The LCO hires LLB/JD students and graduate students from our partner schools during the fall/winter and the summer terms.
Students are primarily involved in carrying out research in support of the LCO’s projects and depending on the stage of the projects, students may also have an opportunity to participate in consultations with community groups and other on-going activities of the LCO. Students have an opportunity to see and participate in the process of law reform from inside a law reform commission. Students may have the opportunity to prepare papers on relevant issues.
Since the LCO’s inception in 2007, student researchers from all partner law schools have contributed to the LCO’s research and activities. Read more about our current students.
Our past students:
- Fall/Winter 2012/2013 students
- Summer 2012 students
- Fall/Winter 2011/2012 students
- Summer 2011 students
- Fall/Winter 2010/2011 students
- Summer 2010 students
- Fall/Winter 2009/2010 students
- Summer 2009 students
- Fall/Winter 2008/2009 students
- Summer 2008 students
John-Otto Phillips (Otto) is just completing the first year of Osgoode's JD program. Prior to law school, he completed his PhD in philosophy at McMaster University in the area of legal theory. His dissertation examined the judicial role in administrative law and developed a novel approach to Canada's standard of review analysis that revolves around the concept of deference. For the past several years, he has also been the principal organizer for McMaster's graduate conference for legal theory, and he was the 2011 co-organizer of the "Nature of Law" International Philosophy of Law Conference.
Cody Yorke is completing her second year at Queen's University Faculty of Law. Prior to law school, she completed an M.A. in Women's Studies from York University. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Sexual Assault Centre of Kingston and is the Production Editor for Queen's Law Journal. She is also a Research Assistant for Feminist Legal Studies Queen's, and was previously employed as in Intern with the Sexual Assault Court Watch Program run by the Sexual Assault Centre of Kingston.
Diriana Rodriguez Guerrero is completing her second year at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. Prior to law school, she completed her B.A. in International Relations and Legal Philosophy at York. She has worked as a Research Assistant and in private legal practice, as well as interning at Reach Canada, an organization focussed on assisting persons with disabilities in accessing legal services. She is trilingual in English, French and Spanish.
Megha Jandhyala is completing the 3rd year of her S.J.D. program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, following LL.Ms from the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto. After completing law school in India, she worked both in private practice and for the non-profit organizations India Alliance for Child Rights and Gene Campaign, where she conducted research, analyzed legislation, and participated in public consultations.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
James Coristine is entering his second year at the University of Windsor law school. Prior to law school, he completed a B.A. in History from Concordia University. He has worked as a Policy and Program Analyst with the provincial government's Aboriginal Education Office, and at the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. He has volunteered with the University of Windsor's Community Legal Aid program and with the Alexandra Park Adult Literacy Program.
Stuart Hargreaves is completing the final stages of his SJD at the University of Toronto. He completed his B.C.L. at Oxford University and his J.D. at Osgoode Hall Law School. He is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, teaching courses on Property Law and on Information and Privacy Law. In 2008, he was a Research Fellow at the University of Toronto's Centre for Innovation Law & Policy, and in 2009 was a Google Policy Fellow at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa. He has also worked as Counsel at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General's Policy Division.
Sarah Molyneaux is in her final year at Osgoode Hall Law School. During her time so far at Osgoode, she spent eight months in the Workers' Rights Division of Parkdale Legal Services. She summered at the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Legal Services Branch. She has volunteered extensively, including at the Caregivers Action Centre, the Workers Action Centre and Osgoode's Community Legal Aid and Services Program (CLASP). She has advanced French language skills, as well as some skills in German and Spanish.
Patrick Simon is in his fourth year of the National Program at the University of Ottawa, and is therefore familiar with both civil and common law. He has worked as a Research Assistant for two professors during his time at law school, and has also worked at the Labour Program of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. In the latter role, he was a member of a team examining issues and trends involving the rights of Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada. He also completed an Internship at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, and was involved with the Alzheimers' Society through Pro Bono Students Canada. He is fluently bilingual.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Eddie Clark is our graduate student. He is currently completing an SJD at the University of Toronto. He completed his LL.M. at that same institution. His research interests focus on enhancing citizen engagement with the policy process. He is originally from New Zealand, and completed his LL.B. there, after which he practiced in a leading public law firm for five years. He has considerable experience in policy and legislative development, including writing policy and discussion papers, analyzing submissions, and carrying out legislative drafting.
