Toronto: May 17th 2011 – Canadian Defence Lawyers (CDL) is pleased to announce that Jan Lindsay, QC of Vancouver, British Columbia will be the tenth recipient of the prestigious Lee Samis Award of Excellence. The official presentation was made in Toronto at the CDL Annual Meeting – Pirates of the Defence Bar on Thursday June 2nd at 5pm at the Radisson Admiral Hotel on the waterfront. A dinner will be held in her honour in Vancouver later this year.
Highly involved in Law Society activities, Ms. Lindsay was named to the Executive Committee of the Law Society of BC in 2010, sat on the Complainants Review Committee from 2000 to 2003 and the Discipline Committee in 2005 for the Law Society of BC, among many committee roles. In 2006, successful in a by-election, Jan is currently one of three Benchers representing Westminster County. As a Bencher she supports and reports to the New Westminster Bar Association, the Fraser Valley Bar Association, and the Abbotsford and District Bar Association meetings. Also as a Bencher, Jan presents ethics courses for the Canadian Bar Association Ethics, and from time to time is asked to address first year law students on professional ethics and character. Jan has worked tirelessly through her participation on committees for the betterment of the legal profession, the public’s access to justice and the retention of women in the practice of law.
Ms. Lindsay has also been co-chair of the Continuing Legal Education Personal Injury Conference for several years and participated in other CLE programs, as well as a member and former chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Automobile Insurance Committee.
“It is important for young lawyers, and especially young female insurance litigation lawyers, to be able to look at the best and the brightest in the profession” says Vancouver litigator Alan Ross. “Those members can act as models of how to conduct oneself as a litigator, as members of the profession and in everyday life. Jan is an excellent model in all of those areas. In 30 years practicing in the insurance defence bar Jan has consistently upheld the highest standards of practice and maintained extremely positive relationships withal members of the Bar. She is able to take tough legal positions without having to be discourteous to opposing counsel. She exemplifies what it means to be a litigator.”
Jan managed to balance a full-time law practice with raising four children-attending “too many hockey and soccer games to count”- while also volunteering in a range of community initiatives. Her current community interest is with the Langley Children’s Society.
Born in Vancouver, Jan obtained a Bachelor of Laws in 1980 at the University of British Columbia and was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1981. She is a partner in the Langley office of Lindsay Kenney focusing on civil litigation with an emphasis on insurance matters. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2009.
The Lee Samis Award of Excellence was named for the founding President of CDL to recognize exceptional contributions and/or achievements by members of CDL:
- to the legal profession in general; or
- to jurisprudence in Canada on the law of insurance; or
- to law or development of the law of insurance in Canada; or
- a significant law-related benefit to CDL and/or the insurance industry.
CDL was founded in 1996 by a small group of lawyers to address the growing needs of the defence bar. CDL’s activities now include: CLE delivered coast to coast in classroom, teleconference, webcast and DVD formats; a vigorous online presence including members only blog, downloadable CLE, registration, materials library, employment postings; active Young Lawyers Committee; roundtable discussions with insurers; legislative consultation; and networking.
Jan Lindsay, QC
Partner Lawyer in Insurance Law & Litigation Team
Lindsay Kenney LLP – Langley Office