Anderson joins the Alberta Court of Justice bench; Downey-Damato becomes a justice of the peace
The Alberta government has announced the appointments of Ryan D. Anderson and Allison Downey-Damato as justice of the Alberta Court of Justice and full-time justice of the peace, respectively.
Anderson will begin to sit in the Southern Region on May 1 while Downey-Damato takes up her new Edmonton-based role on Monday.
Anderson’s first legal role was with MMH Lawyers. In 2009, he jumped to Huckvale LLP, where he made partner two years later. He became a Law Society of Alberta bencher in 2018.
He previously chaired Lethbridge Law Day and is part of the Lethbridge Bar Association. Moreover, he is a Collaborative Law Group member and a Lethbridge College sessional instructor; he has also presented for Lethbridge Public Legal Education on several topics. At present, he sits on the SASH Disability Support Services and Magrath Agricultural Society boards.
Anderson obtained his bachelor of laws degree from the University of Calgary in 2002.
Downey-Damato becomes the 43rd justice of the peace in Alberta. She commenced her legal career with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons LLP), articling and focusing on civil litigation as an associate lawyer.
In 2002, she transitioned to the Edmonton Crown Prosecutions Office, where she concentrated on cases involving intimate partner violence, sexual assaults and child abuse. She was appointed assistant chief crown prosecutor in 2009; in this role, she oversaw family protection matters and managed family violence and high-risk offender files.
Downey-Damato was seconded as the domestic violence project coordinator with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General from 2015 to 2017. She was subsequently elevated to deputy chief prosecutor. She joined the Operations and Strategic Support Office at Alberta Crown Prosecution Service as senior Crown counsel in 2021.
She obtained her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1999.
“Filling judicial positions at the Alberta Court of Justice has been a priority as it directly improves the responsiveness of the justice system, helping ensure Albertans have timely access to justice. I would like to congratulate those newly appointed and wish them success in their new roles,” Mickey Amery, minister of justice and attorney general of Alberta, said in a statement.
This year, the Alberta government has named one assistant chief justice and two new justices.
