604 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 4 JULY 2022
19 pandemic. Briana continues to be a very competitive equestrian athlete,
winning championships and awards for being the top amateur equestrian
rider in the province of British Columbia in successive years.
After graduating from law school in 2004, Briana clerked for the British
Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster. Among her lengthy and
well-regarded list of judges was her ultimate judicial role model, Justice
Anne MacKenzie. Upon completing her articles, Briana returned to
Kelowna and commenced articles again with David Rush, then at Petraroia
Langford Rush, in November 2005. As one would expect, Briana was no typical
articling student. Her courtroom experience and knowledge of the law
were already well established and extensive. Her work ethic and ambition
to succeed were unmatched.
Briana was called to the bar in March 2006. She not only established herself
as an invaluable junior, but also soon established her own practice and
conducted her own litigation files. Indeed, Briana ran a seven-day trial on a
breach of contract/construction law matter on her own just two months
after her call.
In the summer of 2007, Dave and Ken established Rush Ihas LLP. Briana
joined them as the “founding associate”. Briana was just a one-year call at
the time, and she also had a newborn daughter. In May 2008, as a two-year
call, Briana was invited to become a partner in the firm, a role she readily
accepted. The firm officially became known as Rush Ihas Hardwick LLP in
January 2009, and continues to this day.
While practising at Rush Ihas Hardwick LLP, Briana initially maintained
a blended practice of corporate commercial/civil litigation and family litigation.
However, Briana’s true passion was in the area of family law, and
starting in 2012, she focused exclusively on family law matters. Briana
appeared regularly in the B.C. Supreme Court and the B.C. Court of Appeal.
At the time of her appointment, she was widely recognized as leading counsel
in the province in matrimonial law. She brought to her practice a keen
understanding of both the law and the trial process, the very skills first
instilled in her as a young girl following her father to court.
As they say in the Okanagan, the apple indeed does not fall far from the
tree!
Throughout the progression of Briana’s career, the one constant has been
her husband, Scott. Briana met Scott on her 19th birthday, several months
before she started law school, and they have been together ever since.
Specifically, after enduring law school and her clerkship while living in separate
communities, Briana and Scott were married in September 2005, just
before articles. Three children soon followed. Again of no surprise to those