Chief Justice of New Brunswick – 2018 – present

Chief Justice Marc Richard was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and studied at the Université de Moncton (B.B.A. – 1980, LL.B. – 1983) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.M. – 1984). Admitted to the practice of law in 1985, he worked first as Crown Prosecutor then as litigation counsel in a mid-sized firm. His practice brought him before various administrative tribunals, all levels of the New Brunswick courts, and the Supreme Court of Canada. As a lawyer, Chief Justice Richard served on several national and provincial committees, task forces or advisory groups of the Canadian Bar Association (NB) and the New Brunswick Law Society, and he was elected president of both organizations.

He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2002 and, a year later, a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick. Since then, Chief Justice Richard served on countless judicial committees, including the Canadian Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee and the Judges’ Association’s Conduct Review Committee, eventually becoming Chair of both. He became a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association in 2004 and, in 2015, was the first judge from New Brunswick ever elected as the Association’s President.

He frequently lectures for the Canadian Bar Association (NB), the National Judicial Institute (NJI) of which he is a member of the Board of Directors, the Advocates’ Society, and the Federation of Law Society’s National Criminal Law Program. He has also been involved in several international judicial projects and chaired a Judicial Advisory Committee on International Engagement. He was appointed Chief Justice of New Brunswick on May 1, 2018, and now serves on the Canadian Judicial Council.

Sources: New Brunswick Courts / Research P. Richard