On Sunday, August 5, APB staff will be among approximately 85 judges, lawyers and law students marching under the BC Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) banner at Vancouver's 34th annual Pride Parade.

We will be wearing rainbow court tabs and other colourful gear as we celebrate the diversity of BC's legal profession. We encourage APB supporters to cheer the SOGIC float down Denman and Davie streets from noon to about 1:30pm.

SOGIC was established as a new Conference of the Canadian Bar Association in 1997. Its purposes are to:

• address the needs and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirited members within the Association;
• provide a forum for the exchange of information, ideas and action on legal issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity;
• encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirited lawyers to actively participate in the work of the Association;
• develop and provide continuing legal education and other professional development programs on legal issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity; and
• develop member services relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirited members of the Association.

SOGIC is a founding member of the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association and has established contacts with lesbian and gay law groups in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, among others.