Who We Are

The Board members of AIDV Canada are based across the country, and have legal and/or policy expertise relating to the Canadian wine industry.

We congratulate our former colleague Ekaterina Tsimberis who has been appointed (in February 2023) to the Federal Court of Canada.

Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson

Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Vancouver)

Current Board member of AIDV International

Chris Wilson is an intellectual property litigator with a passion for wine and trademarks. He was recognized in Chambers Global 2018 for leading the pre-eminent IP litigation practice in Western Canada, and was named the 2019 Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year for Vancouver by Best Lawyers Canada.

Karen Graham

Karen Graham

WineDrops (Okanagan Valley)

Karen Graham is Principal of WineDrops.ca, offering advisory services and commentary on policy, regulatory and business matters for the Canadian wine industry.

Mark Hicken

Mark Hicken

TTGV Advisors (Vancouver)

Mark Hicken is a consultant to the BC wine and liquor industry. He was formerly one of Canada’s best known wine lawyers (now retired from law practice). He is a frequent speaker at wine industry conferences and is often quoted in the media on issues related to wine law.

Jennifer McKenzie

Jennifer McKenzie

Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP (Toronto)

Jennifer McKenzie is a partner at Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP. In addition to having a robust trademark practice, she practices regulatory, advertising and marketing law.

Al Hudec

Al Hudec

Farris LLP (Kelowna)

Al Hudec, Partner at Farris LLP in Kelowna, focuses his legal practice on the purchase and sale of wineries and vineyards in the Okanagan Valley. He also practises on the areas of commercial law, aboriginal law and municipal law. Al assists clients with complex and non-routine wine industry regulatory matters such as the ALR rules, water rights, commercial and land based winery distinctions, navigating the tied house rules, and the like. 

Dan Hohnstein

Dan Hohnstein

Tereposky & DeRose (Ottawa)

Dan is a partner at Tereposky & DeRose LLP, a boutique international trade law firm based in Ottawa. He represents and advises private sector companies, industry associations, and governments in matters relating to international trade and investment.

Lee Chitty

Lee Chitty

Cases and Cases (Ottawa)

Lee Chitty is the founder of Cases & Cases, Canada’s wine law firm dedicated to serving the industry. As legal counsel to the wine industry, Lee acts as a strategic partner to wineries offering fractional in-house counsel services. Advising on alcohol beverage-law compliance, business law, commercial law, and employment law, Lee helps wineries grow while reducing overall legal risk and spending.

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