Dr. Jordan Birenbaum is completing his first year of his JD at the University of Toronto. Previously, he completed a doctorate in history, focussing on the drafting of the Canadian Bill of Rights. He has worked as a research assistant in the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law as well as in the Department of History. He interned with United Nations Watch in Geneva, which required him to monitor UN Human Rights sessions. He has done pro-bono research for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He is fluent in French.
Nathalie Kalina is completing her second year at Osgoode Hall Law School, following the completion of a B.A. in Sociology from Vassar College. She has worked as a research assistant for Professor Mossman on family law issues and for Dean Sossin on freedom of information laws, and is completing a Pro Bono placement conducting research for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Prior to law school, she worked at Isuma TV, an indigenous filmmaking company, helping to launch a digital archive of Inuit and Aboriginal media. She is bilingual in French and English.
Debjani Poddar is completing her second year at the University of Ottawa Law School, following the completion of an Honours Bachelour of Arts and Science at McMaster University, where she was the recipient of several scholarships and awards. Earlier this year, she completed a Directed Research Project on the treatment of charges for sexual violence in international criminal law. She has worked as an intern for the Canadian Centre for International Justice and for the International Criminal Court Legal Tools Project. She is fluent in French.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Andrea Dias is our Osgoode student. She is completing her final year there, following her acquisition of an Honours degree with Distinction in Science at Queen's University. She brings a range of experience to her role with us, including Pro Bono research for the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, volunteer work with CLASP, and research for Professor Fred Zemans on access to justice policies in Ontario and India. Her practical legal experience in immigration and family law has given her the interest and background to work on our Family Law and Vulnerable Workers projects.
Nisha Sikka is commencing her second year at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. She has completed an Honours B.A. in Communications and English from Simon Fraser University. She was the recipient of the Windsor Faculty of Law's 2010 Access to Justice award for service to the community. She has volunteered as a research assistant for the Assembly of First Nations and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, as well as for the British Columbia Human Rights Coalition. She has work experience assisting individuals with development disabilities in achieving community inclusion, and has volunteered with Community Legal Aid at the University of Windsor, the Access to Justice Clinic in Vancouver, and the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre of Windsor. This year, she will be a Senior Editor at the Windsor Review of Legal-Social Issues. She will be assisting the Older Adults and Disabilities projects.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Left to Right: Jerri Phillips, Michael DaSilva, Patricia Hughes (Executive Director), Safina Lalani, Julia Rendell and Lauren Bates (Staff Lawyer).
Michael Da Silva is completing his second year at the University of Toronto Law School. He completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Contemporary Studies at the University of King's College in Halifax. He has worked as a Research Assistant for Professor Lorraine Weinrib, and as a Research Student at the Bioethics Department at the Hospital for Sick Children. He was part of the Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights' clinical legal education course. He has served as a volunteer advocate as part of the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto's Health Professional's Appeal and Review Board Advocacy Project. He was the 2009-2010 winner of the Nathan Strauss Essay Prize in Legal Ethics. Michael's work with the LCO will be focussed on the Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work project.
Safina Lalani is completing her second year at Osgoode Hall Law School. She previously completed an Honours Bachelor of Science degree with High Distinction at University of Toronto, during which she assisted with research at the Cognition and Motivation, Adult Development and the Human Neuropsychology Labs, and the Hospital for Sick Children. She has worked as a Research Assistant with Professors Janet Walker and Balfour Halevy of Osgoode Hall Law School, as well as with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Her community activities include volunteer work with older adults, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and students with disabilities. As well as abilities in French, she has basic capacity in American Sign Language. She will be working on the Older Adults and Disabilities projects.
Jerri Phillips is completing her second year at Queen's University Faculty of Law. She previously completed a B.A. (Hon) in History and a Masters of Public Administration. She has worked as a Research Assistant for Professor Martha Bailey, for the Queen's University Faculty of Law, and for the Canadian Bar Association at Queen's University. She also has experience working in a law office, and volunteering for a women's shelter. Jerri will be working remotely from Kingston, and will focus her efforts on the Family Law Project.
