Our Staff

Lauren Bates, Staff Lawyer

Lauren Bates joined the LCO on February 1, 2008, as the full-time Staff Lawyer. She will be responsible for conducting research, coordinating major projects and supervising contract researchers and students.  She will prepare plans for each project that will include consultation with groups and individuals affected by or with special expertise in a particular project area.  As Senior Policy Analyst for the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 2000 to 2007, Lauren conducted research and public consultations, and developed reports and recommendations on such topics as accessibility for persons with disabilities, barriers and supports for family caregivers, and mandatory retirement. She was awarded the Amethyst Award for public service in 2001 for her role in the development of the Human Rights Commission’s groundbreaking Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate.

From 1993 -2000, Lauren worked in the legal and business publishing industry. She has written for numerous publications, mainly in the area of human rights, labour and employment law.

She graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1991, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, following articles with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

John D.T. Hill, Ministry of the Attorney General LCO Counsel in Residence
John D. T. Hill joined the LCO on March 17th, 2008 on secondment as the first Ministry of the Attorney General LCO Counsel in Residence.  John comes to the LCO from the Ontario Ministry of Labour Legal Services Branch where he was General Counsel; his main practice areas were administrative law, labour relations, employment standards and pay equity, with some occupational health and safety and workplace insurance law.  His work with the Ministry has included acting as lead counsel on several major legislative projects, including the Labour Relations Act, 1995, the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 and the Employment Standards Act, 2000, as well as numerous amending Acts.  John received his law degree from the University of Toronto in 1980 and was called to the bar in 1982.



Janet Walker, Osgoode Hall Law School LCO Scholar in Residence

Dr. Janet Walker began her 6 month tenure as the first OHLS LCO Scholar in Residence, on secondment from the faculty at Osgoode, on July 1, 2008.  A member of the Osgoode faculty since 1996, Dr. Walker has held many visiting positions in universities around the world, is a member of the Council of the International Association of Procedural Law and the Canadian Panel of Arbitrators with the International Chamber of Commerce and serves as an expert witness on conflict of laws, especially the law of jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, the recognition and enforcement of judgments and the application of foreign law.

She is the author or co-author of several books and articles on conflict of laws, including most recently “Forum Selection Clauses and Unfair Jurisdictions” (Dispute Resolution International, 2007) and”The Role of Domestic Courts in the International Legal Order: A Tribute to Richard Falk” (ILSA J International & Comparative Law, 2005).

As the OHLS LCO Scholar in Residence, Professor Walker will study ways to improve the capacity of the judicial system to address cross-border litigation.

The secondment of an OHLS faculty member for twelve months or two faculty members for six months each is one of the several contributions Osgoode is making to the success of the LCO.

Julie Lassonde, Research Lawyer

Julie Lassonde joined the LCO as a part-time research lawyer on April 1, 2008. She also maintains an interdisciplinary practice involving law, language and performing arts. Her main areas of interest are feminism, gender and sexuality, labour, social justice, as well as innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to legal practice and research.
 Julie is fluent in French and English (and working on Mandarin). She was trained in both civil and common law at McGill University. During her legal studies she spent one year at the University of Hong Kong as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. She articled at Baker & McKenzie LLP and has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada since 2005. In 2007, she received an Innovative Electronic Theses & Dissertations Award for her interdisciplinary LL.M. thesis entitled “Performing Law”, completed at the University of Victoria. Her thesis, which combined the fields of law and performance art, was published in part in The International Journal of the Arts in Society.


Janice Williams, Executive Assistant
Janice Williams joined the LCO on September 7, 2007 as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director to assist in setting up and staffing the LCO offices. Janice is the primary contact and liaison for communications between the ED and the LCO’s stakeholders, and manages the day-to-day operations of the LCO. Prior to this, she was Administrative Coordinator at the Office of the Executive Officer, Osgoode Hall Law School and played a key role in facilitating the roll out of new initiatives. Janice has also worked in private sector manufacturing and marketing. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Brandon University, Manitoba.

Our students represent four Ontario law schools

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.

 LCO staff and summer 2008 student researchers

Back row from left to right: Revital Goldhar (University of Toronto), Julie Lassonde,
Laila Said (University of Maryland), Layla Hassan (University of Western Ontario)

Front Row from left to right: Lauren Bates, Miriam Stein (University of Ottawa)
Sahra Panjwani (Osgoode hall Law School, York University)