Donald Brenner

Donald I. Brenner (1945[1] – March 12, 2011) was a Canadian judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia from 2000 until he stepped down from the position in 2009.[2] In total Brenner spent more than 20 years as a member of the provincial Supreme Court.[2] The Vancouver Sun called Brenner "the man who was most responsible for reforming the province's top trial bench."[2]

Brenner was born in British Columbia to a World War II veteran and graduated from St. George's School in Vancouver in 1962.[2] He obtained a commercial helicopter pilot's license when he was eighteen years old.[2] He joined Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1966 as a pilot and finished his professional pilot career as a Boeing 737 captain.[2]

Brenner obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia and enrolled in law school in 1967.[2] He received a law degree from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in 1970 and joined the bar in 1971.[2]

In 1999, Brenner became chairman of the Supreme Court of British Columbia's litigation management committee.[2] He also co-founded the B.C. Supreme Court's information technology committee.[2] Under Brenner, who became Chief Justice in 2000, the British Columbia Supreme Court adopted a code of civil rules, the first major change in the court's procedures since the 19th Century.[2] The B.C. Supreme Court is also one of the technological in Canada, as Brenner spearheaded to move to adopt video conferencing, electronic filing systems, and adopt new litigation management systems.[2] Brenner stepped down as Chief Justice in 2009 and was succeeded by Chief Justice Robert Bauman.[2]

Don Brenner died unexpectedly of natural causes on March 12, 2011, at the age of 64.[2] He was survived by his wife, Robin, and two daughters.[2]