On Saturday, June 20, the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association announced Claire Hunter of Hunter Litigation Chambers as the recipient of its 2015 Harry Rankin QC Pro Bono Award. The Rankin Award is given annually to recognize outstanding contributions by a CBABC member in the area of pro bono work.

Claire has been a champion of pro bono legal services for many years, and has served numerous clients since starting her legal career in 2004 in New York. In recognition of her later pro bono efforts in BC, APB presented Claire with the 2013 Allan Parker QC Award for Representation Services.

Claire has also been active and passionate about the promotion of pro bono practice at international, national and local levels. Internationally, she was a Canadian delegate to the 2011 Pro Bono Conference in Chile, and was behind the push for Canadian firms to finally sign the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas. Nationally, she served on the CBA’s National Pro Bono Committee and National Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committees, where she devoted considerable time to the CBA’s pro bono initiatives.

In BC, Claire serves as a Director, Vice President and ongoing volunteer lawyer for APB. And she was recently appointed by the Law Society of BC to its Access to Legal Services Advisory Committee.

To each of these roles, Claire brings dedication and conviction. She is a wonderful advocate for pro bono culture, and as shown by her Rankin Award acceptance speech, continues to lead by example through her own representation and encouragement of other lawyers and service providers.