The Honourable Tom Rideout, Attorney General, today announced that 10 lawyers have been appointed to Queen�s Counsel, an honorary title recognizing exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"It is a distinguished honour to be recognized as Queen�s Counsel," said Minister Rideout. "These lawyers have made an outstanding contribution to the legal profession and I congratulate those appointed for their achievements."

Queen�s Counsel comprises senior barristers who have served a minimum of 10 years in the legal profession, have gained the respect of their clients and peers and are in good standing with the Bar. Queen�s Counsel appointments are made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the recommendations of the Minister of Justice in collaboration with the Attorney General, and after consultation with the Legal Appointments Board, established under the Queen�s Counsel Act.

Those appointed to Queen�s Counsel are as follows:

Ernest Boone was born in Clarke�s Beach, on December 1, 1942. He moved with his family to St. John�s in 1943 when his father joined the St. John�s Fire Department. Raised and educated in St. John�s, Mr. Boone graduated from Prince of Wales Collegiate in 1964. After high school, he attended Memorial University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. He subsequently served 27 years in the Canadian Forces and four years with the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1975 and received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor in 1981. After resigning from his commission with the Canadian Forces in 1995, he returned to Newfoundland and Labrador where has been engaged in the full-time practice of law in St. John�s since that time. Mr. Boone was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ontario and to membership in the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1983. He practiced law for a brief period in the City of Ottawa before resuming his military career in 1986. Mr. Boone was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and to membership in the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1994. He is currently a member in good standing of both Law Societies. Mr. Boone is married to the former Linda Easton of St. John�s and they have one son, Sean.

Sandra R. Chaytor was admitted to the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1989, having completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1985 and having obtained her LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1988. She is a partner of the St. John�s office of Cox and Palmer where her primary area of practice is litigation. She has presented cases at all levels of court within the province as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. Ms. Chaytor is an active participant in many of the firm�s committees both locally and regionally including her role as co-chair of the firm�s insurance litigation practice group. She is also actively involved in the advancement and promotion of the legal profession as an instructor of the Civil Procedure Section of the Bar Admission Course and through her service over the years on numerous committees of the Canadian Bar Association including having served as the chair of the National Insurance Law Section and as an executive member of the National Sections Council. This past year, she served as a member of the Steering Committee for the CBA Convention held in St. John�s. She has committed herself to giving back to her community through volunteer work and over the course of the past 17 years, numerous charities and not-for-profit organizations have been the beneficiaries of her time and expertise. In 1995, she turned her focus to the Lung Association. In 2000, she became the president of the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Lung Association and in 2004, she became the chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Lung Association. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Lakecrest-St. John�s Independent School. She is an avid writer and is has recently been asked to contribute to the text, Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2007. She is married to her best friend, Stephen Jessome and is the proud mother of two sons, Alexander and Benjamin.

Christopher P. Curran was appointed deputy minister of Justice on April 17, 2006. Prior to that, he served as assistant deputy minister of Justice (Civil Law and Related Services) since 2001. He has also held positions as staff solicitor, Newfoundland Legal Aid Commission, executive director of Legal Policy, Department of Justice and High Sheriff of Newfoundland and Labrador. He graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1974 with a B.A.(Hons.) Degree in history and philosophy and 1977 graduated with an M.A. in philosophy. He received his Bachelor of Law degree in 1980 from the University of New Brunswick. His professional membership activities include serving as an instructor at the Bar Admission Course, as chair of the Law Foundation�s Legal Research Awards Committee, and as co-chair of the Project Daisy Committee of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Daisy Committee is charged with preserving the legal and judicial history of the province. Mr. Curran has been a lecturer in ethics and moral philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Memorial University of Newfoundland since 1989. He is a member of the Bioethics Committee of St. Patrick�s Mercy Home and the St. John�s Nursing Home Board, and has served as a member of the Human Investigations Committee, Health Sciences Complex, General Hospital Corporation, St. John�s. He is immediate past president of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, a national body charged with harmonizing laws among the provinces and territories within Canada.

Barry G. Fleming graduated from Memorial University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. In 1986, he graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Law and a Masters in Business Administration. In 1995, after eight years in private practice, Mr. Fleming became the first in house legal counsel for this province�s Human Rights Commission. From 2003 to December 2006, he also acted as the commission�s executive director. On December 6, 2006, Mr. Fleming was appointed the province�s Citizens Representative. Mr. Fleming has taught business law courses at the Faculty of Business at Memorial University from 1988 to 1993. He also teaches administrative law at the Bar Admissions Course offered by the Law Society of Newfoundland. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association.

Sheila H. Greene was born in St. John�s to Maureen Greene and Richard Greene, Q.C. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University in 1983, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1987 and a Master of Arts from York University in 1988. She articled at Ruby and Edwardh in Toronto and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1989. She returned to Newfoundland in 1989 and articled for Jeffrey C. Benson, Q.C. at Orsborn Benson Myles and was called to the Bar of Newfoundland in 1990. Ms. Greene worked as an associate at Williams, Harris, Roebothan and Mckay from 1991 to 1995 and in 1995 she took up her present position as general counsel of NAPE. Ms. Greene has appeared before various levels of Court from Provincial Court to the Supreme Court of Canada and many federal and provincial administrative tribunals. Her practice focuses on labour and employment, administrative law, human rights, and constitutional and criminal law. Ms. Greene is a vice president of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers and is a bencher of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is married to John Fahey and they have two children, Isabella and Robert.

