Vanessa Friesen, B.Music, J.D.
Vanessa Friesen (she/her) is a lawyer in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While Vanessa is a white settler Canadian, she was raised to respect all people of all backgrounds and is pleased to have the opportunity to learn about the various Indigenous peoples and cultures in Canada.
Before she became a lawyer, Vanessa completed a Bachelor of Music at Canadian Mennonite University and a Juris Doctor at the University of Manitoba. In law school she completed five courses in Indigenous issues, learning about the treaties, the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous peoples, and the wide range of different Indigenous cultures across Canada.
Vanessa earned her way through university by spending five summers tree planting in BC and Alberta in between school years. She completed her articles in the Okanagan region of BC, then moved back to her hometown of Winnipeg. Vanessa was called to the Bar of Manitoba in 2020.
Vanessa’s experience as a lawyer is primarily in employment law and wills and estates, with some practice in landlord-tenant law and general civil litigation. In Nunavut, she has represented clients before the Nunavut Court of Justice and Nunavut Rental Office. In Manitoba, she has represented clients in the Court of King’s Bench, Small Claims Court, Manitoba Labour Board, Human Rights Commission, Employment Standards Branch, Residential Tenancies Branch, and Residential Tenancies Commission.
While she will go to Court when necessary, Vanessa prefers to assist clients without going to Court, for example through negotiation and mediation. She prefers resolving disputes through negotiation and mediation as these means are often less stressful, less expensive, and much faster than going to Court. She is also glad to assist clients by drafting employment contracts and policies, reviewing severance packages, drafting wills, and assisting clients with administering estates. Vanessa believes that the best practice as a lawyer is to ensure that documents and processes are done properly from the start to save clients the expense and stress of litigation later on.
