Westside Law: Wills Estate Trust Lawyer Notary Public Vancouver BC

Mark Hicken is a principal of Westside Law Office. He was called to the bar of British Columbia in 1990. He articled at Russell & DuMoulin (now Fasken Martineau) and worked there for quite a few years as an associate in the Wealth Preservation Department. Mark also practised as an associate for a couple of years at Lawson Lundell. Mark is currently Associate Counsel at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers in Vancouver where he practices part-time. To round things off, he is also the Vice-President of Legal Services for Access Legal Systems Inc. which runs the LawOne Lawyers Network. Mark also provides internet marketing and search engine optimization services for lawyers through LawOne and through Canada's leading legal marketing agency, Skunkworks Creative Group.

Mark has well over a decade of experience in all manner of estates and trust law issues as well as with issues related to employment benefits and charities.

Mark was born in England but after his family emigrated to Canada, he attended high school in Vancouver. His post-secondary education includes a history degree from UBC where he graduated with honours and then a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

Mark is passionately interested in great food, wine and travel. He would be pleased to discuss his latest wine discoveries with you or to recommend a great restaurant in San Francisco or Paris.

Mark has published extensively regarding trusts and estates law issues including the following:

• “Variation of Trusts” in Trusts: Effective Uses (Vancouver: Pacific Business & Law Institute, 2006) (with Jane Dardi)
• “Trusts and the Conflicts of Law” in The Conflicts of Law (Vancouver: CLE of BC, 2006) (with Elaine Reynolds)
• Guest Lecturer, University of British Columbia Continuing Education, Internet Marketing Program, 1998-2000
• “The Liability of Trustees and their Legal Protection” in The Benefit Plan Trustee (Vancouver: Pacific Business & Law Institute, 1997) (co-author)
• 1995 Update to the Wills Variation Act chapter of The B.C. Probate & Estate Administration Practice Manual (Vancouver: CLE of BC, 1995) (with Jim Carphin & Jane Dardi)
• “Passive v. Active Trustees and Other Issues Relating to Co-trustees” in Pension Plans: Effective Trusteeship & Management (Vancouver: Pacific Business & Law Institute, 1994) (co-author)
• “Other (Non-Tax Impediments) to Estate Planning”; “Wills Variation Act”; “Extra-Territorial Considerations”; “The Trust”; and “Post-Mortem Contests” in The Practice of Estate Planning (Vancouver: Pacific Business & Law Institute, 1993) (co-author)
• “Trusts and their Uses” in Family Business: Control, Structure and Succession (Vancouver: Pacific Business & Law Institute, 1993) (co-author)
• "Trusts" in The Uses of Trusts (Vancouver: CLE of BC, 1991) (co-author)
• "Specific Uses of Trusts in International Estate Planning" and "Non-Tax Considerations - the Canadian View" in Planning for Clients with Assets in Multiple Jurisdictions (Honolulu: Asia Pacific Institute, 1990) (co-author)
• "Estate Planning" in Financial, Tax and Estate Planning (Vancouver: CLE of BC, 1989) (co-author)