McLachlin, Beverley M, 1943- : Beverley McLachlin was born 7 September 1943 in Pincher Creek, Alberta. She attended the University of Alberta, where she received a B.A. (Honours) in Philosophy in 1965. In 1968, she received both an M.A. in Philosophy and an LL.B. She was called to the Alberta Bar in 1969 and to the British Columbia Bar in 1971. She first joined the Edmonton firm of Wood, Moir, Hyde & Ross in 1969. In 1971, she joined the firm of Thomas, Herdy, Mitchell & Co. after moving to Fort St. John in British Columbia. From 1972 until 1975, she practiced law at the firm of Bull Houser Tupper in Vancouver. McLachlin was also a tenured Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law the University of British Columbia from 1974 to 1981.
In April 1981, McLachlin was appointed to the Vancouver County Court. In September 1981, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Four years later, she was elevated to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, where she was the first female justice. In 1988, she became the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
After serving as the Chief Justice for seven months, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed McLachlin to the Supreme Court of Canada, in April 1989. She was the third woman appointed to the Court after Bertha Wilson and Claire L'Heureux-Dubé. After eleven years on the court, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed McLachlin as the 17th Chief Justice on 7 January 2000. She was the first female chief justice of a Commonwealth high court. She is also the longest serving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Upon being sworn in to the Supreme Court of Canada, she also became a Deputy Governor General of Canada together with the other justices of the Supreme Court.
She was the Chairperson of the Canadian Judicial Council, Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, and Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute. She is a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.
Beverley McLachlin retired from the Court on 15 December 2017.
