Vahan Ishkanian
Vahan is an experienced lawyer with more than 40 years of practice in litigation. He served for six years as a Vice Chair at the Workers’ Compensation Review Board (predecessor of WCAT) from 1991 until March 1997, when he returned to private practice and focused on civil litigation and WCB.
As Vice Chair at the Review Board, Vahan decided approximately 1500 appeals, was mentor for new members and participated in several task forces. Since returning to private practice in 1997, he has acted as counsel in over two thousand reviews and appeals and appeared in multiple Judicial Reviews.
Vahan’s focus is WCB law on behalf of workers and plaintiffs. He has also provided expert opinions for court purposes to the Law Society and to Plaintiffs’ counsel. Ishkanian’s expertise in WCB matters led him to act as counsel for the Pro Bono Clinic for WCB referrals until he withdrew in 2020. Vahan will be transitioning from legal practice to a consulting role in June 2025.
Patrick Rippon
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Patrick served as an Infantry Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and deployed on multiple missions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He attended the University of Victoria Faculty of Law from 2015 until 2018, after which he began his articles at a local personal injury law firm.
Patrick has represented numerous workers in front of WorkSafeBC’s Review Division, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, and in Supreme Court in Judicial Reviews of WCAT decisions. He also has experience in front of the Employment Standards Brach, the BC Human Rights Tribunal, and the Social Security Tribunal for CPP Disability appeals, and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB).