Lois J. MacLean, K.C.

Lois graduated from the U of A Faculty of Law in 1981 and was called to the Bar in 1982. Her early years were spent with the firm of Chapman Finlay Macpherson and Gawne, where she was fortunate to work with, and learn from, David Finlay, K.C. and G. Brent Gawne.

Lois was in private practice until 1994, including work in the areas of administrative law, civil litigation, criminal defence, and family law. She then joined the staff of the Law Society of Alberta as a Complaints Officer where she was part of the team that developed the Law Society's complaint resolution process. Lois joined de Villars Jones in 1998, where her practice focused on wills and estates, mediation, and professional discipline.

Lois was appointed as Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel) in 2020.

In 2021 she joined Rand Law where she continues to focus primarily on wills and estates, including estate planning, estate administration, and litigation. Because she has practiced in estate law for many decades, she is often asked by other estate lawyers to assist with mediation or other ADR processes where family members are in conflict. She is passionate about helping clients navigate the many challenges of estates including managing blended families, capacity and health issues, and the on-going inter-generational wealth transfer.

Lois was a member of the Surrogate Reform Committee which was tasked with the reform and update of the Surrogate Court processes in 2020. The work of the Committee was recognized by the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Alberta with a Distinguished Service Award in 2024.

She was a member of the Organizing Committee for the 2022 Banff LESA Refresher on wills and estates.

She has chaired or been a panelist on many LESA seminars and webinars, and was an instructor or evaluator for the Bar Admission course (subsequently CPLED/PREP) for decades. She has written a number of papers on estate topics for LESA and other organizations.

Lois has been an active community volunteer, serving on the Board of Directors of the Canterbury Foundation, and was the Vice Chancellor and then Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton for over a decade.