Pink Larkin Recognized for Ongoing Impact in Canadian Lawyer’s 5-Star Pro Bono Report
Pink Larkin has once again been recognized among Canada’s 5-Star Pro Bono Firms by Canadian Lawyer, a distinction that reflects a sustained commitment to advancing access to justice and addressing systemic barriers through legal advocacy.
The annual report highlights firms across the country that have built meaningful, embedded approaches to pro bono work - combining leadership, infrastructure, and measurable impact in the communities they serve.
At Pink Larkin, that commitment is longstanding and deliberate. Central to the firm’s approach is its full-time pro bono practice, led by nationally respected social justice lawyer Vince Calderhead, focused on cases that seek to create lasting change for individuals and communities who are often excluded from the legal system.
In his interview with Canadian Lawyer, Vince speaks to the focus on systemic reform that underpins this work:
“When you’re challenging a law that affects hundreds or thousands of people, the systemic impact is almost self-evident.
With income support issues, there are often internal departmental policies with the same broad reach. And then there are practices, ways of doing things that have developed over time without ever being formally written down, that can affect just as many people. Those are the three things I watch for: a law, a policy, or an entrenched practice that is failing low-income people at scale.”
This focus on systemic impact has defined Pink Larkin’s pro bono efforts for years. The firm prioritizes work that has the potential to influence policy, clarify legal rights, and improve outcomes for people facing barriers related to housing, income security, and equality.
A leading example is Disability Rights Coalition v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2021 NSCA 70 (CanLII) and the case that preceded it, where Calderhead represented the Coalition in a systemic discrimination claim before a Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission Board of Inquiry. The decision resulted in the largest general damages award for a human rights violation in Canadian history and continues to inform ongoing reform efforts.
This recognition from Canadian Lawyer underscores Pink Larkin’s continued focus on meaningful, impact-driven pro bono work - and its conviction that access to justice is fundamental to a strong legal system.
Read the full 5 Star Pro Bono Report.
