CALL US ANYTIME FOR A FREE TELEPHONE CONSULTATION. WE CAN HELP! 709-579-8424
Lawyers
Our Experienced Lawyers in Newfoundland
Do you need help with your personal injury or impaired driving case? Gittens, de Beer & Associates is here to help you with that and much more. On this page, you can find information about our team. Call us to book an appointment. We will be happy to help you.
Ernest L. Gittens
SENIOR PARTNER
Ernest received his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 1977 and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa in 1981.
​
In his 39 years of practice, Ernest has gained considerable experience and currently maintains an extensive family law, personal injury, and litigation practice.
Ernest has appeared before all levels of Provincial and Supreme Courts in Newfoundland Labrador as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a current member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canadian Bar Association, and is a past president of the Atlantic Provinces of Trial Lawyers Association.
Nancy C. McKillop
SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Nancy was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and grew up in St. John’s East. She received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Anthropology from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and her Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 2000. Nancy has an extensive family law and real estate practice and has appeared at all levels of court in this province, including the Provincial Court, Supreme Court (Family and General Divisions), and the Court of Appeal. She is a current member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nancy is experienced, knowledgeable, and reliable. She is committed to being accessible to her clients. In her 22 years of practice she has developed a reputation for effectively negotiating settlements for her family clients as well as navigating seamless transactions for her real estate clients.
​
Nancy’s areas of practice include family, real estate, wills and estates, civil litigation and property.
​
Outside of practice, Nancy enjoyed volunteering with the Girl Guides of Canada for several years. She has also been a Board Member with the Goulds Historical Society for over twenty years, which focuses on the preservation of St. Matthews Church (the Ruby Church) in the Goulds.
Natasha J. de Beer
PARTNER
Natasha joined Gittens & Associates as an articling student in 2017 and became an Associate with the firm in February 2019. She is also a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Bar Association.
She obtained her LLB degree through the University of South Africa, and commenced her articles at Koep & Partners in Windhoek, Namibia in 2015. During this time, she also received the prestigious Chief Judge Karuaihe Excellence Award as the top student of the bar admission examinations in Namibia. Since her successful admission to the bar, she appeared in civil matters, both in the Magistrates’ Courts and the High Court of Namibia.
​
After relocating to Canada, Natasha attended the University of Alberta to complete the Internationally Trained Lawyer Pathway in 2017 and completed the bar exams in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018. She appears before the Provincial and Supreme Courts in Newfoundland and Labrador on a regular basis where she represents her clients professionally.
​
Her experience covers a wide range of legal areas, including, but not limited to, corporate and commercial law, shareholders’ disputes, employment law, lease disputes, construction law, professional negligence, defamation, immigration, family law, as well as wills and estates. She understands the needs of her clients, both locally and internationally, and provides her clients with sound advice and sensible solutions.
​​
She enjoys hiking, reading, swimming and snowshoeing. She is also fully conversant in English and Afrikaans.
Robert Escott
ASSOCIATE
Robert earned his Juris Doctor from the University of New Brunswick (“UNB”), where he was awarded the Maurice Gautreau Prize for Legal Writing. He was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in October of 2019 and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (“CBA”).
Robert has a strong background in personal injury and civil litigation, with an emphasis on helping survivors of sexual abuse. Robert now has a varied general practice, including wills & estates, employment, family law, and other areas.
​
Robert considers himself an intrepid traveller, having completed a Russian language program in Pushkin (Russia), a semester of law school in Seoul (South Korea), and a volunteer internship for the Department of Public Prosecutions in Kingston (Jamaica). Robert also taught as a Head Teacher for an English language school in Seoul before entering practice as a lawyer. Through these experiences, Robert has developed valuable skills and perspective, helping him to assist clients from a broad range of backgrounds.
​
Robert understands the indispensability of clear, timely, and cost-effective legal advice. He is committed to advancing his clients’ interests and strives to deliver positive results.
Chineze Nwokedi
ASSOCIATE
Chineze joined Gittens, de Beer & Associates in April 2020 as an Articling Student and was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 2021.
She graduated with an LL.B (Honours) from Madonna University in 2011 and a BL From the Nigerian Law School in 2012. While at the Nigerian Law school, she did her chamber’s attachment with the Attorney-General/Minister of Justice of Nigeria in 2012. She obtained her NCA qualifying certificate from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in 2019.
​
Chineze practiced law for many years in Nigeria and appeared in all levels of court before moving to Newfoundland. Since her call to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar, she has appeared in all levels of court in the province, including the Provincial Court, Supreme Court (Family and General Divisions), and the Court of Appeal. Chineze's areas of practice includes family law, guardianship, wills and estates, particularly estate litigation, labour/employment and civil litigation.
​
She is a current member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, she is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom.
​
​Outside of work, Chineze enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 sons, serving as a member board of directors VOCM Cares Foundation, volunteering, cooking and travelling. Chineze is fluent in English, pidgin English, and Igbo.
Michele Grant
ASSOCIATE
Michele (she/her) is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she obtained her Juris Doctor with honors in Intellectual Property Law in 2009 as a member of the inaugural class of Drexel University’s School of Law. She holds a B.A. cum laude from the University of Delaware, where her course of study included a semester at the Université de Caen, Normandy. After university and before law school, Michele co-founded and operated a boutique internet software business in Seattle.
