Canadian Lawyers Honoured for Pro Bono Work

for the Poor and Disadvantaged

1 lawyer, 1 pro bono
clinic, and 1 law firm

to receive National Awards

Toronto, November 13, 2006:

The first National Pro Bono awards
will be presented by the Hon. Roy
McMurtry, Chief Justice of Ontario with a keynote address by Ottawa lawyer David
Scott, Q.C. at a special dinner and awards event in Toronto this week.

Vancouver lawyer John-Paul
Boyd, Calgary Legal Guidance,
and McCarthy Tétrault LLP are the three honoured recipients
of the awards that recognize distinguished service in the provision of pro bono
legal services to the poor. Details on each appears below.

These
awards are a national celebration of the dedication and commitment of the many
lawyers who give their time freely to represent those who need, but cannot
afford, legal assistance.

The
awards will be presented as part of the 1st
National Pro Bono Conference: Building Bridges to Justice taking place in Toronto on November 16
and 17.  The conference is hosted by
Pro Bono Law Ontario and Pro Bono Law of British Columbia.  For more information on the conference
and awards, visit www.pblo.org.

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John-Paul Boyd
is a lawyer
practising in Vancouver, British Columbia who was called to the Bar
in 1999.  His nomination for the
award is notable in that many members of the profession and community groups,
such as the Salvation Army, supported his nomination.  Mr. Boyd is involved in a wide variety
of pro bono and access to justice initiatives, and takes a strong leadership
role in these activities.

Calgary Legal Guidance is one of the oldest pro bono programs in Canada,
started over 35 years ago.  During
that time, it has developed a diverse and innovative range of pro bono projects
to address the unmet legal needs of low-income Albertans.  Its infrastructure enables it to
successfully leverage the resources of the private bar, and it is used as a
model for most of the pro bono legal clinics in Alberta.  Calgary Legal Guidance has a solid
reputation for collaboration with community groups and lawyers alike, and has a
proven ability to sustain ongoing successful alliances.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP is a national law firm that has drafted and adopted a
national pro bono policy for its staff, which includes counting pro bono time
as part of a lawyer’s billable time.
It has been a leader in Ontario pro
bono activities, participating in at least seven separate projects organized
through Pro Bono Law Ontario,
among these, three signature firm projects – the Unaccompanied Minors
Project, the Regent Park Redevelopment Initiative and a support project for Artscapes’
Green/Arts Barn Project.  In
addition, the firm supports staff-driven pro bono activities.  So far this year, McCarthys has donated
over $1.2 million in free legal services.