First woman to be appointed King's Counsel

Born: 1894 in Cayuga, Ontario
Died: 1970

Helen Alice Kinnear graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the bar on 21 October 1920, and joined her father's law firm. In 1934, she became the first woman in the British Empire to be appointed King's Counsel (K.C.) and the next year, she became the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court of Canada. She was also the first federally appointed female judge in Canada (1943).

Osgoode Hall Law School awards two prizes in her name: the Helen Kinnear Prize in Criminal Procedure and the Helen Kinnear Prize in Family Law. There is also a children's centre named for her in Port Colborne, Ontario, where she lived from 1904 to 1943.

More information on:

King's/Queen's Counsel appointments
Osgoode Hall Law School

Sources include:

Colombo, John Robert. 1000 Questions About Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2001.

Connections:

By Name · K
By Province · Ontario
By Claim to Fame · Law & Politics · Firsts
Group(s) · Women