KAMLOOPS – With the need for sound legal opinion and advice becoming a daily reality, UCC has moved to address the need with the hiring of the institution’s first University Counsel.

John Sparks, Barrister & Soliciter, joins UCC next week to take on the new role of providing senior administration with a broad range of legal support. A veteran of 15 years in the BC forest industry, Sparks was most recently the Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for Skeena Cellulose, where his responsibility for all company legal matters spanned a broad range of activity, from corporate and commercial affairs and labour relations to aboriginal issues and civil litigation.

Sparks is a graduate of UBC, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Law (LLB) degrees, before attending the London School of Economics (University of London) and completing his Master of Laws (LLM) degree in 1985.

UCC President Roger Barnsley, in welcoming Sparks to the campus community, noted that the addition of a University Counsel is yet another sign of the growth and maturity of the institution.

“The university environment today is a multi-million dollar operation that requires legal input on many different initiatives to ensure that we are managing the enterprise in the best interests of our students, employees and the community at large.

“We are very fortunate to have been able to attract an individual with the background and expertise that John Sparks brings to our management team. We are also confident that the addition of a university counsel will prove to be an extremely efficient approach to the ongoing need for legal support.”

John Sparks office will initially be located on the first floor, Clock Tower in the Institutional Research Offices. The Sparks family, which includes his wife and two young daughters, will be making their new home in Kamloops this spring.