THE ADVOCATE 337
VOL. 78 PART 3 MAY 2020
helps women and girls in B.C. gain the confidence and skills necessary to
reach their leadership goals (board of directors, 2017–present). Nicole’s
efforts have also focused on the need for greater inclusion and diversity in
law firms, including her involvement in the Law Firm Diversity & Inclusion
Network, Vancouver Chapter (law firm leaders sharing resources for supporting
and promoting diversity) as well as previously chairing Miller
Thomson’s national Inclusion and Diversity committee.
Nicole served as the managing partner of Miller Thomson’s Vancouver
office and a member of the firm’s national Executive Committee for 2019.
When asked to take on the role, Nicole was able to put her leadership skills
to work for the betterment of the firm, even though it brought with it a significant
increase in her workload as well as frequent travel. The work was
challenging, and Nicole found it deeply satisfying to see her efforts to effect
change come to fruition on a larger scale. Miller Thomson partner Sandra
Enticknap, Q.C., says that in that role, Nicole “made a significant positive
difference for the Vancouver office”, was “consistently consultative and
thoughtful in her approach” and “sought to make the firm a ‘people place’.”
It is perhaps gauche, or even inappropriate, to mention things like attire
when profiling a woman lawyer, but frankly, a profile of Nicole would not
be complete without mentioning her exceptional elegance and class. The
spaces she creates for herself (even in Miller Thomson’s open-concept
office) reflect her appreciation of nature, clean lines and rich colours. Her
taste in art (contemporary), music (classical), clothing (finely cut, luxurious
fabrics) and food (her expertly prepared Italian dishes from carefully
tweaked old family recipes) is as notable as her professional accomplishments
and is undoubtedly part of the reason the people in her sphere revere
her.
Nicole is a devoted mother to two grown sons, Nicholas and Alex, of
whom she is extremely proud. Nicole gives significant credit to her husband,
Kieran, for his unwavering support in her journey from Trail to Vancouver,
and from in-house counsel to managing partner at a national law
firm. For the first five years of their marriage, they lived in separate cities
so she could be fully present for her kids during their formative teenage
years. Now, Nicole and her husband live in downtown Vancouver (an easy
walk from work) but spend as much time as they can (which is never as
much as they would like) at their cottage on Pender Island. There, Nicole
spends hours in her vegetable and flower gardens, getting back to her early
passion of digging in the dirt. So far, nothing of archaeological significance
has been found.