Josephine Alicia De Whytell

Josephine de Whytell, sole practitioner, working closely with other sole practitioners for the benefit of clients;

Josephine is from the County of Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. She grew up in Leeds, and earned a government grant to enable her to attend Leeds Girls’ High School, where she completed her GCSE’s and A-levels. She worked at her parent’s art shop on the weekends, painting and making hand-made cards, and worked as a legal assistant immediately following high school, and during all her breaks from university. Josephine attended the University of Keele, in England, and graduated with a degree in Law with Philosophy.

After completing law school, she moved to Saskatoon in 2008 and began working as a legal assistant at Semaganis Worme Legal. She completed the Canadian National Committee on Accreditation process and articled under Donald E. Worme, Q.C., IPC (Queen’s Counsel and Indigenous Peoples Counsel). Mr. Worme, Q.C., IPC was former Commission Counsel for the Ipperwash Inquiry, Stonechild Inquiry, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and represented the Assembly of First Nations in the Provincial Missing and Murdered Women Inquiry in British Columbia.

As a paralegal and articling student, Josephine became acquainted with the array of unique and distinct First Nations and Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, and has focused her legal practice towards advocating for Indigenous clients in areas of constitutional law, criminal law, child welfare law, and litigation, as well as First Nation elections.

Josephine was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 2012 and continued to work at Semaganis Worme Legal representing various First Nations, Tribal Councils, Indigenous organizations, and individuals facing discrimination in the justice system. Josephine acted as counsel for the deceased’s family in the Kinew James Inquest and has been engaged in various litigation and appeals across the country defending the inherent rights of First Nations to regulate child welfare in their jurisdictions.