Michael Mulligan of Victoria named winner of the 2015 CBA SOGIC Ally Award

  • February 20, 2015

Ottawa – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has announced that Michael Mulligan, of Mulligan Tam Pearson in Victoria, has won the 2015 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) Ally Award.

“Michael Mulligan has shown extraordinary support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and two-spirit (LGBTT) community,” says Kael McKenzie of Winnipeg, co-chair of SOGIC. “He is a valued ally of the LGBTT community and a truly deserving winner of this year’s award.”

A tireless advocate, skilled litigator and well-respected member of the legal community in BC, Michael Mulligan is being recognized for his recent efforts in the area of equality in legal education.

Last year, after the BC benchers voted to approve a Faculty of Law at TWU, Michael Mulligan was the principal organizer of special meeting of the BC Bar that overturned the earlier decision. As well, he has publicly advocated for the rights of LGBTT people in conjunction with the issue.

“The vote was an important milestone in realizing equality rights,” his nominators note.

Michael Mulligan practises criminal law at Mulligan Tam Pearson in Victoria, BC. He began his legal career at the University of Victoria, where he obtained a law degree in 1997. He has been an active member of the CBA having served as Chair of the Criminal Justice Section in Victoria, as an elected member of Provincial Council, and on the executive of the CBA’s BC Branch. He has distinguished himself as a highly effective and respected advocate, and has shown his support for access to justice across the country.

The SOGIC Ally award is open to lawyers, professors, law students or retired judges who are not members of the LGBTT communities, who have advanced the cause of equality of the LGBTT communities through either a single important action or series of actions or through a career contribution.

Michael Mulligan will receive the award on Saturday, February 21, at the Fairmont Château Laurier, during the CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council.

The meeting is open to accredited media. Please contact Hannah Bernstein at hannahb@cba.org for accreditation.

The CBA is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.