The CBABC 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 BC. 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.

In November 2001 the CBABC awarded one of its highest honours to BC lawyer Louise Mandell, a leader in Aboriginal law and a longtime mentor and inspiration to graduates of Aboriginal law.

Ms. Mandell was recognized for her contributions to the development of Aboriginal and treaty law in Canada, and for her contributions to the legal profession as a whole, through her contributions to legal education and publishing, and her mentorship and support of women lawyers in Aboriginal law.

As a partner in the law firm Mandell Pinder, Ms. Mandell has exclusively represented the interests of aboriginal clients and has supported the articling of 12 native law students, all of whom were called to the Bar and most of whom returned to their communities to work.

For more than 20 years, Ms. Mandell has contributed to the development and clarification of laws on hunting rights, fishing rights, Indian-Crown relations, land claims and the Constitution. She has also successfully claimed injunctive relief for Aboriginal peoples on a variety of occasions.

Ms. Mandell’s additional contributions have included negotiating political accommodations in disputes between Aboriginal peoples and government, including the Penticton/Apex dispute, the Spallumcheen Indian Band Child Welfare Initiative, and the Tsilhqot’in Nation Memorandum of Understanding with the BC Government.