The Honourable Tony Wakeham, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, is pleased to announce the province’s newest appointments to the King’s Counsel by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
The honorary title of King’s Counsel recognizes senior lawyers for exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession. These lawyers have served a minimum of 10 years as members 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 King’s Counsel Act.
Those appointed to King’s Counsel are Richard Collins, Helen Conway Ottenheimer, John C. Crosbie, Herbert Edwards, James Goudie, John Hartery, Karen O’Reilly, Deanne Penney, Gerrie Smith, and David Williams. Biographies of each appointee can be found in the backgrounder below.
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“The individuals being recognized today have made significant contributions to the legal profession in Newfoundland and Labrador. I congratulate each of them on receiving this prestigious designation and thank them for the dedication, leadership and service they have provided over many years.”
Honourable Tony Wakeham
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
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BACKGROUNDER
Biographies for King’s Counsel Appointees
Richard Collins
Richard Collins was raised in Bay Roberts. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Memorial University in 1990, he went on to receive his Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 1994. He returned to his home town after graduation and took up practice with Douglas Moores and the late David Andrews, becoming partner in what is now Moores and Collins Law Office in Bay Roberts.
Mr. Collins has maintained a general practice with a focus on civil litigation, real estate and family law for over 30 years. He is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland as well as the Canadian Bar Association. He has volunteered on many boards and committees over his career, including as a director of the Christopher Pratt Art Gallery, as a member of the Mariner Resources Opportunities Network’s board of directors, and as a director with the Baccalieu Trail Board of Trade. He recently served as legal advisor for the 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games Host Committee and has proudly been chair of Ascension Collegiate’s auction committee, at his former high school, for many years and counting.
Mr. Collins spends his spare time traveling abroad with his family and hiking with his dog. He continues to reside in Bay Roberts with his wife Bev and they have a daughter, Mackenzie who, apart from being Mr. Collins’ favorite scuba diving partner, is currently enrolled in the joint MD/PhD program at Queen’s University in Kingston.
Helen Conway Ottenheimer
Helen Conway Ottenheimer holds degrees from Memorial University (PoliSci 1984) and the University of Toronto, Centre of Criminology (Crim 1986). She obtained a Juris Doctor in 1990 at Detroit College of Law and passed the Michigan State Bar in 1991. She was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1996 as well as the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 2006. After her call to the Ontario bar, Ms. Conway Ottenheimer worked exclusively as a criminal lawyer in Windsor, Ontario. She has appeared before both trial and appellant courts. Ms. Conway Ottenheimer has also defended the legal rights of individuals as a litigator with the Human Rights Commission of NL, a position she held until her return to a full-time teaching career.
Over 20 years ago, as a young defence lawyer, she began teaching law courses at the University of Windsor. In addition to teaching courses in Police Studies, Political Science, Gender Studies, Labour Relations and Business Law at Memorial’s Faculty of Business, she was a term adjunct at Queen’s Law School and Queen’s Sociology Department in Kingston, Ontario, where she taught Human Rights Law and other law-related courses in person and online.
Ms. Conway Ottenheimer was first elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in 2019 and presently sits as the MHA for the District of Harbour Main. She is now the Minister of Justice and Public Safety and attorney general for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ms. Conway Ottenheimer was born and raised in Marysvale and currently resides there with her husband John Ottenheimer.
John C. Crosbie
John Crosbie was admitted to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 2010 and has practiced with the firm (now known as) Morrow Morrow and Crosbie Lawyers, since completing his articles. He is now one of three directors of the firm.
Mr. Crosbie is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick Law School, having graduated in 2009. His practice is focused on civil litigation and real estate with a focus on assisting accident victims. Mr. Crosbie’s practice has brought him to appear at all levels of Court within the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
He is a member of the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association.
Herbert Edwards
Herbert Edwards was born in Lawn and was called to the bar in 1992, the first person from his hometown to have done so. He had graduated from the University of New Brunswick and articled in Marystown under the late Don MacBeath and joined the firm MacBeath Colbourne Watson as an associate in 1992. He stayed in private practice until 2001 serving, during that time, a term as a Bencher for the Eastern Region. In 2001, he moved to St. John’s and joined the Department of Justice and Public Safety. He initially worked in the Litigation Unit but since 2006 has advised various government departments and currently advises the Crown Lands Division of the Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands and the Realty section of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. He has provided a presentation on Crown lands at the Bar Admissions Course for the past decade and also holds a Bachelor of Physical Education, a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memorial.
Mr. Edwards currently lives in Paradise with his wife, Carol Myles, and has three children; Benjamin, Evan and Leah. In his spare time, he likes to collect information on the general history of Lawn.
James Goudie
James Goudie was raised in Deer Lake and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 1985 both from Memorial University. After graduation in 1985, Mr. Goudie worked as a teacher for the next seven years, in Deer Lake, Woody Point, Hampden and Harbour Deep. In 1992, he was accepted to study law at Dalhousie University and obtained a law degree in 1995. Mr. Goudie opened a law office in Deer Lake in 1996 and has been practicing in Deer Lake ever since.
