Georges A. Goyer, QC Award
Marvin Storrow, QC, partner emeritus at Blake, Cassels and Graydon LLP, is the recipient of one of the CBABC’s, highest honours, the Georges A. Goyer, QC Memorial Award. The Award was presented to Mr. Storrow at the 2008 Bench and Bar Dinner at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver on November 19, 2008. 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 B.C. Branch who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

CBABC President Miriam Maisonville, who chaired the selection committee, said “Marvin Storrow, QC a renowned litigator, is one of the leaders of our profession and exceptionally deserving of this year’s Goyer Award for not just his legal contribution to existing jurisprudence, but his volunteerism for other lawyers. His volunteer activities in their entirety are too numerous to mention but include being a Director and Executive Member of the Educational Endowment for Aboriginal Justice, Committee member of the CBA Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust, Life Bencher of the Law Society of B.C. and past Elected member of the Provincial Council of the Canadian Bar Association. Mr. Storrow is a recognized leader in numerous legal areas particularly Aboriginal law, and “white collar crime” and his contributions are recognized in all Courts from our Provincial Court to the Supreme Court of Canada.”



Marvin Storrow, QC and Miriam Maisonville, President, Canadian Bar Association BC Branch


2008 Fall Launch and Award of Excellence Luncheon
The CBABC Women Lawyers Forum held a Fall Launch and Award of Excellence Luncheon on October 29, 2008 in celebration of its sixth year of successfully promoting the stature and influence of women in the legal profession. The first Award of Excellence was presented to Maria Morellato, QC, in recognition of her many distinguished career achievements and outstanding contributions to women in the legal profession as a change agent, leader and mentor.

We wish to congratulate and honour the nominees for the first CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Award of Excellence: Rosanne Kyle, Miller Thomson LLP; Maria Morellato, QC, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP; Alison Murray, Murray Jamieson; Margaret Ostrowski, QC, Immigration & Refugee Board; Susan Paish, QC, Pharmasave Drugs (National) Ltd.; and Marina Pratchett, QC, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.



Miriam Maisonville, Rosanne Kyle, Marina Pratchett, QC, Alison Murray, Maria Morellato, QC, Anne Chopra and Linda Robertson.


2008 CBA Cecilia I. Johnstone Award
Joan Brockman, a Professor of Criminology at Simon Fraser University, has won the 2008 CBA Cecilia I. Johnstone Award in recognition of her outstanding work to advance the standing and influence of women in the legal profession.

As a legal scholar and educator, Professor Brockman has persuasively argued that law remains a highly gendered field, but one that can be reformed. Her reports to law societies have been instrumental in the development of model workplace policies for law firms, changes to codes of conduct rules relating to sexual harassment, the provision of parental leaves, innovative new workplace accommodation, and revision to professional development in aid of eliminating gender disparities.

“It is impossible to enter a serious discussion about the advancement of women in the legal profession without mentioning Joan Brockman. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership in this area through her scholarship, her policy-related work, and her teaching and mentorship,” said Veronica Jackson, National Chair of the CBA Women Lawyers Forum. “Professor Brockman’s career has directly supported the advancement of women lawyers and encouraged the retention of women lawyers in the profession.”

The Cecilia I. Johnstone Award was established in 2007 to recognize women who have achieved professional excellence in their field and influenced other women to pursue legal careers, supported other women in career advancement or opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them. It is named to honour an outstanding lawyer, judge, CBA President, woman and friend who passed away in the summer of 2006.



Professor Joan Brockman and Kerry Lynne Findlay, QC, Past President, Canadian Bar Association BC Branch

These articles werer published in the December 2008 issue of BarTalk. © 2008 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.