Faculty Research Update Spring 2021

At a time when the importance of diversity and inclusion have emerged at the forefront of the news, political issues and everyday occurrences, our centres have actively grappled with some of the hard questions about how to ensure that marginalized communities are respected. Anti-racism and decolonization are foremost in the work that they do. In this regard, some of the initiatives that the centres have launched include the Windsor Law Centre for Cities’ "Jay Pitter Windsor Workshop on Anti-Black Racism and Equitable Placemaking," TLJN's "Anti-Black Racism" project, and The Law, Disability & Social Change Project's "BIPOC & Disability: Lived Experiences" panel.

More about our research centres can be found on our Research webpage and in a developing DailyNews series featuring the work of our research centres.

- Dr. Laverne Jacobs, Associate Dean (Research & Graduate Studies)
 

Professor Jeffrey Berryman received the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Ontario for his outstanding career achievements and significant contribution to the legal profession.
Professor Gemma Smyth received the Buhler Award from the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education, awarded to an academic working in clinical legal education in Canada.

Professor Patrícia Galvão Ferreira obtained a $1,000 UWT-SEG grant for the Transnational Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.
Professor Noel Semple received a Law Foundation of Ontario grant to support the publication of a free guide to Ontario civil procedure written by leading experts.
Professor Shanthi Senthe was the principal applicant securing a Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs grant on behalf of a non-profit beneficiary in Detroit.
Professor Anneke Smit was part of a research team led by Dr. Edwin Tam which received a WE-SPARK Health Institute grant for a research project on managing pandemic spread in the city.

Professor Jeffrey Berryman and co-authors published the 8th edition of Remedies: Cases and Materials (2021, Emond), marking 33 years since the publication of the first edition in 1988.
Professor Patrícia Galvão Ferreira published a chapter on international influences on Canadian environmental law. She also co-edited a coursebook on Canadian environmental law which critically examines Canadian environmental policies in relation to modern political, ethical, cultural, and scientific concerns.
Associate Dean Laverne Jacobs and co-authors published The Annotated Accessible Canada Act, a free open access book on the legislation designed to remove disability barriers in Canada’s federally regulated sectors.
Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic published a book chapter on the state of reform in first- and second-generation class action jurisdictions.
Professor Noel Semple contributed to a book chapter on contingency legal fees.
Professor Tess Sheldon prepared a co-authored book chapter on disability justice and COVID-19.
Professor Myra Tawfik published a book chapter on copyright and freedom of expression in Canada.
Professor Sara Wharton published a book chapter on judges, the registry and defence counsel.

Professor Wissam Aoun published part two of his article on patent agent regulation crossroads.
Professor Pascale Chapdelaine published an article on algorithmic personalized pricing and a book review on copyright and collective authorship.
Professor Maureen Irish published an article on the enforcement of international awards between private parties, pursuant to Canada’s obligations under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Professor Manoj Mate published an article on inverted judicial guardianship.
Professor Richard Moon published four articles on topics that include conspiracy theories, conscientious objections, and free speech.
Professor Claire Mummé published articles on labour law in the public sector and the relationship between work law regimes in Ontario.
Professor Sukanya Pillay developed a podcast series about life, laws and global crises looking at specific impacts of COVID-19 in Canada and around the world.
Professor Jillian Rogin, Professor Gemma Smyth and Johanna Dennie co-authored an article on changes to the Criminal Code that impacted legal clinics and law student representation and the communities they serve.
Professors Jillian Rogin, Reem Bahdi and Sylvia McAdam co-authored an article on recent legal reforms that have the potential to harm Indigenous people.
Professor Noel Semple published three articles on the regulation of time-based legal fees, welfare consequentialism, and life evaluation and public policy.
Professor Shanthi Senthe conducted research on a project about Black entrepreneurship amid a crisis in Detroit.
Professor Tess Sheldon co-authored an article on the accessibility of clinical legal education.
Professor Anneke Smit led the development of The Centre for Cities' first policy paper titled, States of Emergency: Decision-making and participatory governance in Canadian municipalities during COVID-19, released in September 2020.
Professor Gemma Smyth published a number of articles and reports on topics that include teaching and assessment in legal education during COVID-19, access without fear and sanctuary policies in Canada.
Professor Myra Tawfik contributed to a report of the Expert Panel on Public-Sector IP Commercialization, Ministry of Colleges and Universities Ontario.
Professor Vasanthi Venkatesh co-authored an article on the construction of the 'Hindutva' citizen in the Indian state.
Professor Sara Wharton co-authored an article on transnational criminal courts.

