Lynette Shultz
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Jessica Eisen is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Her research interests include animals and the law, constitutional and comparative constitutional law, equality and antidiscrimination law, feminist legal theory, intergenerational justice, and law and social movements. Professor Eisen’s research has been published in the Journal of Law and Equality, Animal Law Review, Canadian Journal of Poverty Law, Transnational Legal Theory, Queen’s Law Journal, ICON: International Journal of Constitutional Law, University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, University of Toronto Law Journal, and elsewhere. She has studied at Barnard College, Columbia University (BA, Political Science and Human Rights Studies, 2004); The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (JD, 2009); Osgoode Hall Law School (LLM, 2014); and Harvard Law School (SJD, 2019); and has worked at WeirFoulds LLP, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, and the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario.
Gerard Kennedy joined U of A Law in July 2023, having previously been a faculty member at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Law for over three years. He researches the role of courts in society, specifically how different actors and institutions within or adjacent to the legal profession uphold the rule of law and facilitate access to justice. He principally does this through analyzing civil justice and procedure and administrative law and procedure, frequently with a comparative lens. He has authored over thirty journal articles on these topics, and five books, including The Charter of Rights in Litigation: Direction from the Supreme Court of Canada; The Civil Litigation Process, 9th edition; Public Law, 5th edition, and Boundaries of Judicial Review: The Law of Justiciability in Canada, 3rd edition.
Professor Kennedy received his Juris Doctor at Queen’s University, where he was the sole recipient of the Dean’s Key in his graduating class. He then clerked at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice before earning a Masters of Law at Harvard Law School as a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow. His doctoral studies at Osgoode Hall Law School were supported by a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship and a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship. As a doctoral student, he held scholarship-supported visiting positions at NYU School of Law and the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law.
Professor Kennedy’s interests in the role of courts in society, and specifically civil and administrative justice, were largely inspired by his four years as a litigator at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He has remained an active member of the legal profession, as a member of the bars of Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta. He serves on the Alberta Judicial Council, the Federal Courts Rules Committee, and the (advisory) boards of Advocates for the Rule of Law, the Centre for Constitutional Studies, and the Edmonton Bar Association. He has given numerous continuing professional development presentations for organizations as diverse as The Advocates' Society, American College of Trial Lawyers (Manitoba chapter), and the Manitoba Council of Administrative Tribunals, among many others. He has been a frequent volunteer at pro bono legal clinics, even after leaving full-time practice. His commitment to pro bono work was recognized by the 2016 Young Advocates’ Society Commitment to Pro Bono Award.
Kira received her Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of Alberta in 2020. As a law student, Kira worked as a research assistant to two professors at the Faculty of Law, conducting research into topics of public international law and anti-corruption law. She also acted as co-chair of the Women's Law Forum Speaker Series Committee to coordinate the club's 2019/2020 installation of its annual symposium, and as a contributor to ReconciliACTION YEG, the Faculty of Law’s student-run blog on Indigenous rights and reconciliation in Canada.
After graduating from the University of Alberta, Kira earned her Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. There, she interned with Engender, a Scottish feminist policy organization, writing her dissertation on the feminist value of the UK’s Human Rights Act during a time when the future of the Act was under review by the UK's Conservative government.
Prior to joining the Centre for Constitutional Studies in March 2025, Kira articled with the British Columbia Law Institute in Vancouver. She was called to the bar as a member of the Law Society of British Columbia in May 2024. In joining the Centre as its new Public Legal Education Coordinator, Kira is returning to her home province of Alberta and the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, where her legal research and educational career began.
Kira's constitutional interests are particularly focused on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and she is excited to lead the Centre's public initiatives teaching the public about their rights under this document. Outside of work, Kira is a keen reader and is partial to classic literature, political non-fiction, and poetry.
Laura (she/her) is a law student at the University of Alberta. Prior to law school, she completed a degree in Education (English Language Arts, Computing Science) at the University of Alberta. After a number of years teaching, Laura started a family and focused her time volunteering for community not-for-profit boards, typically serving in executive roles. The experiences she had negotiating, drafting, and advocating for policy galvanized her to return to school in pursuit of a law degree. While working on an after-degree in Political Science and Sociology, she discovered a passion for human rights and constitutional law, particularly the protection of historically disadvantaged groups, such as Indigenous peoples and women. Beginning her law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, she has transferred home to be with family.
Laura began with CCS in July 2022 as the Digital Content Manager and is now the Managing Editor of the Seven/Fifty blog. She is keenly interested in issues concerning sections 25, 35, and 91(24) of the Constitution, federalism, and the political constitution.
Krystin (she/her) is a law student at the University of Alberta who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Research Certificate in Psychology. Her experiences working and volunteering for Edmonton-based non-profit organizations solidified her keen interest in freedom of expression, equality, and other protections in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board for Mental Health Copilots, and in her spare time enjoys playing recreational volleyball.
Saloni Sharma (she/her) is a law student at the University of Alberta interested in constitutional law and administrative law. At the Centre for Constitutional Studies, Saloni hopes to hone her legal writing and research skills while learning more about recent developments in federalism related caselaw. Outside of academics, Saloni serves on the University’s Women’s Law Forum in an executive position.
Prince is a second-year Master in Laws candidate at the University of Alberta. His research centres around civil liability wrought by Artificial Intelligence systems; and particularly the analysis of this phenomenon through a comparative study of the governance frameworks in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. Prior to commencing his graduate studies, he obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Lancaster University, Ghana. In his spare time, Prince enjoys playing instruments and writing satirical fiction.
Laura (she/her) is a law student at the University of Alberta. Prior to law school, she completed a degree in Education (English Language Arts, Computing Science) at the University of Alberta. After a number of years teaching, Laura started a family and focused her time volunteering for community not-for-profit boards, typically serving in executive roles. The experiences she had negotiating, drafting, and advocating for policy galvanized her to return to school in pursuit of a law degree. While working on an after-degree in Political Science and Sociology, she discovered a passion for human rights and constitutional law, particularly the protection of historically disadvantaged groups, such as Indigenous peoples and women. Beginning her law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, she has transferred home to be with family.
Laura began with CCS in July 2022 as the Digital Content Manager and is now the Managing Editor of the Seven/Fifty blog. She is keenly interested in issues concerning sections 25, 35, and 91(24) of the Constitution, federalism, and the political constitution.
Matthew Wildcat is a member of Ermineskin Cree Nation. He is the Director of the Indigenous Governance and Partnership program and an assistant professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. He is a co-Director of the Prairie Indigenous Relationality Network. Matthew also provides governance and strategic advice to various Indigenous organizations and runs the Relational Governance Project that looks at how First Nations co-govern with each other.