Melissa L. Perry

Senior Associate
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Vancouver
Canada
T:+1 604 641 4980
Vancouver
Canada
T:+1 604 641 4980
Melissa L. Perry

Melissa L. Perry

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Biography

Melissa Perry is an experienced litigator practising primarily in the areas of healthcare and life sciences. She advises and advocates on behalf of healthcare and life science clients – including regional health authorities, hospitals, research institutions and biotechnology companies – in relation to all aspects of the law affecting their operations.

Melissa's areas of specific interest and experience include healthcare risk management, medical assistance in dying and other end-of-life issues, substitute decision making, adult guardianship, community and residential care licensing and enforcement, privacy issues, contracts related to the provision of services, the regulation of healthcare professionals, credentialing, hospital privileges, and related medical staff issues. She also has worked on a number of product liability matters.

Her interest in the intersection between healthcare and the law arose from her background as a frontline healthcare provider. Prior to earning her law degree, Melissa received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of British Columbia, and worked as a registered nurse at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver on a specialized unit for substance dependent women and their newborns. She clerked for the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 2013.

Professional experience

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J.D., University of Windsor, 2014
B.S.N., University of British Columbia, 2007

  • British Columbia 2015
  • British Columbia Court of Appeal
  • British Columbia Supreme Court
  • Provincial Court of British Columbia
  • British Columbia Hospital Appeal Board
  • British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal
  • Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia
  • British Columbia Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board
  • Fasken Martineau LLP Achievement in Contract Law Award, University of Windsor
  • McCarthy Tétrault LLP prize for academic achievement, University of Windsor
  • "Medical Assistance in Dying: the State of the Law in 2019," CLEBC Online Court Materials, October, 2019.
  • "Medical assistance in dying in Canada: One Year Later," Health Law Pulse, April 27, 2017.
  • "Update on Physician-Assisted Dying: The Changing Medical-Legal Landscape,​" Risk Management in Canadian Health Care, Volume 18, Number 2 (April 2016).
  • "A loophole in the law of contracts? The application of the duty to act honestly," Health Law Pulse, March 2, 2016.
  • "Physician-assisted dying Part 3: Finding a balance between autonomy and access," Health Law Pulse, February 19, 2016.
  • "Physician-assisted dying Part 2: Implications for frontline healthcare professionals," Health Law Pulse, February 2, 2016.
  • Law Society of British Columbia
  • Canadian Bar Association; BC Health Law Subsection, Executive, Law and Policy Liaison 
  • Medical Legal Society, treasurer

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