Morley Koffman passed away peacefully on June 28th at the age of 85. He was a proud supporter of UBC and its Faculty of Law and served the Vancouver Jewish community in a number of capacities. His philanthropic contributions to UBC and other organizations have had a profound impact.

Morley was a true Vancouverite. He was born on March 11, 1930 at the Vancouver General Hospital, where he died on June 28th. At the age of five, without his parents’ knowledge, he enrolled himself in grade one at Lord Tennyson Elementary School and was asked to leave when the administrators found out he was not yet six years old. He skipped two years of school and graduated from Kitsilano High. Morley received his BA from UBC after three years and graduated from UBC law school in 1952 where he was the youngest in his graduating class. Morley was called to the bar in 1953, shortly after his 23rd birthday.

Morley became named partner at Freeman, Freeman, Silvers and Koffman at age 25. Under his leadership, Freeman and Company (as the firm became known) grew to be an elite business firm. Morley was awarded the prestigious title of Queen’s Counsel in 1986 and his firm, Koffman Kalef LLP, was created in 1993 by a number of the partners of Freeman and Company.

Morley loved practicing law, and worked–even from his hospital bed at many times over the past few years–up until just a few weeks before he died. For over 60 years, he advised prominent clients locally and internationally, including some of the most important entrepreneurs in the history of the Province, as well as the City of Vancouver and the Province of BC. He was consistently referred to as a lawyer’s lawyer. He was renowned for his prodigious work ethic, arriving to the office most mornings before 6:30 a.m. He also served as a director of numerous domestic and foreign corporations, but perhaps what is most remarkable are the number of pro bono acts of assistance he provided during his busy and high profile legal career—almost all of them done quietly and confidentially.

Morley was a loving partner to Myrna, his wife and best friend for 57 years, was adored by his three children for whom he served as sounding board and a role model his entire life, and was deeply loved by his granddaughters who lovingly called him “Morley.” His warm, engaging presence and his always clear-headed counsel will be deeply missed by his family, his partners, his wide circle of friends, and his many, many clients.

The Koffman family has asked that contributions in Morley’s memory be made to the Morley Koffman Bursary at the Allard School of Law, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver or the charity of your choice.

In September 2011, Morley made a gift of $30,000 to the Allard School of Law to endow a bursary for law students who have demonstrated financial need.

Upon establishing the fund, Morley said, “I established this bursary fund to ensure that the best and brightest students have the opportunity to attend and graduate from law school. As a law alumnus, I am grateful for the opportunities that UBC Law has provided me with and am happy to support those who don’t have the financial means to do so.”

Your gift to the Morley Koffman Bursary Fund will honour his memory by supporting the next generation of talented students at the Allard School of Law.