Celia holds a JD from the University of Victoria and a double honours BA in Classics and Theatre Studies from McGill University. In 2022, Celia was awarded the Law Foundation of BC Public Interest Award for her work in promoting access to justice. In 2023, Celia joined Kitsilano Family Law as an associate.

Celia is well versed in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, helping clients achieve success through court hearings and mediated agreements. Outside of international and interjurisdictional law, her particular areas of interest include cooperative family law and LGBT+ family law. Although her strong preference is to assist clients in finding amicable resolutions outside of court, Celia has experience representing clients at the Provincial Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

During her articles, Celia practiced mental health law and human rights law with the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS). She is passionate about expanding and protecting the rights of individuals detained under the Mental Health Act, and she remains a member of the CLAS Mental Health Law Program’s ad hoc roster, representing clients challenging their certification before the BC Mental Health Review Board.  

Before attending law school, Celia’s background was in theatre. She is the founder and artistic director of Empress of Blandings Productions, and the creator of the acclaimed mystery podcast Hardboiled. She is the vice president of Glitch Theatre, a Vancouver theatre company that creates disability-led works. She is also a regular ensemble member of the Leaping Thespians and the Lawyer Show fundraiser for Touchstone Theatre.

When not theatre-ing or lawyer-ing, Celia can be found patronizing her local library, attempting to play the harp, and making people look at pictures of her handsome cat, Silas Marner.

Associations/Certifications

• Law Society of BC

• BC Family Unbundled Services – Roster Member

• TLABC

Publications/Awards

• Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues.

• Human Rights Law Conference (CLEBC) - 2022

• Confronting Sanism: From Legal Education to Legal Action (UBC) - 2022

• Critical Legal Conference (University of Edinburgh) - 2021

• The Law Foundation of BC Public Interest Award – promoting Access to Justice

Published Cases

• Pecjo v Pecjo, BCSC 2025

  Successfully argued for children who had been abducted from England to be returned home under the Hague Convention.

• Jalili v Bakhshizad, 2024 BCSC 912

  Successfully argued for a child who had been abducted to be returned home under the Hague Convention.

• Sandoval v Plascencia, BCSC 2023

  As junior counsel, assisted in successfully arguing for a child who had been abducted from Mexico to be returned home under the Hague Convention.

• Smart v 336688 Holdings Ltd., 2023 BCSC 1271

  Succeeded in overturning a decision of the Residential Tenancy Board which had upheld a wrongful eviction.