FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 30, 2007

VANCOUVER - Lawyer Jack Giles, QC, will receive one of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch’s highest honours, the Georges A. Goyer, QC Memorial Award. The Award will be presented to Mr. Giles at the 2007 Bench and Bar Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver on November 14, 2007.

The Goyer Award was created in 1992 to recognize exceptional contributions to the legal profession, to jurisprudence or to the law in British Columbia. The award was established in memory of Georges A. Goyer, QC, a respected member of the BC Branch who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

Mr. Giles, of the Vancouver firm Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, was nominated for this honour by numerous distinguished judges and lawyers who applauded “the excellence of his briefs and his absolute honesty and integrity in all respects.” They acknowledged his contributions to legal education in British Columbia and beyond, and his unflagging support for the highest professional and ethical standards. In addition to recognizing the extent of his contributions, Mr. Giles's nominators specifically noted his extensive efforts to maintain the independence of the Bar.

CBABC President F. Kenneth Walton, who chaired the selection committee, said “One of Mr. Giles' most satisfying achievements was his work in obtaining an injunction against the operation of federal money laundering legislation which as a by product required lawyers to breach solicitor/client confidentiality including reporting on a client’s activities. Such legislation, had it been allowed to remain, would have had serious negative consequences to the independence of the Bar. This work alone should be greatly applauded by members of our profession and by the public.”

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For further information: please contact:

Jesse Tarbotton
Communications Coordinator - BarTalk Senior Editor
Tel: 604-646-7856
E-mail: jtarbotton@bccba.org