On Thursday, April 16 at its 10th Annual Pro Bono Appreciation Breakfast in Vancouver, APB awarded the 2014 Dugald Christie Award for Advice Services to the downtown Vancouver law firm of Hartney & Company. In 2014, Valerie Hartney served 70 low-income clients in the Brentwood area of Burnaby, while her son Nathaniel Hartney served 67 low-income clients in the Downtown Eastside.

Valerie volunteers on a weekly basis at APB's new Burnaby Community Services clinic. And as a direct result of her commitment to pro bono service, the clinic has developed into one of APB's busiest clinics overall. It is now established and well-known in the Brentwood area. People have come to rely on it.

Further west in the Downtown Eastside, Nathaniel reinvigorated APB's Carnegie Community Centre clinic by also volunteering on a weekly basis. This restored the Carnegie clinic to its former position as one of APB's flagship clinics. It regularly serves individuals with some of the most critical legal needs in the province.

Together, Valerie and Nathaniel epitomize the true spirit of pro bono. And it is because of their dedication to pro bono—each exemplary as separated but potent as combined—that APB awarded the 2014 Dugald Christie Award to their law firm.