A Kamloops Defence Lawyer has been appointed to the Queen’s Counsel here in British Columbia.

Brad Smith was one of 26 lawyers across the province to be given the prestigious Queen’s counsel designation. He says he received the news on Tuesday afternoon. “About 20 minutes later I was doing some work and my phone just exploded. I started getting emails and texts and well wishes from colleagues right across the country. I’ve pretty much been walking around on Cloud Nine ever since.”

The Queen’s Counsel can effectively be called on at anytime by the crown to provide legal advice. Those who receive the honour are recommended by their peers. In BC they are subject to a nomination and then screened by an applications committee that includes senior judges. That committee makes a recommendation to the Attorney General who then makes a recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor.

As Smith looked back at his career, he says there is no one particular case that stands out that got him to this point. “The legal profession is a learned profession. It requires you to bring your skill and ability to helping people in crisis. My work as crown counsel was very important to me because you have a tremendous power as crown counsel over people’s lives and whether to charge the, with offenses or not is a very great responsibility. Similarly as defence counsel you deal with people in crisis and you have to help them to the best of your ability and they trust you to do so.”

Smith has been practicing law for almost 20 years.