University of Victoria Faculty of Law

Learn more about UVic Law professor Maneesha Deckha's new SSHRC Insight Grant project: Animal Families and Interspecies Justice.

🔗Learn more: https://www.uvic.ca/law/news-and-stories/stories/maneesha-deckha-sshrc.php

Learn more about UVic Law assistant professor Funmilola Ayotunde's new SSHRC Insight Development Grant project: Just Transition, Unjust Extraction: Trade Unions and the Implementation of EU's Due Diligence Regimes in Africa.

🔗https://www.uvic.ca/law/news-and-stories/stories/lola-ayotunde-sshrc.php

🦉 Who's feeling the heat? 🔆

A Great Horned Owl sought shade in a tree behind the Murray and Anne Fraser Building today!

Congratulations to UVic faculty members Maneesha Deckha and Funmilola Ayotunde on being awarded Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants!

Professor Deckha was awarded a six-year Insight Grant worth $168,020 for her project, Animal Families and Interspecies Justice. The project seeks to advance animal rights theory and policy by drawing on family law, motherhood, and children's rights frameworks to support a contemporary legal transition toward interspecies justice.

Professor Ayotunde received an Insight Development Grant of $77,650 over two years to support her project, “Just Transition, Unjust Extraction: Trade Unions and the Implementation of EU's Due Diligence Regimes in Africa.” This project addresses an ongoing climate justice challenge: as demand for “transition minerals” needed in the clean energy sector grows, the environmental and social impacts of mining falls on communities in resource-rich regions.

Read more about the announcement and the latest UVic SSHRC grant recipients here: https://www.uvic.ca/research-innovation/office-vpri/announcements/26july21-sshrc-funding.php

🎓 Relive the Faculty of Law Grad Reception from June 9 in our photo gallery! 📸

🔗For all photos visit: 201755259@N07/albums/72177720334785574/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/201755259@N07/albums/72177720334785574/

After more than 45 years as a student, educator and staff member at UVic, Susan Noakes has retired. Congratulations, Susan, on your many years of service—we wish you all the best in your retirement!

As Staff Social Worker at UVic Law's Law Centre since 2008, Susan mentored generations of students, helping them understand the importance of client-centred, interdisciplinary practice and the role of empathy in legal advocacy.

Read more about Susan's lifelong connection to UVic, what she learned from working alongside lawyers and students, and why she feels privileged to have been part of so many people's journeys.

Susan Noakes reflects on a career of compassion, collaboration and community at the Law Centre - Law - University of Victoria After nearly two decades, Susan Noakes has retired from the position of staff social worker at the UVic Law Centre.

Join us tomorrow at 5 p.m. for a live webinar designed to help prospective students strengthen their application to UVic Law!

No registration needed, come with any questions and leave with practical strategies to help strengthen your application and improve your chances of admission.

Strengthening your application to UVic Law Join Recruitment and Admissions Manager Lori Klear for a 1.5-hour informational session where she will cover common issues found in applications an...

UVic Law professor Dr. John Borrows has written many award-winning books, but none as personal as The Seven Cycles of Life: Seeking Healing, Connection and Justice in Anishinaabe Teachings.

Fifteen years in the making, it’s his first commercial book—and a powerful reflection on time through foundational stories and Anishinaabe teachings.

🔗 Learn more about the book in our Q&A with Dr. Borrows: https://www.uvic.ca/law/news-and-stories/stories/john-borrows-book.php

Penguin Random House

We're saying goodbye and good luck to outgoing UVic Law Students’ Society (LSS) President Ellison Mallin as he graduates! 🎓

Eli’s energy was felt everywhere in the Fraser Building this year—always around, always involved and always making a difference. He received an inaugural UVic Black Student Leadership Award and UVic Law’s McIntyre Medal, recognizing both academic excellence and outstanding engagement in student life.

🎓 Convocation Q&A ✨ Meet Ellison Mallin

Q: What moment or memory stands out most from your time at UVic?

A: It’s hard to pick a single moment or memory. Relaunching and performing at the UVic Law Students’ Society (LSS) Skit Night was a highlight of last year.

Q: Which course or instructor had a positive impact on your academic or personal growth?

A: Indigenous Legal Drafting with Prof. Melanie Mortensen shaped my career and sparked my interest in bylaw drafting.

Q: What activity or experience outside the classroom meant the most to you?

A: I loved playing sports with the LSS. Wednesday night ice hockey with the Jury Doodies was a favourite, even though I wasn’t very good, and we rarely won. Sundays with the Supreme Court of Tennis were always fun too. I was definitely better at tennis.

Q: As one of the recipients of the Black Student Leadership Award, what did that experience mean to you? How did it support your degree?

A: The Black Student Leadership Award gave me the support I needed for my final year of school by helping me focus on studies and community. The institutional support —knowing my faculty was there for me and recognized my work—gave me confidence and clarity. It also gave me the motivation to pay the award forward to my peers. I would not have been able to achieve half the work and volunteerism that I did this year without this award.

Q: What does it mean to you to be recognized with the McIntyre Medal?

A: This medal is meaningful because it really exemplifies that the importance of legal education is not found entirely in textbooks and classrooms. There are so many ways to prepare yourself for the work ahead, and I think everyone should explore as many avenues as possible. I think the biggest lesson I am taking away from this medal is the importance of finding balance.

Q: What would you tell someone who is considering choosing UVic for their degree?

A: UVic is a genuine school to study at. The supports and tools come from a place of caring and a desire to help me succeed. Classes are collaborative, with no sense of competition for jobs or grades. The campus is large enough that there is always something to do, but feels small enough to build meaningful community.

✨ Yesterday, UVic Law hosted its annual Coast Salish Recognition Ceremony, honouring graduating students in the JD/JID program and Indigenous graduating students in the JD program.

We raise our hands in gratitude to Elder May Sam for opening the ceremony, to speaker SDEMOXELTEN from Tsartlip First Nation for grounding the ceremony in Coast Salish Law, and to the drummers, speakers and witnesses whose words and presence made the night so meaningful.

We also raise our hands to Kundoqk, Dr. Jacquie Green and the UVic Office of Indigenous Academic & Community Engagement for co-sponsoring this ceremony.

Congratulations to all our graduates — we are deeply grateful for this unforgettable evening of community, recognition and celebration. 🎓🪶