During a legal career that spanned six decades, the Honourable Thomas Dohm served with distinction as one of British Columbia’s foremost defense counsels, as a Prosecutor and Magistrate for the City of Vancouver, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court of BC. His integrity as a criminal lawyer and an even-handed judge served as a powerful role model for others striving to achieve excellence in the legal profession.
Mr. Dohm devoted much of his time to volunteer service. He took an active and varied leadership in the community, as a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, director of the Vancouver Civic Non-Partisan Association, co-chair of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, and Honorary President of the Confratallenza Italo-Canadese Association. He served as President of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, and spent 13 years as chair and member of St. Vincent’s Hospital Board of Directors, and eight years as chair and member of the Board of Governors of UBC.
Mr. Dohm was a generous benefactor to many associations in the province. He established several scholarships and bursaries at Capilano College, the University of BC, and the University of Victoria, including a scholarship for Aboriginal law students, and a bursary for disabled students.
Thomas Dohm was appointed to Queen’s Counsel in 1972. He received the Canadian Centennial Medal, the Humanitarian Award for outstanding service from the BC Lions Society for Crippled Children, and an Honourary Doctor of Laws from UBC. Mr. Dohm was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1998.