Designated in 2025 as an Exceptional Person.
Nominator: Greenspond Historical Society
Born in Greenspond in 1897, Louise Maud Saunders was the first woman to be called to the Bar in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1916 she began working as a legal secretary for the law firm Squires and Winters. One of the partners, Sir Richard Squires, went on to become Prime Minister of Newfoundland. In 1928, Louise began articling as a student of the law under Squires’ guidance. Five years later on April 4, 1933 Louise became the first woman to be called to the Degree of Barrister of Law by the then Law Society of Newfoundland. The Executive Council of the provincial government conferred the honorary degree of Queen’s Counsel (QC) on Louise in 1964, making her the first woman in Newfoundland and Labrador to hold this legal title. Louise never retired from law but continued to work throughout her adult life. When she died in 1969, she was one of the oldest practicing lawyers in the province. She remains a prominent figure in the legal history of Newfoundland and Labrador, one who carved a path for future women to follow.
Feild-Spencer College production of The Merchant of Venice, November 1913. Louise Saunders at far right. Photo courtesy of Sue Creighton, Saunders Collection.
Photo of Louise Saunders taken by photographer Elsie Holloway, circa 1930s. From the Louise Saunders Collection.
Louise Saunders’ Law Society certificate. From the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Collections.
Picture of Louise Saunders taken when she was called to the Bar in 1933. From the Newfoundland Quarterly.
1935 notice of the new law firm Squires, Curtis, McEvoy & Saunders. From The Newfoundland Gazette.
Macdonald Fellowship Club dinner, perhaps in the 1930s. From the Louise Saunders Collection.