Professor Pascale Chapdelaine presented at Association Litéraire et Artistique Internationale  (Canada section); the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society; Daksha Fellowship in Law, Policy and Business; and at the University of Alberta.
Professor Patrícia Galvão Ferreira co-organized the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) 2020 annual conference. She also presented in several conferences including The Law and Society Association annual conference, Great Lakes Water Conference: “Water in Courts,” CCIL Annual Conference, and was invited to give lectures on the Paris Climate Agreement at both the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability and Detroit Mercy Law.
Associate Dean Laverne Jacobs was invited to co-teach a course at Berkeley Law called Global Inequalities and COVID-19 and led the segment on people with disabilities and COVID-19.
Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic co-taught a course on comparative class actions at l’Université de Paris Dauphine. She also participated in three events: an OBA Webinar on the topic of Covid class actions; a CBA Class Actions Conference on the question of litigation against the government; and a Manitoba Legal Aid Webinar on climate change class actions.
Professor Manoj Mate presented at two panels at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools: the first about the role of public health in trade after COVID-19, and the second about comparative law and socioeconomic rights.
Professor Shanthi Senthe participated in a roundtable discussion about critical perspectives in tax and business Law, organized by the Canadian Association of Law Teachers. She also presented at the Corporate Commercial Law Symposium.
Professor Tess Sheldon co-organized a panel through the Law Union of Ontario about protecting and advancing rights during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Pascale Chapdelaine was appointed a Fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (Berlin) and Academic Advisor for the Daksha Fellowship in Law, Policy and Business (Chennai, India). She was also appointed Visiting Professor KU Leuven Global Law School Program (Belgium).
Associate Dean Laverne Jacobs was invited to present to the Senate of Canada on medical assistance in dying (MAID) and its impact on people with disabilities. She also gave a number of media interviews on COVID-19, people with disabilities and the law in Canada.

As Director of the Class Action Clinic, Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic wrote submissions to, and appeared before, the Standing Committee on Justice Policy regarding Bill 161. She was interviewed regularly in the press, including in several pieces in The Toronto Star, Global News and CBC.
Professor Manoj Mate was selected to serve on the American Society of International (ASIL) Annual Meeting Organizing Committee and organized a roundtable panel on security, foreign relations, and use of force advancing human rights through U.S. foreign policy.

Professor Claire Mummé was a visiting scholar at three schools: the Centre for Law at Work at the University of Bristol Law School, Strathclyde University Law School (Glasgow), and Osgoode Hall.
Professor Sukanya Pillay was invited to join the Advisory Board of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR). She also spoke about the human rights crisis in Nigeria in the Nigerian SARS issue of Flare magazine in October 2020.
Professor Jillian Rogin's article on the pre-trial sentencing of Aboriginal People in Canada was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Zora.
Professor Anneke Smit led the Windsor Law Centre for Cities through its first year. The Centre established a blog series on inclusive and sustainable cities and municipal governance, highlighted research accomplishments of affiliated faculty members through its website, and hosted a series of speakers and workshops.
Professor Tess Sheldon was invited to speak at an Ontario Bar Association panel about accomodating clients with disabilities.
Professor Myra Tawfik was promoted to Distinguished University Professor and appointed to the Expert Panel on Public-Sector IP Commercialization (Chair: Jim Balsillie), Ministry of Colleges and Universities Ontario, and subsequently appointed to advise on Ontario’s IP Action Plan.
Professor Vasanthi Venkatesh was invited to present on migrant farmworkers in Canada, social movements and legal mobilization in times of crisis. She was also appointed to the Leadership Committee of the Action Track on Equitable Livelihoods for the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit to provide research and expert advice on labour and human rights issues affecting migrant and other precarious workers in the food chain.
Professor Christopher Waters was an expert reviewer for the International Rule of Law Initiative on legal options available to the UN General Assembly to prevent and respond to atrocity crimes. He also presented on international humanitarian law at the National Justice Institute’s Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada Education Seminar.