728 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2021
to talk a lot about his Corvette, and I wondered if he really had one until he
drove it to a banquet with one of our clients. I did wonder how he ever managed
to get in and out of it, since the seat appeared to be only about six
inches off the ground.
I could go on forever about Gerry’s exotic adventures, but suffice it to say
there were many of them and generally they were successful. I miss Gerry
very much. All of my fondest memories of my years practising law are from
when he was my partner.
Garth M. Evans, Q.C.
William (Bill) R. Miles, Q.C.
A truly remarkable lawyer, former bencher, wonderful
colleague, beloved husband, father and grandfather,
and good friend to many, Bill Miles, Q.C.,
sadly passed away at the end of 2020 from the effects
of Lewy Body Dementia (“LBD”). Bill will be very
much missed by all who came into contact with him.
Bill was born in Vancouver, was raised in Burnaby
and attended UBC, graduating with a commerce degree in 1960 and a law
degree a mere one year later. Bill proceeded to article at what was then Ladner
Downs and soon became a very important driving force in the ongoing
development, growth and success of the firm that later evolved to become
Borden Ladner Gervais (“BLG”).
One could write a book about Bill’s career accomplishments and his
attributes as a lawyer. To summarize a few:
• for a number of decades, he was one of Vancouver’s (and Canada’s)
leading and most highly respected corporate commercial lawyers;
• he had a broad-ranging practice that covered M&A, securities,
banking, major projects and corporate governance;
• he had a deep and varied base of clients who were intensely loyal.
Those clients included blue-chip public companies, family-owned
enterprises, governments, regulatory agencies, entrepreneurs and
others;