During law school, Michele interned at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. She founded the school’s chapter of the American Constitution Society and served as the first president of the school’s alumni association. Upon admission to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2009, Michele practiced law in Philadelphia. Her practice focused on supporting the city’s arts, non-profit, and small business community by providing entrepreneurial counseling, contract negotiation, representation in civil matters, and assistance with family court issues. She co-represented, pro bono, a theater arts organization to victory in a landlord-tenant dispute on The People’s Court reality television show in 2011. She also volunteered with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, where she trained and coordinated Legal Observers, who monitor police activities during public demonstrations, for ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild.
​
She obtained her NCA Certificate of Qualification from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and joined Gittens & Associates as an articled clerk in 2021, becoming an Associate after her call to the bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2022. Michele continues to hold her license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
​
Michele currently focuses her practice on family law, civil litigation, and estate litigation.
​
​Michele and her husband have lived in St. John’s since 2017, and her son lives in Vancouver. She is an ally of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Outside of work, Michele enjoys movies, travel, and supporting Philadelphia sports teams (go Birds!).
Patrick Murphy
ASSOCIATE
Adam Mayo
ASSOCIATE
.jpg)
Adam was born and raised in St John’s, NL. For a few years after completing high school he trained as a professional cook until he was inspired to study law. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and History at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2015, and then completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Essex, UK, in 2018.
His fascination with criminal law, litigation, and court procedures began with his legal studies. Adam was called to the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2021, and he began work as a criminal prosecutor with the Provincial Government of NL later that year. He joined Gittens, de Beer & Associates in the spring of 2024 to continue his criminal law practice as a defence lawyer, and to explore other areas of legal practice with the firm’s friendly and exceptionally skilled team. Feeling most at-home advocating for his clients’ rights and interests in Court or at a negotiation table, Adam focusses his legal practice on litigation and dispute resolution. His favourite areas of practice include: criminal and constitutional law, as well as litigation and resolution of civil disputes of all kinds—such as employment disputes, real estate (property) disputes, contracts disputes, family and estates disputes, and municipal disputes. Legal research and education are very important to Adam, and he continues to refine those skills.
Adam understands the importance of providing his clients with clear and honest advice that is based on his continuous, careful assessments of all the information available to him and of the laws which apply to that information. He enjoys working directly with his clients to develop strategies that accommodate their needs. He promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in his practice, and he encourages his clients and his colleagues to feel at-ease with him.
When Adam is not advocating for his clients, he prefers to be outdoors. He also enjoys cooking for a crowd, exploring new places, and his newest hobby is learning languages. He is currently studying French, which he hopes will become his second language soon. Adam is a member of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, and he is an ally of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Noor Tayyaba
ASSOCIATE
Noor grew up in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She completed her five year LL.B program from Quaide-Azam University, Islamabad in 2021. After completing her internship and getting her bar membership in Pakistan, she moved to Canada in 2022. She joined Gittens, deBeer & Associates in September 2022 while she was taking her NCA exams. During her NCA process she worked with the firm as a Legal Assistant.
Noor was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in February 2024. Noor's areas of practice are family and civil law.​
Noor was an active student during her university years and participated in various national and international moot courts where she won awards for Best Legal Researcher and Best Advocacy. She also held various student leadership roles. She remained Deputy Coordinator Literary Section 2019-20 and Coordinator Literary Section 2020-21 of the Quaidian Debating and Literary Society. She also remained a Member of University Magazine Editorial Board (2020 - 2021). She loves to read and was actively involved in conducting Book Clubs in her University. She did volunteer work with Read Pakistan and remained the Book Club Head for the organization for over two years. She also loves to write and won many writing competitions.
​
Noor is fully conversant in English and Urdu; and can also understand Punjabi.
Emmanuel Oyesomi
ASSOCIATE
Emmanuel joined Gittens, de Beer & Associates in 2024 as an Associate after he was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar. He completed his articles at a personal injury and civil litigation firm in Newfoundland.
Emmanuel graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2019 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2022. He is currently pursuing a Professional LL.M. at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto concentrating on Constitutional and Business Law.
Emmanuel advises and represents individuals in plaintiffs’ personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents, sexual abuse, and medical malpractice. He was part of the legal team that submitted claims on behalf of hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse in the Mount Cashel Orphanage/Roman Catholic Church’s court-supervised insolvency process.
He also has specialized ‘nuts and bolts’ knowledge of Canadian Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law, providing advice and representation for businesses and individuals looking to navigate complex immigration issues.
Outside of work, he enjoys playing soccer and mini golf.
Benjamin Stratton
ASSOCIATE
Ben joined Gittens, de Beer and Associates in May 2022 as a summer student. After graduating from the University of New Brunswick with a Juris Doctor in 2023, Ben continued with the firm as an Articling Student. He was called to the Newfoundland and Labrador bar in June of 2024.
Ben maintains a general practice in a range of areas of law, including criminal, family, wills and estates, and real estate. He appears regularly before the Provincial Court and Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ben works with his clients to come up with practical and cost-effective solutions to their legal issues. He works hard to advocate for his clients both inside and outside the courtroom.
While not in the office, Ben enjoys spending time fly fishing, skiing, hiking, or any other activities that get him outside.