Dear ACCLE members,
The inaugural 2020 ACCLE Award recipients have been announced:
1) The Buhler Award: Named in honour of Sarah Buhler, long-time ACCLE Board member and Professor at the College of Law University of Saskatchewan. This award is presented to a professor whose work intersects academic and clinical approaches to clinical and experiential legal education.
The inaugural recipient of this award is Gemma Smyth– Associate Dean at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. Ms. Smyth is receiving this award in recognition of her commitment to researching the practice of clinical legal education across the country, in addition to her long-time commitment to ACCLE.
2) The Cirillo Award: Named in honour of Lisa Cirillo, long-time ACCLE Board member and Director of Downtown Legal Services in Toronto. This award is presented to an individual clinician who has made a significant contribution to the life of their clinic.
The inaugural recipient of this award is Chantelle Johnson– Executive Director of the Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City (“CLASSIC”). Ms. Johnson is receiving this award in recognition of her tireless work both educating/mentoring law students and assisting the marginalized members of her community.
3) The Ferguson Award: Named in honour of Doug Ferguson, founder and long-time ACCLE Board member and former Director of the Community Legal Services at Western Law. This award is presented to member/ group involved in a clinical project or program that promotes access to justice and clinical law within a law school setting.
The inaugural recipient of this award is Kathy Ferriera– Director of the Queen’s Prison Law Clinic. Ms. Ferreira is receiving this award in recognition of her work shaping the Correctional Law Project into a large-scale expansive operation under which students assist prisoners with issues pertaining to correctional law, administrative law and human rights law.
ACCLE is proud to recognize these members for their significant contributions to Canadian clinical legal education. Big congratulations to all of this year’s winners! Please consider nominating your colleagues for these awards in 2021.