R. Kent Morris was born at St. George�s and educated at Memorial University and Dalhousie Law School following which he has admitted to the Newfoundland Bar. Mr. Morris has represented clients at all levels of the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He maintains a corporate, commercial, trial practice and general practice of law in St. John�s and has represented international, national, provincial and local clients. Mr. Morris has served his country, province, profession and community in a broad range of matters, including an elected bencher of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, a member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Canada, a member of the International Commission of Jurists, Lieutenant Governor of the Newfoundland and Labrador Division and Trustee of the Eastern Canada and Caribbean District of Kiwanis International, president of Kiwanis Club of Cabot, a member of the Board of Directors of the Kiwanis Music Festival, a member of the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Branch of the Kidney Foundation, and a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

George L. Murphy received a Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.E.) and a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) from Memorial University in 1987. He graduated from Dalhousie University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Laws. He articled with the law firm of Poole Althouse and was called to the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador on April 8, 1991. Between 1991 and 1995, he was an associate with the law firm of Poole Althouse and since that time has been a partner with the firm. He is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Bar Association. Mr. Murphy has been a director of the Humber Community YMCA, the Corner Brook Chamber of Commerce, the Blomidon Golf and Country Club and the Western Whales Swim Club. He served as Vice-President Legal Services of the Management Committee of the 1999 Corner Brook Canada Winter Games Host Society. Since 2002, Mr. Murphy has been a bencher with the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and a director of the Western Memorial Regional Hospital Foundation. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Corner Brook Port Corporation since 2003, and since 2004, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Western Memorial Regional Hospital Foundation, where has served in the offices of treasurer, vice-chair and is currently chair.

William N. Rowe was born in Grand Bank, NL. He attended Law School on a Sir James Dunne Scholarship, and completed his legal studies at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, graduating with an Honours M.A. in Law. As a lawyer, Mr. Rowe practiced in St. John�s over three decades, concentrating for years on labour-management arbitrations. During the 1980s he was retained by the Minister of National Revenue to conduct a nation-wide inquiry into fishermen�s perceived income tax problems with Revenue Canada. He was elected to the House of Assembly on five occasions, first at the age of 24. He was appointed, at 26, as a minister in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and became responsible for several departments. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition. In 2004, Premier Danny Williams appointed Mr. Rowe as Provincial Representative in Ottawa where he advised the Premier during the crucial Atlantic Accord negotiations with the Government of Canada which secured more than two billion dollars for Newfoundland and Labrador from Ottawa. A long-time public affairs commentator, Mr. Rowe has appeared regularly on national and local television and radio. For over 20 years he has hosted a daily call-in show on VOCM and CFCB radio, which focuses on public issues and is carried throughout the province and beyond. He also writes a weekly public affairs column in the St. John�s Telegram and the Corner Brook Western Star. He has written three books: Clapp�s Rock, a best-selling novel published by McClelland and Stewart of Toronto; The Temptation of Victor Galanti, a second novel published by McClelland and Stewart; and a volume of essays of politics and public affairs published by Jesperson Press of St. John�s. Mr. Rowe is married to Penelope Ayre Rowe CM of St. John�s. They have a son, a daughter and two grandchildren.

Raymond P. Whalen graduated from Memorial University in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts and in 1973 with a Bachelor of Education. In 1979, he graduated from the University of Brunswick with a Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to the Newfoundland Bar in December of that year. Mr. Whalen is a partner in the law firm Smith Coffey Whalen and his preferred areas of practice include civil litigation, corporate and commercial law.

D. Bradford L. Wicks was admitted to the bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in December of 1982. He graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979 and from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1982. In 1989, he was also awarded a Master of Business Administration degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. After admission to the bar he worked as an associate with the firm of O�Reilly, Noseworthy until joining the Crown Attorney�s office in November 1983. In December 1989 he joined the firm of Williams, Roebothan, McKay and Marshall where he was admitted to partnership in 1992. He is currently the managing partner of the successor firm of Roebothan, McKay and Marshall where his practice includes personal injury litigation, corporate commercial work and administrative and employment law matters. He has served as a bencher of the Law Society of Newfoundland and its Chair of Discipline; member and vice-chair of the Board of Regents of Memorial University; chair of Unicef Newfoundland and a member of the Board of Unicef Canada; vice-chair of the Agricultural Products Marketing Board and chair of the St. John�s Urban Region Agricultural Zone Appeal Board. Currently he is chair of the I.J. Samson School Council, a member of the Education Committee of the Law Society, a member of the board of the Alzheimer Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of the board of the Newfoundland Brain Injury Association.

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Media contact:
Deborah Pennell
Director of Communications
Department of Justice
709-728-6985, 685-6612
deborahpennell@gov.nl.ca

2007 04 05                                                      11:10 a.m.