Victoria lawyer awarded highest honour by CBABC

  • November 08, 2017

The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch (CBABC) celebrated an outstanding Victoria lawyer with the 2017 Georges A. Goyer, QC Memorial Award for Distinguished Service.

John Waddell, QC, of Waddell Raponi LLP in Victoria, received the award last night at the annual Bench & Bar Dinner in Vancouver. The award is the highest honour given by CBABC.

John Waddell, QC was called to the bar in Alberta in 1979. His current civil litigation practice emphasizes employment, personal injury, consumer protection, elections, privacy, sport, government and public law. He is one of 35 lawyers in Canada to be awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2003. In addition to dozens of leadership roles across many organizations serving the legal community, Mr. Waddell has also participated on the executive of several other community associations, including the YMCA and YWCA of Vancouver Island, the Government House Foundation of BC and the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust.

CBABC President Bill Veenstra presented the award. “As shown through his exemplary work, John Waddell is an extraordinary contributor within the legal profession and the community,” said Mr. Veenstra. “He embraces the value of listening to people, practicing with compassion and giving back to his community. It is indeed a privilege to shine a spotlight on Mr. Waddell for his contributions.”

As one of many nominators of Mr. Waddell, The Honourable Ted Hughes recalled, “John and I arrived in British Columbia the same year – both from the prairies. Throughout that time, I have watched John Waddell earn the loyalty, trust and respect of his professional colleagues. His service has been a model for the newly admitted to follow. He is in every sense, a lawyer’s lawyer.”

The Georges A. Goyer QC Memorial Award for Distinguished Service is in memory of Georges A. Goyer QC, a respected member of the CBABC, who passed away in 1992 after a courageous battle with cancer. The annual award recognizes exceptional contributions to the legal profession, to jurisprudence, or to the law in British Columbia.