Our executive

Legal Aid BC's board of directors appoints a chief executive officer (CEO) to administer the organization's business. We are managed by an Executive Management Committee (EMC) made up of the CEO and executives.

As required by the Public Sector Employers Act, Legal Aid BC discloses executive compensation annually: 2022/23 Statement of Executive Compensation.

Michael Bryant

Michael J. Bryant, CEO

Michael Bryant has returned to his home province to become CEO of Legal Aid BC after working in Ontario as a lawyer, Attorney General of Ontario and as that province’s Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. More recently, Michael was the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Michael’s criminal law practice included doing legal aid work as duty counsel in some of Ontario’s busiest courts. In addition to his commitment to public service, he has appeared before all levels of Canadian courts, working as a negotiator for First Nations and doing legal work at leading global law firms in New York, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 2019, he was included in Canadian Lawyer’s “Top 25” most influential lawyers in Canada.

Michael holds a BA and MA from UBC, a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School and an LLM from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and Ontario.

Rhaea Bailey

Rhaea Bailey

Vice President, Legal Strategy
Read bio

Rhaea Bailey is an Indigenous lawyer with over ten years of experience advancing access to justice through legal service delivery and is a graduate of UBC Law. She is a collaborative, agile, change leader with a passion for developing and implementing strategies that have a lasting impact. 

Rhaea is skilled at developing a clear vision, making timely decisions, and aligning resources to achieve the objectives set. She successfully led and supported several strategic initiatives at LABC prior to accepting this role, including the creation of our Reconciliation Action Plan. She was also significantly involved in the development of our vision, mission, core beliefs and priorities for 2023-2028 and has worked closely with the Executive team and Board of Directors to provide support on advancing organizational priorities.

As the Vice President of Legal Strategy, she leads the Legal Strategy Division, which is primarily responsible for supporting LABC to identify, set and achieve its strategic objectives.

Headshot Salman Azam

Salman Azam

Vice President, Legal Operations & Chief Operating Officer
Read bio

Salman has decades of senior leadership experience in business planning, technology, finance, corporate services, human resources, and labour relations. He joined Legal Aid BC in 2021, first as our VP of corporate services and public relations, before transitioning to his current role in 2023.

As the lead of the Legal Operations Division, he is primarily responsible for the delivery of Intake and Referral Services, Parents Legal Centres, Lawyer Services, and Family Law Advice Services. Prior to joining us, he held several assistant deputy minister positions in the provincial government with a reputation for creative problem solving, sound fiscal management, excellent team building, and collaborations that supported cross-sector solutions.

In addition to specialized leadership roles, Salman spent several years as the chief operating officer for the Independent Investigations Office of BC, where he was responsible for finance, human resources, information technology, public engagement, policy, training, and project management.

Steve Veinot

Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer
Read bio

Steve Veinot is an experienced leader specializing in finance, operational oversight, and supply chain management. At Legal Aid BC, he is responsible for our budget, financial and statistical reporting, procurement, and asset management.

He leads a team of human resource professionals that manage the recruitment, compensation, performance, and training programs for staff. Steve also manages an information technology department that oversees both network and business applications. He additionally provides support for internal and external communications, and social media as well as various corporate websites.

Prior to joining us, he was the Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contract Management at TransLink.