Two distinguished Prince Edward Island lawyers have earned the prestigious Queen’s Counsel designation for 2015.
“I am pleased to announce that Krista MacKay of Summerside and Patsy MacLean of Cornwall have been selected as the 2015 appointments to Queen’s Counsel,” said Premier and Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General Wade MacLauchlan. “This honor represents the top recognition of one’s reputation and accomplishments in the field of law, and we are fortunate to have them working and living in our Island community.”
Lawyers who receive the Queen’s Counsel designation are selected by a committee of their peers for their outstanding career achievements and their contributions to the community. Presented annually, the designation goes back to 16th century England, when one or two senior barristers of the High Court were entrusted with providing the Crown with legal counsel.
This year’s recipients will be formally recognized during a ceremony at Government House in January by the Honourable Lieutenant Governor H. Frank Lewis.
Backgrounder
Krista MacKay
Krista was called to the Bar in 1996 after receiving her law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1995. She completed articles and continued as an associate at Taylor McLellan in Summerside from 1995-1999, was an associate at the Summerside Office of Cox & Palmer (formerly Patterson Palmer) from 2001-2008, then a partner at Cox & Palmer from 2008-2015 practicing mainly civil litigation and family law. In March 2015 she left private practice for the public sector, taking a position with the Legal Aid section of the provincial Department of Justice and Public Safety, practicing both family and criminal law. In the community, Krista is chair of the Discipline Committee for the Law Society and treasurer for the PEI branch of the Canadian Bar Association, as well as a board member of Community Connections, a non-profit organization that assists persons with mental disabilities. She has served as president of the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Mental Health Review Board.
Patsy MacLean
Patsy MacLean is a partner with the human resources management and labour relations consulting firm HR Atlantic. She is also a partner with the law firm MacLeod, Montigny + MacLean. Prior to entering law school, Patsy received her baccalaureate degree in Nursing from the University of New Brunswick and practiced adult and pediatric nursing for 11 years. After graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 1993, she returned to health and social services in Prince Edward Island in positions including assistant director of nursing of acute care and mental health, senior policy analyst, interim executive director of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and legal counsel. She has also been a departmental solicitor, assistant deputy attorney general, and deputy attorney general with the province’s Office of the Attorney General. Patsy possesses a practitioners certificate in alternative dispute resolution from UPEI and is a member of the Collaborative Practice PEI and is trained in collaborative practice. Active in her community, she serves as a member of council of the Law Foundation of PEI and is a director of the QEH Foundation and was the official trustee for the former Eastern School District. She is also the chairperson of the PEI Criminal Code Review Board.