Randy Brant: 25 Years in Law

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Randy Brant’s call to the Bar. Randy joined what was then, Smith Smith Gazzola Sansom and Holub as an articling student in 1990. Randy is a valuable member of our firm as a partner and head of the Family Law group. Through his dedication and leadership, Randy has been instrumental in building the firm’s Family Law practice, making it one of the largest in the Tri City area.

When asked to describe her colleague, Diana Piccoli says this: “His greatest strength, in my opinion, is his tenacity – he will fight hard for his clients but also strives to have them make reasonable and practical decisions. He loves the courtroom and loves being a lawyer. According to him, he would continue practicing law even if he won the lottery. He is also very dedicated and cares about his clients and the lawyers in his firm. Randy is a great mentor and loves helping the young lawyers learn.”

To celebrate this important milestone, we also asked Randy a few questions to reflect back on his career and what he continues to strive for today:

Randy Brant: What I enjoy the most are all the people aspects of law – I love dealing with people. My clients bring difficult situations to me and I like the feeling of helping them and problem solving. I also like negotiating and going to Court because I have always enjoyed advocacy and debating.

Q: Tell us about your first client or big case.

RB: My first superior court trial in family law was a very interesting case involving a client whose husband was not being truthful about his level of income. I believed that there was an injustice going on and he was trying to take advantage of her. That is kind of case that I really enjoy – righting a wrong –that makes me excited to go to Court.

RB: First of all, it is always my desire to settle matters. That hasn’t changed, but sometimes, matters won’t settle with the parties and their lawyers alone. It used to be the case that the parties had no choice but to go to Court but there has been a huge growth in alternatives to Court, primarily, mediation and arbitration.

Increasingly, I utilize mediation to assist clients in resolving difficult matters. I do this in two ways. First of all, I act as an advocate in a mediation process wherein my clients and myself attend a mediation along with the opposing party and their lawyer. I have also trained as a mediator and can offer my services to meet with either individuals alone or with their lawyer to assist in resolving disputes.

RB: I am most proud of the number of people that I have helped get through a difficult time. When clients come to me, they’re upset and they’re often in crisis. They are feeling worried, scared and all these other negative emotions. But when you finish a process, whether it was negotiated or went to trial – invariably, you have a different person at the end. They are in a much happier place and you’ve played a part in that.

RB: Do what you like in law because if you are enjoying what you are doing, you will do a better job.