BarTalk August 2004
Volume 16, Number 4

Vancouver Lawyers Roll Up Their Sleeves To Help Save Lives

For the past seven years during the month of May, members of Vancouver's legal community have participated in a friendly blood donor challenge. While helping to save lives, these firms also compete for two awards: one for the most total donations and one for the highest staff participation rate.

Sixteen organizations participated this year resulting in an impressive 174 donations. Farris won their fifth straight award for most donations and Whitelaw Twining came out on top with a 17.6 per cent participation rate. On behalf of B.C. hospital patients, Canadian Blood Services thanks all participants and wishes them good luck next year!

Participating firms in order of donations raised:

• Farris

• Fasken Martineau LLP

• Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang

• Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP

• Department of Justice

• Davis & Company

• Lawson Lundell

• Stikeman Elliott LLP

• Clark, Wilson

• Whitelaw Twining

• Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

• Miller Thomson LLP

• Koffman Kalef

• Edwards, Kenny & Bray

• Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

• Bull, Housser & Tupper

Lawyers Advance Access To Justice Through Legal Aid Programs

Lawyers across B.C. play a central role in the ongoing efforts to achieve access to justice for people with low incomes. For instance, more than 1,000 members of the private bar continue to represent legal aid clients, despite tariffs that are well below standard legal rates. When people find themselves in need of emergency advice on criminal matters, duty counsel in the courts and lawyers on the Brydges line are there to help them through the initial stages of the legal process.

The 241 private bar and LSS staff lawyers participating in the family duty counsel and advice lawyer pilot projects help people who do not qualify for legal aid, yet cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, to resolve their family problems in a timely and effective manner. LSS lawyers on the LawLINE pilot project provide brief legal advice services to help those who cannot access alternative resources deal with a wide range of legal issues.

LSS is grateful to these and the many other lawyers who devote their time and energy to the cause of justice for all. For further information visit www.lss.bc.ca.

CBA International Group Gets Noticed Abroad

A world away from local courthouses, B.C. lawyers are getting noticed for a positive reason. Thanks to the generosity of lawyers, judges, firms and libraries, used legal texts are given a second life, on the shelves of legal clinics and advocacy centres in the developing world. The texts make the long trip – most go to public legal clinics in sub-Saharan Africa – thanks to the CBABC’s International Assistance Committee (IAC).

The IAC holds regular meetings in Vancouver, where speakers describe their legal work internationally, in countries ranging from Guatemala and Kosovo to Sierra Leone, Namibia and Rwanda.

The work of the IAC will go on – Provincial Council recently voted to make the IAC a standing committee, giving it a permanent existence. (The vote also changed the group’s name; it was previously known as the International Resources Network Committee.)

For more information on the IAC or to join (it’s free), contact co-chair Cheryl Tobias (Cheryl.Tobias@justice.gc.ca), Monique Pongracic-Speier (Monique@schroeder.bc.ca) or Brock Martland (bmartland@smartwilliams.com).

Lawyer Contributions Vital to LEAF

During its 19 year history, West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) has built an extensive body expertise in the area of women’s equality rights and the law. This is thanks to the many lawyers who have contributed their time and knowledge on a variety of issues.

As a non-profit organization, LEAF relies on the participation of volunteers to carry out its mandate of public legal education in schools and community, advocating for changes to laws that adversely impact women, and to conduct test case litigation.

Law students and lawyers have assisted LEAF with these and many other tasks over the years. With their help, LEAF has supported National LEAF in the presentation of over 110 cases before the SCC, many of which have had significant affect in advancing the equality rights women and other marginalized groups in Canada.

Lawyers conduct research, develop briefs for government, prepare case proposals and legal arguments, contribute to public legal education materials, participate on committees, board of directors, and more.

LEAF greatly appreciates the hard work and dedication of the many lawyers who have contributed to its work. Lawyers help LEAF to be a voice for those who have none.

Prince George Bar Hosts Community Open House

The Prince George bar held a belated Law Week celebration on May 26 with an open house at the courthouse. The community event included a mock trial, information booths and tours of the courthouse and cells. The jury, a Grade 4/5 class from Austin Elementary, carefully considered the evidence and delivered a verdict of not guilty.

Event organizers would like to thank the representatives from the RCMP, Victim Services, the Law Courts Education Society of B.C. and members of the judiciary, Prince George bar, court registry, and sheriff’s department for helping make this Law Week event a great success.

Rolf Weddigen, QC Honored For His Pro Bono Work

The Salvation Army’s Pro Bono Lawyer Consultation Program has named Rolf Weddigen, QC as its “Lawyer Volunteer of the Year.” Mr. Weddigen, of Singleton Urquhart, began volunteering with the program in 1998. “Those less fortunate have been the prime beneficiaries of the immense dedication that Mr. Weddigen has shown. It is both a privilege and an honor to have Mr. Weddigen volunteering with our program,” said John Pavey of the Salvation Army.

These articles were published in the August 2004 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2004, all rights reserved.