist of sorts, excavating documents and analyzing their contents.
Based in New Westminster, Elman is a paralegal in the custodianship department of the Law Society of British Columbia and a member of the PEA. Paralegals and officers of the Law Society are new members to the PEA, joining the lawyers of the bargaining unit in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
The Law Society of BC was founded in 1884 to protect the public by setting and enforcing standards of professional and ethical conduct for lawyers and providers of legal services. They regulate the process of complaints and discipline; hold hearings to adjudicate the conduct of lawyers; advocate on behalf of legal professionals about issues affecting the justice system and legal services in the province; and they help to improve public interest in access to justice.
It used to be that custodians—lawyers appointed to take over another lawyer’s practice—were contracted out. The Law Society would look to their members to find a custodian willing to help another lawyer closing their practice due to illness, retirement or inability to practice due to being removed from the bar. This setup proved incredibly inefficient. Custodians were bogged down, torn between their own practices and the effort needed to support the closure or transfer of their colleagues practices.
About two decades ago, the society decided to bring custodianship in-house and create a department of lawyers and paralegals dedicated specifically to custodianship appointments.
When a custodian takes over a law practice, they are essentially taking over a small business. The Law Society becomes responsible for human resources, taxes, collections from creditors, accounts and sometimes settling outstanding cases. Most custodianships last two to three years, but some can take longer, for example, if the lawyer’s files are complex and involve lengthy disputes.
Custodianship work is always dynamic; there’s always something new.
Custodians are assigned to a case along with an assistant and a paralegal, like Elman. The paralegal on the custodianship team (or “pod,” as the Law Society calls them) is responsible for the logistics of taking over a practice, including banking, flights, hotels and sorting through mounds of documents accumulated over the years.
The work is a treasure hunt, in a way, one that occasionally requires materials to be fumigated or stored in bio hazard boxes to prevent spreading insect infestations or toxic materials.
“For [a lawyer] who might have been practicing for 30+ years, it can mean wading through mountains of files in their basements, sheds, attics, cottages,” Elman explains.
Currently, Elman has approximately 16 cases in her roster. Three other pods of custodianships have roughly the same amount. Even after 18 years in this role with the Law Society, Elman says the work “is always dynamic; there’s always something new.”
Elman earned her legal assistant certificate from Capilano University in 2003, followed by the paralegal certificate in 2006. She started her career at Kornfeld LLP, a private law practice in Vancouver.
Around 2006, the Law Society was in a period of expansion. The society’s lawyers had recently unionized, and the responsibilities of the society were expanding to include custodianships. Because the program was in its infancy, the Law Society was open to hiring someone new to the profession, Elman explains.
The custodianship department manager tried to warn her off the job, telling Elman: “this is a dirty job. You will be crawling in basements looking at files. You could deal with lawyers who are affiliated with gang members.”
Rather than discouraging her, Elman was persuaded the role suited her perfectly.
“All I kept thinking was, I think this is my job. I think this is mine,” she remembers.
The Law Society employs paralegals in various departments including custodianships, intake and early resolution, practice standards and discipline, the area responsible for investigating lawyers’ professional conduct. Officers, who are also PEA members, also work in departments across the organization.
Elman enjoys the custodianship department because “it’s very service-oriented, very client-centric. We’re helping clients navigate a situation where they’ve lost their lawyers, so we end up getting involved intellectually in people’s lives.”
She thrives in environments where there is much to learn.
“Everything for me is a learning opportunity,” she says.
Joining the PEA has afforded her numerous educational experiences. She represented her department on the interim bargaining committee for the paralegals and represented the paralegals in the recent round of collective bargaining. She has since joined the chapter executive as a member at large.
Attending the Canadian Labour Congress’ Winter School in 2024 and 2025, its 50th anniversary year, were two stand-out learning opportunities in recent years.
“It’s been a while since I looked around a room with so many people and felt like these are my people,” she notes.
She appreciated meeting people with diverse careers, all committed to the labour movement and improving working conditions for all. And, she appreciated the representation and diversity in the room.
“I’m Filipino; I moved here when I was 13 and lived in East Vancouver,” she explains. “The first thing I think about when I walk into a room are issues of diversity.”
One stand-out speaker addressed equity and diversity in collective agreements. She recalls the presenter recommending that “when you craft your collective agreement, you need to think about the ‘least of us.’”
Thinking of the “least of us”—or people in need—is a lesson she has applied to her work and family life. She and her husband have travelled around the world with their two children. Meeting people and experiencing different cultures abroad helps keep the tenet top of mind. Even travelling throughout the province, as she does with work, provides the opportunity to keep learning new ways to support others.
“Thinking of others is very much who I am,” Elman reflects. “In work, in life, whatever you are doing, it’s important to think about the least of us. Then, you move forward.”
See the article in the Professional, Spring 2025