Julia Rendell is our Graduate Student. Julia completed a B.A. in French and Latin, as well as her law degree at Victoria University in New Zealand. Following completion of her law degree, she worked for four years for the New Zealand Law Commission as a legal and policy advisor. There, she worked on a variety of projects, conducting legal research and public consultations, writing Issues Papers and Reports, and liaising with government departments and steering committees. She is currently completing her LLM. at the University of Toronto, with a focus on public law. Julia will be working with us at our offices at York University. Julia will be working on a number of the LCO projects during her time with us.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Courtney Evans is our Osgoode student. She is currently entering her second year of law school, following the completion of a B.A. in Drama and Music from Queen's University and a Masters in Music from the Boston Conservatory. In her first year of law school, she was recognized for her outstanding abilities in essay writing. She has a broad range of volunteer experience, and is fluent in French. Courtney will be working on the Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities projects.
Nicoletta Lakatos is in her second year of studies at Windsor's law school. She graduated with distinction from McGill's International Development Studies program, and interned at the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy. Her volunteer experience includes work with Community Legal Aid Windsor, the National Association of Women and the Law, the McGill Global Aids Coalition, and the Children's Aid Society of Brant. She will be working on the Vulnerable Workers project.
Jael Marques de Souza is in her final year of law school at Queen's. She summered with the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee and will be completing her articles with them. Last year, she worked part-time for the Courts Disability Education Project. Prior to law school, she interned at the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva. She was Queen's French oralist in the Laskin Moot, and volunteers with Queen's Legal Aid and the Queen's Law Journal. Jael will be working on the Provincial Offenses Act project, and the Persons with Disabilities project.
Our graduate student is Howard (Howie) Kislowicz. Howie is in the second year of the S.J.D. program at the University of Toronto. He completed his LL.M. at the University of Toronto, with a thesis on freedom of religion and Canada's commitment to multiculturalism, and his thesis won the Alan Marks Medal for best thesis in a graduate law program. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and is currently in receipt of a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. Following completion of his LL.B at McGill Law School, he clerked with the Federal Court of Appeal, and worked as a litigator at Heenan Blaikie. He is also a composer, vocalist and guitarist, and is fluent in French. Howie will be working on the Family Law project.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Left to right: Amanda Letourneau, Maria Pia Brunello, Ari Linds, Lauren Bates (Staff Lawyer) and Denise Cooney
Maria Pia Brunello is a second year student at the University of Windsor. She has done work extensive work abroad, both through a CIDA internship as a Educational and Integration Assistant in Bolivia, and more recently as a Social Justice Fellow in Peru, where she drafted a report and policy recommendations on barriers to access to justice for rural and poor Andean communities. This spring, she was the French oralist for her school at the Laskin Moot Competition. She has done considerable volunteer work with Community Legal Aid Windsor.
Denise Cooney completed a Masters in English literature before she commenced law school at the University of Toronto last fall. She also is fluent in French. She has gathered research experience through volunteer work with the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Refugee Project, and as a caseworker for Advocates for Injured Workers.
Amanda Letourneau is our Osgoode student. She is in her second year of law school, after having completed an Honours B.A. in Psychology and French. She is interested in family law, having worked with both Pro Bono Students Canada's Family Law Project, and with the Parent Information Program. She has also done volunteer work with CLASP, and has legal research experience working for a member of the private bar.
Ari Linds has just finished his first year at the University of Ottawa law school. He has a B.A. in History and Political Science, and a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto. He spent several years in the field of public policy prior to attending law school, having been employed as a Senior Policy Advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and an Advisor, Issues and Research with the Office of the Vice President, Government and Institutional Relations at the University of Toronto. Ari has done volunteer work with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's Monitoring Project, through Pro Bono Students Canada, and is fully bilingual in French and English.
We are also fortunate to once again have an intern placed with us through the University of Maryland Law School. Prior to attending law school, Michael Raykher completed a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His volunteer experiences include work on the Katrina Project - Capital Post Conviction Project. He has worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as several financial institutions.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Amar Bhatia is pursuing his SJD at the University of Toronto, with a focus on migration law. He completed his LL.M at the University of Toronto, and received the Howland Prize for the most outstanding performance in that program. He completed his LL.B at Osgoode Hall Law School. He has an Honours B.A. in English literature from Queen's, and completed an M.A. in English Literature at the University of Sussex. He is currently the recipient of an SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship. He has a strong background in labour law.
