Insights

Rosanne Kyle and Elin Sigurdson named King’s Counsel

On May 4, 2023, the B.C. Ministry of Attorney General awarded the King’s counsel designation to 30 B.C. lawyers, including Mandell Pinder’s Rosanne Kyle and Elin Sigurdson, in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the legal profession.

The King’s counsel designation, indicated by the post-nominal letters “KC,” reflects a lawyer’s distinction based on their contributions to the legal profession and to society. No more than 7% of practising B.C. lawyers may hold the King’s counsel designation at any time.

Recipients of the King’s counsel designation must be nominated by their peers. An advisory committee including the chief justice of B.C., the chief justice of the Supreme Court of B.C., the chief judge of the Provincial Court of B.C., the president of the Law Society of B.C., the president of the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch, a member of the Law Society of B.C. appointed by the benchers, and the deputy attorney general of B.C., reviews nominations and makes recommendations. Appointments are made by cabinet by order in council.

Rosanne Kyle is the managing partner of Mandell Pinder. Rosanne has been providing legal advice to Indigenous governments in Canada for almost 30 years. She has a broad practice that that includes helping Indigenous groups negotiate consent-based decision-making agreements with the Crown. In 2020, Rosanne led a team at Mandell Pinder that successfully appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada in the Southwind case brought on behalf of Lac Seul First Nation to obtain just compensation for their loss of reserve lands used for a hydro-electric project, clarifying the law of equitable compensation. Canadian Lawyer magazine named Rosanne as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers 2022.

Elin Sigurdson’s practice focuses on Aboriginal and constitutional litigation and dispute resolution. Elin is deeply committed to social justice and has done pro bono work for BC Civil Liberties Association, West Coast Leaf, and Pivot Legal Society. In addition to being a member of the Southwind team, Elin appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada in February of 2023 in the case of Dickson v. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation as counsel for Vuntut Gwitchin along with Kris Statynk and Krista Robertson.

Read more about the 2023 King’s council appointments here.