Fourteen Saskatchewan Lawyers Designated As King's Counsel

Released on April 6, 2023

Today, 14 Saskatchewan lawyers were distinguished with the King's Counsel (K.C.) designation at Government House in Regina.

"These are the first King's Counsel designations in the province since 1952, when Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascended the Throne," Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre said. "I extend my heartiest congratulations to these 2022 recipients."

The title of Queen's Counsel was created by Queen Elizabeth I in the late 1500s. Originally called the "Queen's learned counsel," they personally represented the Queen. The first Q.C. appointee was Sir Francis Bacon during the Elizabethan period. When King James I came to the Throne in 1603, Bacon was confirmed as a King's Counsel, the first formal K.C. appointment.

In 1952, with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II, King's Counsel became Queen's Counsel. The title changed again in September, 2022, with the succession of King Charles III. Originally, King's or Queen's Counsel served only the Crown and did not take undertake any action that opposed it. Eventually, the position became simply an honorary recognition of leaders at the Bar.

In Saskatchewan, approximately 15 members of the Bar are appointed every year. As of 2021, there were 2,087 members of the Bar in Saskatchewan. Fewer than one per cent of members of the Bar receive this designation annually.

The lawyers recognized today for their contributions to the legal profession and public service in Saskatchewan are:

• Kim Marie Armstrong, Saskatchewan Legal Aid, Saskatoon. Admitted to the bar 2001.
• Roger Vincent DeCorby, Director of the High Risk Violent Offender Unit, Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Regina. Admitted to the bar 1992.
• Megan Denise Dolo, VP Law, Farm Credit Canada, Regina. Admitted to the bar 2002.
• Richard James Fyfe, Constitutional Law Branch, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Regina. Admitted to the bar 2002.
• Caroline Marie Katherine Gorsalitz, Legal VP, Cameco, Saskatoon. Admitted to the bar 1986.
• Kathy Lee Hodgson-Smith, Hodgson-Smith Law, Saskatoon and Meadow Lake. Admitted to the bar 2009.
• Leanne Mae Lang, Civil Law Division, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Regina. Admitted to the bar 1991.
• Jana Marie Linner, MLT Aikins LLP, Regina. Admitted to the bar 2009.
• Scott Robert Moffat, Moffat & Company, Weyburn. Admitted to the bar 1998.
• Jason Wayne Mohrbutter, MLT Aikins LLP, Regina. Admitted to the bar 2001.
• Curtis John Onishenko, McKercher LLP, Saskatoon. Admitted to the bar in 2002.
• Brian Roderick Pfefferle, Pfefferle Law, Saskatoon. Admitted to the bar in 2008.
• Roger Kevin Sobotkiewicz, Chief Executive Officer, Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority, Regina. Admitted to the bar in 1998.
• Ian Allerdyce Sutherland, McDougall Gauley LLP, Saskatoon. Admitted to the bar in 1988.

King's Counsel appointments are based on recommendations from a selection committee consisting of Saskatchewan's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan or the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, as well as past presidents of the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Bar Association and Law Society of Saskatchewan.

Individuals must live in Saskatchewan and have practised law for at least ten years in the superior courts of any province or territory of Canada, the United Kingdom or Ireland.

The recipients officially honoured today were first designated as King's Counsel in December, 2022. 

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