Since returning to the Deer Lake area in 1996, Mr. Goudie has been active in the community. Amongst other things he has served as a director on the Deer Lake Regional Airport Authority Corp., a director of the Deer Lake Public Health Centre, Chairman of the Eric Normore Memorial Foundation Inc., President of the Deer Lake Chamber of Commerce, and director of the 2006 Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games (Humber Valley) Inc. For the past five years, he has been the director of the Deer Lake Red Wings Senior Hockey Club.
Mr. Goudie currently resides in Reidville with his spouse, Lori Simmons Caines, and stepson Gabe. He is also the proud father of Erin and the proud grandfather of Callie and Paige Taaffe.
John Hartery
John Hartery attended Memorial University from 1986-1990 before obtaining his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Queen’s University Faculty of Law in 1993.
Following his call to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar, Mr. Hartery established a successful private practice, representing clients in a broad range of legal matters, also appearing in court as Crown Agent for the province. After many years in private practice, he subsequently joined Legal Aid NL as a staff solicitor where he continued his commitment to providing high-quality legal services and advancing access to justice. In 2014, Mr. Hartery completed the University of Alberta’s Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP), further enhancing his expertise in Privacy Law, Access to Information, and the protection of personal information.
Mr. Hartery currently serves as Supreme Court Family Division Duty Counsel with Legal Aid NL, providing legal advice and representation to individuals appearing before the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Family Division. He has also appeared in all levels of court in Newfoundland and Labrador and, as a staff solicitor, has appeared in specialized courts all throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and circuit courts in Nain and elsewhere.
Karen J. O’Reilly
Karen J. O’Reilly completed her Bachelor of Science (Biology) at Dalhousie University and followed that up with a Bachelor of Laws (Co-op) from the University of Victoria. She was called to the NL bar in 1999, where she initially worked in private practice in Gander. After taking a year off from law and working for the Alberta Provincial Government in Information and Privacy, Ms. O’Reilly felt the courtroom calling her back and returned to the practice of law with Legal Aid in Corner Brook in 2002, and then in Grand Falls-Windsor. She became a Crown Attorney in 2005 working first as a trial Crown in Gander and then later in Grand Falls-Windsor. In January of this year, she transferred to the Special Prosecutions Office. Ms. O’Reilly is an active member of her local fire department and the local equine community.
Deanne M. Penney
Deanne M. Penney was born and raised in Mount Pearl and has lived with her family in Corner Brook for the last 23 years. She obtained her Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) in 1989 from Memorial University and her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of New Brunswick in 1992. Called to the bar in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1993, she has worked in private practice for the entirety of her career, firstly in St. John’s at a regional law firm and for the past 23 years in Corner Brook. She is currently the managing partner at the law firm of Penney and Brown Law.
Ms. Penney serves as the vice-chair of the Corner Brook Port Corporation and has been a board member at the port for the past 10 years. She has held various volunteer and board positions over the years, including with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and supports local community groups regularly. She is a current member of the Canadian Bar Association and Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association. Her current practice focuses primarily in the areas of personal injury, estate planning and property and real estate law.
Gerrie Smith
Originally from Lourdes on the Port-au-Port Peninsula, Gerrie Smith obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University in 1991. She completed her legal studies in French at Université Laval and Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, graduating in 1997 with a Bachelor of Laws. She was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 1998. In 2020, she graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School with a Master of Laws degree.
After completing her Articles with the Department of Justice, Ms. Smith spent several years with the firm Chalker, Green and Rowe, and McInnes Cooper. In 2001, she returned to the Department of Justice where she provided legal advice to numerous government departments before joining the Department of Health and Community Services in 2013 as its legislative consultant. In that capacity, she worked closely with public health officials and contributed to government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, she was appointed assistant deputy minister of Public Safety and Correctional Services in the Department of Justice and Public Safety, following which she served as the law clerk and parliamentary counsel with the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Ms. Smith was appointed deputy minister and deputy attorney general in November 2025.
Ms. Smith is a member of the Qalipu First Nation and previously served as a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Indigenous Education and Action Committee. She lives in St. John’s with her husband Brent Meade. She has two sons, Josh and Lucan.
David S. Williams
David S. Williams is the managing partner of O’Dea Earle Law Offices in St. John’s. Called to the bar in 2006, he maintains a broad general practice encompassing personal injury, real estate, wills and estates, commercial, and litigation matters.
Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Religious Studies and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies, both from Memorial University. He received his Bachelor of Laws in 2005 from the University of Ottawa. Elected to the Benchers of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2021, he currently serves on the executive as vice-president and is a member of the Society’s Indigenous Education and Action Committee.
Mr. Williams contributes to a wide range of provincial and national organizations. He serves on the National Advisory Board of The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory. He previously served as lead governor of Canada for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and has also served as trustee of Booth University College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Mr. Williams lives in Middle Cove with his wife, April, and their children, Evaleigh and Benjamin.