Meet our team

Chris Heslinga

Director of the Law Centre Clinical Legal Education Program

Chris Heslinga has 8 years of experience with the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Law Students’ Legal Advice Program where he supervised all civil files handled by LSLAP students. From 2016-2023, he taught the “LSLAP for Credit”/Law 491 course. He also has experience working at UBC’s Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (downtown), where he was a supervising lawyer from August 2019 – April 2022, and Acting Academic Director for two semesters in 2021. Since 2017 he has been on the Community Legal Assistance Society’s roster of lawyers who represent clients detained against their will at Mental Health Review Board hearings.

He has been a member of UBC Law’s Indigenous Legal Studies Committee and is currently serving as the Vice-President of the Association of Canadian Clinical Legal Educators, and will be its incoming President. He has volunteered with the provincial Access Pro Bono Society as a lawyer and a supervising lawyer for law students as a lawyer with the Mental Health Law Program Telephone Clinic (2017-19); as a lawyer/supervising lawyer with its Mental Health Law Program (2014-17); and as a supervising lawyer with its Family Law Project. He has also provided advocate training at the Law Foundation of British Columbia’s Annual Advocate Training Conference.

He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law (JD 2012), and has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours, Social Science, 2009) from the University of Western Ontario.

Tybring Hemphill

Clinical Instructor

Tybring Hemphill is a Clinical Instructor in the Law Centre Student Clinic Program. He obtained his BSc in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Toronto in 1987. After a few years of real work he again sought refuge and solace in learning, choosing to attend the Law School at UVIC. He graduated in 1992 and was called to the Bar of B.C. the subsequent year. He has practiced, and continues to practice when not working at the Clinic, at the firm of McKimm & Lott in Sidney primarily in the area of Criminal Defence. Tybring joined the faculty in July 2000. He assists students with the preparation of trials, hearings and other matters, regularly attends Court with the students and is happily almost always able to give positive feedback.

Susan Noakes

Staff Social Worker with the Law Centre.

Susan Noakes is the staff social worker with the Law Centre. She graduated from the University of Victoria in 1985 with her BA (Hons.) in Sociology and later returned to UVic to complete her BSW (1990) and MSW (2002). She has been a registered social worker with the British Columbia College of Social Workers since 2004. She has had many roles with the Law Centre: social work practicum student; board member, paralegal and has been the staff social worker since 2008.

Her professional background includes child protection, legal advocacy with the Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS) and guardianship social work with Ministry of Children and Family Development/CLBC. Her community work includes 14 years as a board member of TAPS and 4 years as an elected board member to the British Columbia College of Social Workers. She has been a sessional instructor with the School of Social Work at UVic since 2010. Susan’s role in The Law Centre is to provide social work services to clients as well as to educate law students about working in an interdisciplinary setting.

Claire McOuat

Family Law Lawyer at the Law Centre.

Claire McOuat is the Family Law Lawyer with the Family Law Advocate Program at the Law Centre. She works directly with clients on matters such as guardianship and parenting arrangements, child and spousal support, separation and divorce, and emergency protection orders—helping people navigate difficult situations with clarity and compassion. She graduated from UBC in 2020 with a major in philosophy and received her JD from UVIC in 2023. She first came to The Law Centre as a student and fell so in love with the program that she never left! She completed her articles at The Law Centre and then moved into her role as the family lawyer. She has a mini husky who can often be seen around the office in his red tie. She loves mentoring students and getting nerdy about the law, and her office is always open for a chat!

Kyra Benloulou

Supervising Lawyer at the Law Centre.

Kyra Benloulou first came to The Law Centre as a student for a clinical semester in 2015. It was by far her favourite part of law school. She went on to article at The Law Centre and has been involved as a part-time supervising lawyer ever since. Kyra feels extremely lucky to now be a full-time member of The Law Centre team. Her time at The Law Centre has solidified her passion to work to improve access to justice. She is a licensed practicing lawyer and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia. Since she was called to the bar, she has practiced in civil litigation, administrative law, and legal aid criminal defence.

As a clinical instructor, Kyra provides students with guidance on their files, helps them prepare for mediations and court appearances, and tries to balance giving helpful feedback with excitedly cheering them on. She loves working with the students and seeing their progress over the semester as they gain new skills and learn the positive impact they can have for clients from diverse backgrounds.

Kyra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours, Psychology) from the University of Victoria in 2012. She obtained her JD from the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law in 2016.