Vancouver lawyer Gilbert R Schmitt, QC was awarded the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch’s highest award at the November 1998 Bench and Bar dinner.

In nominating Mr. Schmitt for the Georges A. Goyer, QC Memorial Award for Distinguished Service, colleagues recounted his 52 years of academic contributions as a teacher of law at both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia; his prolific contributions to legal writing and jurisprudence; his Canadian Bar Association involvement at both the provincial and national levels; his service on the BC Attorney General’s Committee to revise the Supreme Court Rules (1974-76); his service as a Bencher of the Law Society (1974-77); and his contributions as a private bar lawyer from more than 50 years.

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