Minister Announces Queen’s Counsel Appointments

  • Justice and Public Safety

January 21, 2022

The Honourable John Hogan QC, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, is pleased to announce the province’s newest appointments to the Queen’s Counsel by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

The honourary title of Queen’s Counsel recognizes senior lawyers for exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession. These lawyers have served a minimum of 10 years as a member of the bar, have gained the respect of the legal community and are in good standing with the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Appointments are made after consultation with the Legal Appointments Board as outlined in the Queen’s Counsel Act.

Those appointed to Queen’s Counsel are; Renée Appleby, Geoff Budden, Andrew A. Fitzgerald, Michael Ladha, Carey Majid, Chris Peddigrew, Randall (Randy) Smith, Tauna M. Staniland, Lloyd Strickland and Rosellen Sullivan. Biographies of each appointee can be found in the backgrounder below.

Quote
“I would like to congratulate the lawyers being appointed to the Queen’s Counsel. These individuals have made significant contributions to the province through their professionalism and dedication. The QC designation is a way to acknowledge those who have earned the respect of the legal community. I thank this year’s appointees for their leadership and continued contributions to the justice system and the impact they have on our communities.”
Honourable John Hogan, QC
Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General

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Emily-Jane Gillingham
Justice and Public Safety
709-729-5524, 730-4607
emilygillingham@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Biographies Queen’s Counsel Appointees

Renée Appleby
Renée L.F. Appleby is a graduate of Memorial University, having received her Bachelor of Science (Pure Mathematics) in 2004. She received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 2007, graduating on the Dean’s List and having also received the MLB Prize in Professional Conduct. Ms. Appleby served articles in Marystown under the late Donald A. MacBeath, Q.C., and was the first recipient of the Provincial Court Judges Association Award for highest marks in the criminal law component of the bar course, together with the Hunt Award for the highest overall marks in the bar course that year. She was called to the bar in February of 2008 and commenced practice in Marystown with MacBeath Law. Ms. Appleby was raised in Burin and was delighted to have the opportunity to start her professional career at home.

For the past 14 years, she has had a general practice on the Burin Peninsula, representing clients in family law, criminal defence, real estate transactions, civil litigation, wills and estates, as well as in corporate matters. In March of 2021, she started her own law firm, Appleby Picco Law, in partnership with Cindy Picco and striving to build on Don MacBeath’s legacy of providing excellence in legal representation to residents of the Burin Peninsula. Ms. Appleby has been involved in a number of community groups on the peninsula, including serving on the board of directors of Burin Peninsula Brighter Futures, a not-for-profit organization focused on supporting the development of young children, and she is a current member of the Burin Memorial Library Board. She was elected as a Bencher to the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015, and has served on the Real Estate Committee, Accounts and Finance Committee, Complaints Authorization Committee and Executive Committee during that time. Ms. Appleby is the current President of the Law Society.

Geoff Budden
Geoff Budden was born and raised in St. John’s and is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland (B.A. (Hons.), 1984) and Osgoode Hall Law School (LLB, 1988). He articled with Barrie Heywood and was called to the bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in June of 1989. He also was called to the bar of the Territory of Nunavut in June, 2004.

Mr. Budden has spent his career in private practice, including as a partner with Budden, Morris in Mount Pearl, 1992 – 2014 and, since 2014, as a partner with Budden & Associates in St. John’s. He has in recent years focused his practice on the representation of survivors of abuse, most notably on behalf of men who, as children, were residents of Mount Cashel Orphanage and on representing parties before Commissions of Inquiry. In 2021, he served as Commission Counsel to the Public Inquiry Respecting Ground Search and Rescue for Lost and Missing Persons.

He has volunteered with the St. John’s Library Board, the Avalon East School Board (as an elected Trustee), the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Association and the Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre. His personal interests include reading, writing, running and hiking and spending time with his family and at his family home in Port Rexton.

Andrew A. Fitzgerald
Andrew A. Fitzgerald was born and raised in St. John’s. He graduated from Memorial University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science. In 1999, he was accepted to Dalhousie University and graduated with a LLB in 2002, winning the Donald Kerr Memorial Prize for maritime law. He was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 2003 and has continued in private practice to this day.

His legal career commenced with Lewis, Sinnott, Shortall, Hurley under the guidance of John Sinnott, Q.C. and the late Honourable Justice David F. Hurley. While at Lewis, Sinnott, Shortall, Hurley, he was afforded the opportunity to experience many different areas of the law, as well as appear at all levels of court in the Province, the Federal Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada.  Upon the retirement of John R. Sinnott, Q.C, he joined the firm Learmonth, Boulos & Fitzgerald as a partner in 2021, where he maintains a general practice with a focus on litigation.

