Executive Committee Members 2022/2023
Chris Heslinga Chris Heslinga is the Director of The Law Centre, a student legal clinic run through the University of Victoria. Previously, Chris was a Supervising Lawyers for the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) and a Supervising Lawyer and Academic Director for the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (ICLC) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Chris has volunteered with the Community Legal Assistance Society’s Mental Health Law Program and Access Pro Bono. Chris currently volunteers with Pro Bono Students’ Canada and the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Chris has been part of ACCLE for over 10 years.
Hajar Tohme joined LAW in February 2024 as a staff lawyer in public and social benefits. She is a graduate of Windsor Law and before becoming a staff lawyer, worked in real estate and corporate law. She came to LAW after working as the staff lawyer for Muslim Legal Support Centre (MLSC).
Megan Longley, KC joined the Schulich School of Law in the fall of 2021 as Executive Director of Dalhousie Legal Aid Service where she is responsible for teaching, administration of the clinic, and representing clients in criminal and family courts. Megan graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1994 and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1995. After a period in private practice, she joined Nova Scotia Legal Aid (NSLA) in 1999. Megan’s practice was primarily as criminal defense counsel, in the Youth Court for a good portion of her career. She became manager of Nova Scotia Legal Aid’s Youth Justice Office in 2011. In 2015 Megan joined NSLA’s Executive Office as Service Delivery Director and became CEO of Nova Scotia Legal Aid in 2016. Megan is past president of the Nova Scotia Criminal Lawyers’ Association, and recently completed two terms on the board of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Megan has also represented the Association of Legal Aid Plans of Canada on Canada’s National Action Committee on Access to Justice. Megan has been on the Board of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice Board since 2021.
Jeannette Savoie is the Director of the UNB Legal Clinic. She who brings nearly 20 years of practice experience to the position, including ten years with the Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories. Ms. Savoie believes strongly in promoting access to justice through actions rather than words. During her time in the north, she established and operated the Outreach Legal Aid Clinic, which provides free legal representation to low-income people in matters relating to housing, disability and pension-related matters, employment issues, mental health and guardianship reviews, child protection matters, and debtor, creditor or civil claims.In addition to this work, Ms. Savoie partnered with Indigenous communities and the NWT Legal Aid Commission to conduct fly-in poverty law clinics and other mobile legal clinics for isolated communities. Her advocacy work has made a significant impact on these communities, expanding legal services and access to justice throughout the Northwest Territories.
Benjamin Ries | Member-at-large
Benjamin Ries is the supervising lawyer for Housing Law at Downtown Legal Services, the flagship student legal clinic of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He previously served as duty counsel at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board and practiced as a staff lawyer in four other community legal clinics between Hamilton and downtown Toronto. Ben is an active member of the Greater Toronto Clinic Housing Advocates, the Canadian Network for Health and Housing of People Experiencing Homelessness (CNH-3), and the St. Michael’s Hospital Health Justice Faculty.
Lilian Bahgat | Member-at-large
Lilian has served as Review Counsel for Community Legal Aid (CLA) at the University of Windsor since 2015. Prior to joining CLA Lilian worked in private practice primarily on Civil, Employment, Estate and Elder Abuse Litigation. Lilian’s practice always revolved around advocating for the vulnerable members of the community. She holds a certificate in Elder Law from Osgoode Law School. Lilian also conducted research on the topics of battered wife syndrome, patient rights and elder abuse. Lilian is also a regular course instructor at the Elder College and taught as a sessional instructor at St. Clair College for their law clerk program.
Joan Braun is an assistant professor at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University, where she teaches Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Elder Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Prior to taking on her current position at Lakehead in 2020 she worked as a mediator in private practice and as a lawyer in the social justice /public interest law sector. In the latter capacity, she led an initiative funded by the Law Foundation of BC to establish a specialty legal aid clinic for older adults in British Columbia. The clinic provides in-person representation in Vancouver, and information and summary advice through a provincial toll-free phone line.
Elizabeth Mccandless | Member-at-large
Elizabeth Mccandless Liz McCandless joined the Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba in 2022 as Senior Instructor. Liz became Director of Clinics in June 2023. In her role as clinical director, Liz oversees all clinical programming at the Faculty of Law, including externships, clerkships, moot competitions, articling, and first-year experiential learning courses. She also runs the “Reflective Practice for Externships” course, which is the academic component of all externships. From 2014 to 2021, Liz served as director and legal counsel for the Manitoba Law Reform Commission (MLRC). At the MLRC, Liz supervised internships and externships with law students and created and supervised Pro Bono Students Canada projects. Prior to her time at the MLRC, she practiced civil and public interest litigation primarily in the areas of human rights, constitutional, and Aboriginal law. She also served as Associate Counsel on the Commission of Inquiry Surrounding the Circumstances of the Death of Phoenix Sinclair. Liz continues to be a practicing member of the Manitoba Bar and supervises students doing rights-based work with the Rights Clinic at Robson Hall. She is also the principal of an articling student participating in the first-ever Robson Hall articling program.
Tori Lee-Jenkins | Member-at-large
Tori joined LAW in March 2021 as a summary advice lawyer for landlord and tenant matters, and in June 2021 began working as a staff lawyer for landlord and tenant matters. Tori is a graduate of Windsor Law and before becoming a staff lawyer, practiced in criminal law and ran her own legal practice. She provides representation and student sueprvision in housing law at the clinic anda assists in development of community public education inititatives.
Anne Thibault | Member-at-large
Anne is a lawyer and coordinator at the Outaouais Interdisciplinary Social Law Clinic (CIDSO) at the University of Ottawa since it’s foundation in 2020. She is also currently completing her master’s degree in housing law at the University of Ottawa. During her years in private practice, she specialized in youth and administrative law. Prior to developping the CIDSO, she coordianted the activities of the Mile End Legal Clinic in Montreal. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Ferguson Award from the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education (ACLE) for Social de l’Outaouais. Her contribution to access to justice and clinical teaching in law.
Anne Thibault est une avocate et la coordinatrice de la Clinique interdisciplinaire en droit social de l’Outaouais à l’Université d’Ottawa depuis sa fondation en 2020. Elle complète présentement sa maitrise en droit du logement à l’université d’Ottawa. Durant ses années en pratique privée, elle se spécialisait en droit de la jeunesse et en droit administratif. Avant son implication avec la Clinique interdisciplinaire, elle agissait comme coordinatrice des activités de la Clinique Juridique “Mile End” à Montréal. Anne est aussi la récipiendaire pour l’année 2023 du Prix Ferguson déscerné par l’Association Canadienne pour l’Education Juridique Clinique (ACCLE) en reconnaissance de sa contribution au mouvement d’accès à la justice et son dévoument à l’enseignement du droit clinique.