President & Executive

The President is the face of the Alberta Branch. As its spokesperson and members’ advocate, the President is responsible for key relationships within the organization and with other branches, the National office, Council, the Board of Directors, the Executive Officers, legal groups in Alberta and nationally, the public and the media.

We are proud to present the biographies of our 2022-23 President and our Executive Officers. 

Amanda Lindberg

Amanda Lindberg

President

Bruyer & Mackay LLP
780 425 9777
Contact by email

Amanda has practiced law since being called to the bar in 2007. She completed all of her post secondary education at the University of Alberta, having completed a BSc in 1999, a BA in 2003 and an LLB in 2006.

Amanda’s primary practice area is family law and has previously practiced in a wide variety of litigation matters including construction, corporate, employment, and personal injury matters. She also has experience with estate and real estate litigation.  Amanda has experience all three levels of court and has trial experience in Provincial Court of Alberta and Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

Amanda joined the Canadian Bar Association as a first-year law student and has served in a variety roles including Co-Chair of the Civil Litigation section, Co-Chair of Edmonton Law Day, Provincial Law Day Chair and Co-Section Coordinator for Alberta North Sections and member of Council.

When not practicing the law, Amanda spends her time teaching various modules to articling students and sitting as Chair for a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting children and families of marginalized families in the greater Edmonton area.

In her down time, Amanda is an avid camper and loves a good road trip, along with backyard fires, good food, great wine and the company of her friends and family.

Kyle Kawanami

Kyle Kawanami

Treasurer

Emery Jamieson LLP
780 426 5220
Contact by email

Kyle Kawanami is a partner at Emery Jamieson LLP in Edmonton where he primarily practices in civil litigation and creditors’ remedies. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law where he received his LL.B. with distinction in 2006 and was called to the Alberta Bar in 2007.

Kyle first joined the CBA as a law student in 2003 and has been an engaged member ever since. An active Section member, Kyle has served as an executive member for several north Sections including Junior Lawyers (2007-08) and Creditor & Debtor Law (2008-13). He then went on to the role of North Section Coordinator in 2017-18. Apart from Sections, Kyle has also volunteered for the Edmonton Law Day Committee and the Engagement Task Force. Then in 2019, Kyle was elected to serve as one of the initial members of the CBA Alberta Board of Directors.

Kyle is active within the legal community in Alberta, having served on the Law Society of Alberta Retention and Engagement Task Force, volunteering as a coach for the University of Alberta Court of Appeal Civil Moot team, and presenting a numerous seminars delivered by the Legal Education Society of Alberta, the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association and more.

Outside of his legal practice, Kyle is also active in Edmonton’s arts community, having served on the board of directors for the Workshop West Playwrights Theater from 2009 – 2015.  Kyle is also an avid sports fan, and a keen supporter of the Edmonton Elks and Edmonton Oilers.

Robert D.L. Bassett

Robert D.L. Bassett

Secretary

Alberta Justice & Solicitor General
Alberta Crown Prosecution Service
403.297.8444
Contact by email

Rob is a member of the Alberta Bar (2000) and the British Columbia Bar (2005). He is a career Crown Prosecutor with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General in Calgary, specializing in domestic violence, early case resolution and youth criminal justice. Rob also trained with, and was seconded to for three years, the Alberta Public Service Commission as an Indigenous Awareness co-facilitator and trainer, proudly partnering as an ally with Indigenous colleagues, Elders and Knowledge Keepers. For several years, Rob has also been volunteering as Calgary Program Leader and Lead Instructor for Level Justice, a Canadian charitable organization for Indigenous youth outreach and justice education. In 2023, Rob was honoured to begin his new assignment of prosecuting in Calgary Indigenous Court.

While studying at UCalgary Law, Rob co-chaired the CBA Alberta Law Students Section (South) for three years. During articling, he was a member of the CBA Alberta Public Education Committee, with a mandate to improve education and access for self-represented litigants in the Provincial Court Civil Division. Rob next co-chaired the CBA Alberta Criminal Justice Section (South) with an emphasis on continuing education and membership retention. He was later elected to the CBA Alberta Council for three years, with a focus on developing a new governance framework. More recently, Rob co-chaired the CBA Alberta Access to Justice Committee and sat on the My Justice Skills Working Group, advancing public understanding of the judicial system through branch initiatives and early legal education in Alberta schools, respectively.

Rob has held faculty positions at UCalgary Law and SAIT, as a sessional instructor in clinical theory and trial advocacy, as well as criminal law, respectively. He is also the Board Chair and a long-term volunteer at Student Legal Assistance at UCalgary Law, and was recently appointed as an inaugural member of the Dean's Community Council. Rob is also an appointed Program Advisory Committee Member at SAIT, for a three year term. Rob was a volunteer adjudicator of Interviewing, Negotiating and Advocacy with CPLED for several years; and is a guest speaker for CBA Alberta, UCalgary Law and LESA on prosecutions and ethics. Rob is a passionate mentor to law students and young lawyers within his office, with the CBA Alberta Mentoring Program, and with the Law Society of Alberta Mentor Express Program.

Rob is a member of The Glencoe Club, where he enjoys exercising and spending time with his family, friends and colleagues.

In 2022, Rob was nominated for The Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) for outstanding contributions to serve Alberta, the community and the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General.

Bianca Kratt, K.C.

Bianca Kratt, K.C.

Past President

Parlee McLaws LLP
403 294 7014
Contact by email

Born and raised in Quebec City, Bianca has been practicing law, in both English and French, since 2002. She is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and the Barreau du Québec. She is also a member of the Huron-Wendat Nation.

Bianca is a Partner and serves as Practice Group Leader of the Corporate, Commercial, Banking and Finance group at Parlee McLaws LLP in Calgary. There, she provides legal advice to a broad range of institutional and corporate clients on commercial matters, including sales, leasing, development, and acquisition of real estate, business and shares.  At her firm, Bianca is an engaging and supportive mentor to the students, associates and junior partners with a view to helping to enhance their ongoing professional development and legal excellence.

Bianca has been a member of the Canadian Bar Association since her time as a law student, and before joining the Executive Committee was active in Section leadership and served as chair of the Membership Committee. She is also active elsewhere in the legal community, delivering presentations for the Legal Education Society of Alberta and the International Council of Shopping Centres, and volunteering with the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta, and the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, where she works to empower women in leadership roles in the legal profession.

Maureen Armitage

Maureen Armitage

Executive Director

Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch
403 263 3707
Contact by email

Maureen Armitage has extensive experience in association management and organizational transformation. She is a former general manager of Canadian Angus Association, where she assisted in the transition of the board to policy governance, was involved in the development of strategic plans, and the setting and achievement of operational objectives. Maureen was also the manager of student and academic services in the faculty of education at University of Calgary, where she was involved in a structural re-organization of the faculty in 2009. As the first Executive Director of Canadian Heavy Oil Association, Maureen guided that organization’s transition and development under a policy governance model.

With a degree in public administration from Carleton University in Ottawa, Maureen has also completed Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education courses in Governance as Leadership and Leadership Decision-Making, and is a past participant of the Rotary International Group Study Exchange Program to Peru.