Mr. Fitzgerald has a history of volunteering in the community. In 2003, he joined the Board of Directors of St. Patrick’s Mercy Home and became the chair of the board in 2010 and continues to volunteer in that role. He has also been active in the sporting community and has also served on the national board of Rowing Canada.

Michael Ladha
Michael Ladha, BBA, LLB, CIC.C, ICD.D was born and raised in St. John’s. He graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2006 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree before going on to receive his Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 2009. On graduation from UNB, he received the New Brunswick Trial Lawyers’ Prize in Trial Practice and the Patrick Ryan Prize in Trial Practice, both awarded for excellence in courtroom work.

Mr. Ladha was called to the Bar in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010 after articling at Curtis Dawe Lawyers, where he then maintained a general and corporate commercial practice. He joined Nalcor Energy in 2015 as in-house legal counsel. In 2021, Mr. Ladha became Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, the Crown-owned utility that is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the province. He is currently responsible for oversight of Hydro’s legal, governance and commercial matters, and previously had accountability for the company’s human resources, safety and environment functions.

Mr. Ladha has significant experience serving on boards of non-profit, member-based and professional organizations. He is currently an elected Bencher of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, a Director of the Canadian Bar Insurance Association, a member of the Executive of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and serves on the Canadian Law Awards Advisory Panel. He is also a Past President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, served on the National Board of the Canadian Bar Association, presented at the Law Society’s Bar Admission Course on commercial and in-house practice, and has served on the boards of several community-based organizations. He has been a strong advocate for advancing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion through his governance and volunteer work.

Mr. Ladha was the recipient of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s Up and Comer Award for 2020 and, in 2021, was an Honoree of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, a dynamic awards program that identifies outstanding young achievers in Canadian business. He and his partner Keir McIsaac live in downtown St. John’s.

Carey Majid
Carey Majid was born and raised in Ontario, but has made Newfoundland and Labrador her home since moving here with her husband in 2001. Ms. Majid holds a Bachelors of Arts (1994) from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick (1999).  She was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in 2001. Ms. Majid practiced law at Cox and Palmer before becoming the Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission in 2008. Ms. Majid was elected as a Bencher (Eastern District) of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2021.

Ms. Majid is one of the first racialized lawyers in Newfoundland and Labrador. Based on available information, it appears that she is also the first racialized female lawyer elected as a Bencher of the Law Society and one of the first racialized lawyers appointed as Queen’s Counsel.

Ms. Majid has a deep commitment to advancing racial justice and human rights, practicing exclusively in the areas of human rights, employment and administrative law. She also teaches the Law Society’s bar admission course on human rights and regularly talks about human rights and social justice issues in the media, to employers, government, schools and community groups. Ms. Majid is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, sits on the provincial Access to Justice Committee and recently received a federal grant to design and set up Community Justice Connect, a conflict assistance clinic which provides a variety of conflict resolution services to Indigenous, racialized, and religious minority communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Community Justice Connect’s model for conflict resolution is built on integrating restorative justice with anti-racism and anti-colonialism principles.

Ms. Majid is an avid, but thoroughly average tennis player. She lives in St. John’s with her family and black lab named Walle.

Chris Peddigrew
Chris Peddigrew graduated from Memorial University with a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-operative) Honours degree in 1999. In 2003, Chris graduated from Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law and in 2004, he was called to the Bar in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since that time, Mr. Peddigrew has been in private practice, first with Cox Hanson O’Reilly Matheson (now Cox & Palmer), where he maintained a practice focused in labour and employment law, real estate, general litigation and corporate work. In 2014, he became a founding partner with Wadden Peddigrew Law where he continues to practice today. Mr. Peddigrew has continued to maintain a general practice, but in recent years he has focused primarily on neutral work in the areas of labour and employment law and alternative dispute resolution as a workplace investigator, Mediator and Arbitrator. He is an active member of the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial roster of labour arbitrators and is Vice-Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board.

Mr. Peddigrew is also an active community volunteer. At present, he is Chair of the Board of Directors of St. Patrick’s Mercy Home Foundation and a Director on the Board of Choices for Youth. He is the Provincial Branch Chair of the Canadian Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution section and a member of the National Executive of the Alternative Dispute Resolution section. Mr. Peddigrew regularly presents at the Law Society’s Annual Bar Admissions Course on the topic of starting and operating a small law firm. For many years, he also volunteered at long-term care homes in St. John’s as a handler with the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program.

