September 2, 2025Back to Latest

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Alberta has announced that 2025-26 applications for King’s Counsel (KC) appointments open today, Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 8:30 a.m. MST. Applications must be submitted no later than Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. MST.

KC appointments will be awarded to lawyers who are found to have made a significant contribution to the legal profession or public life in the province. This work is done under the authority of the King’s Counsel Act and individuals are evaluated based on detailed criteria. To be eligible, lawyers must have been entitled to practice law for at least 10 years, with a minimum of five years practising in Alberta (see section 2 of the Act for details).

How to Apply

The 2025 KC appointment application form is now available on the Alberta Justice website. Paper-based submissions and/or nominations on another lawyer’s behalf will not be accepted. If an individual thinks a particular lawyer is deserving of a KC appointment, the individual may suggest to the lawyer that they submit an application and/or offer to provide a reference for that lawyer.

All applications must include the following documentation:

• The completed web form;
• The applicant’s current resumé (do not include a cover letter);
• Consent to disclosure of personal information; and
• Three individually attached letters of reference, to a maximum of two pages per letter. In order to comply with the Access to Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act, each letter of reference must state as follows:

“This letter may be disclosed to Alberta Justice, the Law Society of Alberta, the King’s Counsel Screening Committee, and as otherwise required for use in the King’s Counsel selection process.”

Review Process

All completed application packages will be reviewed by the King’s Counsel Screening Committee. Note that the Screening Committee will not accept or consider applications that do not comply with the parameters set out in the web application form, such as document size (each document maximum two pages), formatting (margins no narrower than one inch) and font (no smaller than 12-point).

To review more information on King’s Counsel appointments, please visit the King’s Counsel webpage.

Questions?

If you have questions about the application process, please contact the government at KC-Mail@gov.ab.ca.