Our Work

Support for Indigenous Lawyers

CBABC encourages and creates environments for Indigenous lawyers to be welcomed and feel supported.

The Aboriginal Lawyers Forum is a networking and mentoring forum for law students, law graduates and lawyers. The key objectives are providing networking opportunities, facilitating Indigenous leadership and mentoring, and facilitating opportunities to celebrate our Indigenous cultures.

As the ALF has grown over the past years, work has expanded to advocate and be a voice for Indigenous lawyers, students and clients, to facilitate and support reconciliation efforts within our profession, and to promote a greater inclusion of Indigenous people in all areas.

ALF Special Contribution Award
Recognizes a firm or individual's contribution to the Aboriginal Lawyers Forum in addressing the various issues facing Indigenous people in the legal profession.

ALF Student Appreciation Award
Awarded to law students of Indigenous ancestry who have shown consistent dedication to Indigenous people in the field of law.

The Warrior Project
Helps fund articling positions for Indigenous students in BC. In 2022, the Warrior Project donated $20,000 to create the CBABC Aboriginal Lawyers Forum Scholarship for Indigenous-to-Canada articling students in Access Pro Bono’s Everyone Legal Clinic.

Indigenous Lawyers Waiver of Dues Program

CBABC encourages opportunities for the advancement of Indigenous lawyers in the legal profession. We do this by supporting more Indigenous lawyers to access the benefits of a CBABC membership.

The Indigenous Lawyers Waivers of Dues Program seeks to make CBABC accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to afford membership.

This is one step in opening the door wider to Indigenous lawyers. Our commitment to reconciliation, guided by the CBABC Reconciliation Action Plan, is ongoing.

The Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust

In 2008, CBABC established the Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust in partnership with INDSPIRE, a national Indigenous registered charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their families, communities and Canada.

With the generous support of a myriad of contributors and matching funds from the Law Foundation of BC, the scholarship has supported many Indigenous students entering law schools. Today, many of these lawyers contribute to the work of CBABC.