Mr. Peddigrew and his wife, Gillian, are the proud parents of their three-year old boy, Sonny.

Randall (Randy) Smith
Randy Smith is a Partner in the St. John’s office of Cox & Palmer. He attended Acadia University (receiving Commerce and Economics degrees) and Dalhousie University (Bachelor of Laws degree) and was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in 1981. He has since worked for the same firm, albeit under various firm names, and entered the partnership in 1986. Mr. Smith practices extensively in the areas of corporate and commercial law and in both residential and commercial real estate law.

Mr. Smith is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, is a former lecturer at the Law Society bar admission course (real estate law) and has volunteered over the years with various charities.

Mr. Smith is consistently listed as a leading practitioner in the Canadian Legal Lexpert directories and in the publication, Best Lawyers in Canada, in several areas, including property development, banking and finance law and corporate law.  He has also been recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2020 Lawyer of the Year (St. John’s) for banking and finance law and in 2022 as Lawyer of the Year (St. John’s) for mergers and acquisitions law.

Mr. Smith lives in St. John’s with his wife, Jackie. They are parents of two adult children, Allison and Colin.

Tauna M. Staniland
Tauna Staniland was born in Edmonton and raised in Athabasca, Alberta. She completed her Bachelor of Management Degree at the University of Lethbridge in 2000 and was the gold medalist of her Bmgt class. She attended Osgood Hall Law School in Toronto, graduating within the top two per cent of the class of 2003. She was called to the bar of Ontario in 2004 and practiced securities law and public M&A in Toronto until 2009 when she moved to St. John’s with her husband Andrew. In 2010 she was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar and joined Stewart McKelvey as an associate, becoming a Partner in 2015 and Managing Partner of the St. John’s Office of Stewart McKelvey in January 2021. Ms. Staniland is a corporate commercial lawyer whose current practice includes mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and strategic advice, securities law and debt financings. She is Lexpert rated in Corporate Finance & Securities Law and Mining Law.

Ms. Staniland is a director of The Rooms Corporation and a member of the executive committee of the NL Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She previously served as a director of the Tuckamore Festival, the St. John’s Community Centre Alliance and as an advisor to the Board of Music NL. She is the proud mom of Tansy and Rowan and is a proud NBC (Newfoundlander by choice).

Lloyd Strickland
Lloyd Strickland is the Director of Public Prosecutions. Before his appointment to that position in 2020, he served the public for 20 years as a Crown Attorney in Happy Valley–Goose Bay, Clarenville and St. John’s. He was the Senior Crown Attorney for Labrador from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Strickland was born and raised in Port aux Basques. He obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of New Brunswick and then attended Dalhousie Law School, where he graduated in 1996.  He passed the bar in 1997. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Strickland was a Prosecutor at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR), which is based in Arusha, Tanzania. There, he participated in the successful prosecution of former government and military leaders for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Over the years, Mr. Strickland has prosecuted several homicides and other high profile criminal cases. He has appeared numerous times before the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal and, on several occasions, at the Supreme Court of Canada.  He is a member of the Heads of Prosecutions Committee on the Prevention of Wrongful Convictions and the National Wiretap Experts Committee.

Mr. Strickland lives in St. John’s with his wife Wendy and their daughter Ellie. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and biking.

Rosellen Sullivan
Rosellen Sullivan was born in St. John’s. She graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1995 with a Master’s of Criminology and from Dalhousie Law School in 1998. Ms. Sullivan worked with the Department of Justice until 2006. She was Junior Inquiry Counsel to Commissioner Antonio Lamer at the Lamer Inquiry which examined three wrongful convictions in Newfoundland and Labrador. Her work on the Inquiry led to a keen interest in criminal defence law, which she pursued in 2006 when she joined Robert Simmonds, QC. She is also a former member of the Board of Regents at Memorial University.

Ms. Sullivan appears in all levels of court in the Province and has appeared in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario, as well as in the Supreme Court of Canada.

She has been a director of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers (CCCDL) since 2015. On behalf of the CCCDL, Ms. Sullivan appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights along with other members in relation to Bill c.75 and changes to the Criminal Code. She has also assisted the CCCDL in obtaining intervenor status at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ms. Sullivan has participated in the Court of Appeal Legal Assistance Clinic since 2016. She was named Best Lawyer by her peers in 2020 and 2021.

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