Shanna Gu is an associate lawyer at Narwal Litigation LLP.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Gu articled for a top criminal defence lawyer in downtown Toronto, where she gained invaluable knowledge of the criminal practice and procedure. During this time, she worked with lead counsel on a variety of cases ranging from impaired driving and sexual assault to international fraud and large-scale organized crime, at both the trial and appellate level.
Ms. Gu earned her Juris Doctorate (JD) from the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. During law school, Ms. Gu gained experience in criminal defense and civil litigation from volunteering with the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program. She also worked as a student clinician with the Rise Women’s Legal Centre (“Rise”), where she advocated for marginalized women undergoing family law disputes. While at Rise, Ms. Gu saw a dire need for multilingual legal services in immigrant communities. After her clinical term ended, Ms. Gu pioneered the innovative Rise Language Support Program, connecting language minority clients with volunteer interpreters and bridging the gap between different cultures in the legal context.
Prior to attending law school, Ms. Gu graduated from the University of Toronto with an honours degree in Neuroscience and a double minor in American Studies and Music History and Culture.
Ms. Gu is licensed to practice in both British Columbia and Ontario. She is fluent in Mandarin and understands the importance of a culturally competent lawyer.
She is a member of the Women’s Committee of the Criminal Lawyers Association, the Vancouver Bar Association, Federation for Asian Canadian Lawyers, and Trial Lawyers Association of BC.