Jointly presented by the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch and the Law Society of Alberta, the Distinguished Service Awards recognize the best and brightest of Alberta's legal profession.
We are pleased to announce the 2025 Distinguished Service Award winners: Carsten Jensen, K.C. (JSS Barristers, Calgary) for Service to the Profession, David Benjestorf (Alldritt Land Corporation, Ednonton) for Service to the Community, Eric M. Adams (University of Alberta Faculty of Law, Edmonton) for Service to Legal Scholarship, Anna Jane Samis Lund (University of Alberta Faculty of Law, Edmonton) for Pro Bono Legal Service, and Lillian Y. Pan, K.C. (Dentons, Calgary) for Service in Promoting Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the Legal Profession.
Tickets for the Distinguished Service Awards luncheon are now on sale, and we invite you to join friends, colleagues and distinguished members of the bench and bar to celebrate our 2025 award winners.
Wed, February 19, 2025 | 11:30 a.m. MT
Hudson (6th Floor, 200 - 8 Avenue SW, Calgary)
Purchase your tickets
Learn more about the Distinguished Service Awards at www.cba-alberta.org/Distinguished-Service-Awards
Meet the 2025 Award Winners
SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION: Carsten Jensen, K.C.
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Carsten Jensen, K.C. is a founding partner of JSS Barristers, a boutique civil litigation firm in Calgary. Carsten is an active champion of initiatives aimed at improving the profession, including as a supporter of the Law Society of Alberta's Justicia Project, and as vice-chair of the Federation of Law Societies Standing Committee on the Model Code of Conduct, where he played a crucial role in updating the discrimination and harassment provisions of the Model Code.
SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY: David Benjestorf
David Benjestorf is Chief Legal Counsel and Director of Development for the Alldritt Land Corporation in Edmonton. His dedication to serving those in need and his long-time service on the Board of the Edmonton Food Bank led him to found P3 Farms during the pandemic, which since 2020, has grown, harvested and donated nearly 500,000 lbs of produce for the Food Bank, and also serves to educate young people about food security, agriculture, and community service.
SERVICE TO LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP: Eric M. Adams
Eric Adams is a Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, where he publishes and teaches in the fields of constitutional law, employment law and human rights. In addition to being a prolific scholar with more than 35 scholarly articles and books chapters to his name, Professor Adams is deeply valued as a legal educator, recently winning the Ron Hopp Most Involved Professor Award, in part for his dedication to enhancing the student experience during the pandemic.
PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICE: Anna Jane Samis Lund
Anna Lund is a Professor at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law where she researches and teaches in the areas of bankruptcy and insolvency, debtor creditor law, civil procedure, access to justice and housing. Professor Lund serves as the Academic Coordinator for the Low Income People and the Law Course, continues to regularly volunteer for the Edmonton Community Legal Clinic, and is a past chair of the CBA Alberta Access to Justice Committee.
SERVICE TO PROMOTING EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Lillian Y. Pan, K.C.
Lillian Pan, K.C. is Counsel at Dentons, where she maintains a commercial litigation practice. Lillian is a passionate champion of lawyers from under-represented groups, which is evident in her work as a senior advisor to the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, her role as a member of the Board for the Association of Women Lawyers, and in the countless formal and informal ways that she mentors lawyers from equity-deserving groups across the country.