Sydney lawyer called to bench
Diane McGrath appointed provincial court judge
Having spent the majority of her legal career as a prosecutor, Sydney lawyer Diane McGrath will now take a seat on the bench in being appointed Tuesday a provincial court judge.
The announcement was made by provincial attorney general and Justice Minister Mark Furey and chief provincial court Judge Pamela Williams. The appointment is effective immediately and McGrath will be assigned to the Sydney Justice Centre.
Born in Chatham, N.B., McGrath moved to Sydney at an early age. She received her undergraduate degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax and her law degree from the University of New Brunswick.
“I’m thrilled that Nova Scotia has another strong and experienced woman on the bench, especially one with Judge McGrath’s background and expertise,” Williams said in a press release announcing the appointment.
“As a prosecutor, Judge McGrath always had a reputation for being fair and professional, and I’m confident she will carry those traits over to her duties as a judge.”
Called to the bar in 1993, McGrath first practised at Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Sydney and then in private practice with H.F. MacIntyre & Associates, Sydney, as an associate lawyer, per diem Crown attorney, and vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board.
First appointed as a Crown attorney with the Public Prosecution Service in 1996, McGrath began work in the Truro office before moving to the special prosecution section based in Halifax. She joined the Sydney office in 2007.
Throughout her career, McGrath has served with a number of community and professional boards and agencies including the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.
While with the Public Prosecution Service, she worked on the education committee, sexual assault working group and political restrictions committee.
McGrath has also served as a domestic violence educator and co-trainer with the prosecution service and helped develop and implement the domestic violence court program in Sydney.
She received her Queen’s Counsel designation in 2011.
McGrath’s appointment comes to fill vacancy on the bench with the recent departure of Justice Anne Derrick from the provincial court to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
Judge Amy Sakalauskas, a native of North Sydney, who is currently assigned to the Sydney court, is now expected to be assigned to the Halifax court.
McGrath’s appointment brings the provincial and family courts to a full complement of 35 full-time sitting judges and nine part-time judges, 18 of whom are female.