Jeremy Patrick is a Ph.D student at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he is writing his dissertation on the history of Canada's prohibition on blasphemous libel. He has completed an LL.M at the University of Toronto, and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He was previously an Assistant Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he taught courses on legal research and writing and American Constitutional Law. For a number of years, he was employed as the Policy Analyst for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Sara Abraham is entering her second year at the University of Toronto Law School. She has a Ph.D and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was for a number of years an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. Her work on race, class and immigration has been widely published, and includes her book, Labour and the Multiracial Project in the Caribbean: Its History and Promise, and a report for Toronto City Hall on Toronto's taxi drivers.
Joe Bowcock is in his third year at Windsor's Law School, where he was the recipient of the Sarnia Rose Shaheen Memorial Award in Legal Writing. He has worked as the teaching and research assistant for the law school's research and writing course. For the last two summers, he has worked in the Labour Relations Department of George Brown College, where he has done legal research and policy development. He has extensive volunteer experience with Community Legal Aid and the John Howard Society. Prior to law school, he obtained an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Waterloo, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. He is bilingual.
Joshua Goldberg is a third year student at the University of Ottawa, (currently attending the University of Toronto as a letter of permission student). In his second year, he completed a directed research program on the law of nervous shock. He has been very involved in the life of the law school, including as Assistant Editor of the University of Ottawa Law and Technology Journal , a Staff Writer for Inter Pares (the Faculty of Law Student Newspaper) and a student legal caseworker for Downtown Legal Services. Through Pro Bono Students Canada, he has volunteered with Reach Canada to assist persons with disabilities to obtain legal counsel. He has travelled extensively, and has advanced Mandarin, as well as intermediate French. He has a B.A. in History from Concordia University.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Left to right: Jason Burns, Stefanie Ligori, Christopher Missiuna, Geetika Bagga, Nazila Rostami and Feruza Djamalova
Christopher Missiuna is a second year student at Queen's, and will be working in Kingston. He studied Journalism at Carleton University and has experience in media relations and news writing. This past year, he won the David Sabbath Prize in Legal Research at Queen's University.
Stephanie Ligori is a second year student in the Common Law program at the University of Ottawa and will be working from Ottawa. Prior to attending law school, Stephanie worked in international policy and research roles. This past year, she has worked as a volunteer with persons in receipt of ODSP, preparing appeals for the Social Benefits Tribunal.
Feruza Djamalova is a second year student at the University of Toronto. She has completed an LL.M. in International Law from U of T, and another LL.M. in Comparative International and European Law from the University of Maastricht. She has done research work for the HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Nazila Rostami is a first year student at Osgoode Hall Law School. She has completed her M.A. in Sociology at the University of Toronto, and has a strong background in social science research. She has worked on research projects relating to the Iranian business community, water rights, public space, and employment prospects for persons with disabilities.
Geetika Bagga is a first year student at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in the Human Geography Department at York University, and her research interests lie in the area of precarious work and the experiences of immigrant and refugee women in Canada. As well, she has an MBA from Simon Fraser University. She has very considerable social science research experience.
Jason Burns is a second year student from the University of Windsor, and will be working out of our offices here. Jason has an interest in Health Law, and is fluent in French.
Tiffany Silas will be our University of Maryland intern this year. She will be with us from May 12 until June 19. She has just completed the first year of her law degree, has a B.A. from Stanford University in Urban Studies, and is fluent in Spanish.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Heather Cameron is in her third year of studies at Queen’s University, Faculty of Law with a background in Canadian Studies; she is working primarily in Ottawa.
Jennifer Barrigar is an LL.D. student at the University of Ottawa, Graduate Studies in Law. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on the formation, normative force and protection of reputation and identity in Web 2.0; she is working primarily in Ottawa.
Ada Ho is in her third year of studies at Osgoode.
Leanne Melnyk is in her third year of studies at the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law with a back ground in Law and Poverty; she has capacity in French and will be working primarily in London.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
