A local Crown lawyer has been appointed to serve as a provincial court judge, announced the government on Tuesday.
Lynal Doerksen, who has worked as Crown counsel in Cranbrook since 2005, has been appointed to the bench effective Jan. 30, 2017, according to a government release.
Doerksen is one of seven lawyers elevated to judicial positions to address upcoming retirements. The release does not say if Doerksen will sit in Cranbrook provincial court.
To become a judge, interested lawyers must apply and the B.C. Judicial Council, a committee made up of the chief judge, other judges, lawyers and lay people, review the candidates.
The committee recommends potential judicial candidates to the attorney general, with final appointments made through a cabinet order-in-council.
Doerksen has an extensive legal background, including practicing in family, employment, commercial, personal injury and criminal law, appearing at all levels before B.C. and Alberta courts.
He received his law degree from the University of Alberta, serving as crown counsel first in Alberta before coming to B.C. a decade ago.