Vancouver, BC [August 4]—Katrina Pacey, executive director of Pivot Legal Society, has been named been named by Canadian Lawyer as one of Canada’s 25 most influential lawyers.
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Using the law as a catalyst for positive social change, Pivot Legal Society works to improve the lives of marginalized communities.
Canadian Lawyer’s “Top 25 Most Influential in the justice system and legal profession in Canada” annually recognizes lawyers who have been influential within the profession as well as society. Pacey was selected as one of the most influential lawyers in the Government/Non-Profits/Associations category, alongside Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice Murray Sinclair, the Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This year’s winners were selected by public voting and the magazine’s editorial panel.
“Incredible dedication to social justice at every level with keen passionate intelligence,” Canadian Lawyer voters wrote. “She has helped change draconian laws that threaten the lives of sex trade workers and restore dignity to people who have been marginalized.”
As executive director of Pivot Legal Society, Pacey leads an organization that has won numerous victories for Canada’s most vulnerable citizens on issues related to health and drug policy, police accountability, and housing. Before assuming the role of executive director in 2014, she created and led the organization’s sex workers’ rights campaign. As part of Pivot’s campaign to reform laws that threaten the health and safety of sex workers, Pacey intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Canada v. Bedford case on behalf of Sex Workers United Against Violence, Pivot, and PACE Society. The SCC subsequently struck down three major provisions in the country’s prostitution laws that criminalized aspects of the sex trade.
“I’m incredibly humbled to be recognized by my peers and the public,” said Pacey. “This is a testament to the courage of our clients, whose vision for a just society drives our work and creates real, meaningful change for those who have been marginalized by the law.”
The full list of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential can be found here.
Pivot Legal Society is a leading Canadian human rights organization that uses the law to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion in Canada. Pivot’s award-winning work includes challenging laws and policies that force people to the margins of society and keep them there. Since 2002 Pivot Legal Society has won major victories for sex workers’ rights, police accountability, affordable housing, and health and drug policy.
Kevin Hollett, Communications Director
