Professor Chris Tollefson, K.C. (centre) with CELL board member Reidar Mogerman, K.C. (left) and then-CELL Program Director Anthony Ho (right) at the 2023 Federal Court of Appeal hearing in La Rose v His Majesty the King.
VICTORIA, B.C. (22 January 2026) — CELL’s founding executive director, Professor Chris Tollefson, was recently awarded the King’s Counsel (K.C.) designation for 2025 by BC’s Attorney General – one of 31 lawyers recognized for making exceptional contributions to the legal system and access to justice in British Columbia.
Several founding CELL board members have also received the K.C. award in recent years, including Catherine Boies-Parker, Reidar Mogerman, and (since elevated) the Honourable Justices Maegen Giltrow and Mark Underhill.
Professor Tollefson’s nomination observes that “he is frequently retained in complex and challenging cases, [and that] his counsel work in criminal and civil trials, in regulatory and judicial reviews, and before our appellate courts has earned him the respect of the Bench and Bar as a leading litigator.”
The nomination also highlights his “leadership, creativity, and accomplishment as a legal educator, scholar, and public-interest advocate”, and his “catalytic leadership role in a range of successful educational and advocacy organizations”.
The entire team at CELL is incredibly proud of Chris for this well-deserved recognition. Please join us in congratulating him on this prestigious appointment and thanking him for his tireless dedication to public-interest environmental law.