UM Right now | Faculty of Legislation

January 27, 2023 — 

To rejoice the achievements of graduates, the School of Regulation established the Faculty of Law Alumni Awards to be presented per year. Nominees demonstrate requirements of inspiring professionalism in just one of three groups such as Remarkable Alumni Award, Emerging Leader Award, and the Trailblazer Award.

The Exceptional Alumni Award honours a UM Law alum regarded for exceptional specialist accomplishment in their legal profession and who has shown determination and commitment to the betterment of the lawful career though exhibiting the attributes of integrity and professionalism. The Emerging Leader Award honours a UM Regulation alum who has graduated within the final 10 many years. This alum has shown perseverance and determination to the lawful profession, and has the attributes of integrity, professionalism, and management in their time practicing legislation. Finally, the Trailblazer Award honours a UM Regulation alum who has excelled in a career outside the house the standard apply of regulation. This alum is a man or woman of integrity and has shown leadership and support to the group.

The Faculty of Legislation is happy to announce the winners of the 2022 College of Regulation Alumni Awards as follows:

Exceptional Alumni Award winner: Sherri Walsh [LLB/1985]

Emerging Leader Award winner: Dayna Steinfeld [JD/2012]

Trailblazer Award Winner: Dr. Jennifer Schulz [LLB/1994]

 

Exceptional Alumni Award – Sherri Walsh [LLB/1985]

A litigator, adjudicator and arbitrator, Sherri Walsh is the Handling Lover of Winnipeg legislation organization Hill Sokalski Walsh. Considerably of her authorized vocation has been expended serving the public desire and her do the job has had major effect in the advertising of human rights and social justice in Manitoba with repercussions across Canada.

Notably, from 2011 to 2013, she acted as Commission Counsel to the Commission of Inquiry into the Conditions Bordering the Demise of Phoenix Sinclair, which was the major community inquiry at any time held in Manitoba. The resulting report from that Inquiry designed sixty-two tips to improved guard young children in Manitoba.

From 2009 to 2019, she served as an adjudicator beneath the Human Legal rights Code, serving as Chief Adjudicator from 2012 to 2019. In that position, she delivered choices about issues such as employers’ obligations to keep workplaces that are cost-free from discrimination and harassment. These selections are now followed by companies throughout Canada.

Ahead of serving as an adjudicator, she acted for the Human Legal rights Commission on grievances that resulted in favourable systemic improvements to Provincial legislation and procedures.

Walsh was an arbitrator on The Manitoba Framework Agreement – Treaty Land Entitlement, signed in 1997, the place she delivered selections which settled land disputes that had been excellent for 150 yrs.

Commonly performing pro bono as an intervenor for public desire teams, she has ensured that perspectives of groups this sort of as the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, the HIV AIDS Legal Community and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, were being set ahead of the Court on matters together with the unilateral imposition of DNR Orders, criminalization of HIV standing, and the in excess of-representation of Very first Nation small children in the youngster welfare technique.

Walsh has also returned to her roots at Robson Corridor instructing Civil Technique for 9 yrs, and sitting on quite a few committees. Outdoors of legal exercise, she volunteers for neighborhood-dependent corporations including Harvest Manitoba and currently sits on the boards of the College of Winnipeg and the Manito Ahbee Festival.

In the course of her profession, Walsh has achieved numerous firsts, such as currently being the 1st girl in Manitoba to act as Fee Counsel to a big general public inquiry, to start with person to complete the purpose of Chief Adjudicator beneath the Human Legal rights Code, initial Integrity Commissioner for the Metropolis of Winnipeg, and initially Municipal Codes of Conduct Appeals Director for the Province of Manitoba. She serves as a mentor to numerous younger attorneys, specifically women of all ages in the legal occupation and is 1 of only a couple of gals in the purpose of Handling Spouse of their company.

Described by her nominator as “honest, honourable and compassionate,” she willingly shares a few words of knowledge here with recent regulation students:

I am so honoured to be getting this award and to be regarded by the professional college that introduced my career.

 A legal training is a present – one particular that will affect you eternally and will give you a framework by which to navigate the world, in your personalized and experienced lives.

 You are relocating into a future which is in lots of ways unknowable and uncertain but the education and learning which you are working so tough to receive will give you the capacity to choose action and influence results – to go after and attain just outcomes.

 As you glance for the correct career path, be genuine to on your own and follow what pursuits and evokes you.

 Search for mentors. Be a mentor.

 Come across colleagues with whom you share sensibilities and views.

 Believe critically.

 Sustain a perception of curiosity and really do not stop discovering.

 Trust your instincts.

 Continue to be hopeful and be brave. Do not hesitate when faced with a obstacle.

 Matter huge but know that by using even the smallest motion you can make a variance.

 Interact with local community and be compassionate in that engagement.

 Last but not least, recall to maintain your feeling of humour.

 Do not take on your own far too critically and have a excellent time!

 I wish you all the greatest in your potential endeavours.

 

Emerging Chief Award – Dayna Steinfeld [JD/2012]

Dayna Steinfeld is the Winnipeg Lead Law firm at RavenLaw LLP. Named to the bar in each Manitoba and Ontario, she is committed to advancing the legal rights of working people today, specializing in union-aspect labour law, personnel-facet work law, extended-term disability added benefits, human legal rights and whistleblower protection.

In her day-to-day apply, Steinfeld represents staff in all parts of the legislation that contact the place of work, including terminations and wrongful dismissals, human legal rights and the duty to accommodate, contract and severance package assessments, specialist self-control, office investigations and harassment complaints. She is effective to advance the rights of staff in human legal rights proceedings, grievance arbitrations, labour board hearings, civil courtroom actions, and judicial overview proceedings. She represents both equally men and women and unions and has appeared prior to labour and arbitration boards, administrative tribunals, and all ranges of court docket.

Steinfeld has been identified as a Lexpert Increasing Star and a CBC Manitoba 40 Underneath 40. In 2019, she was awarded the Manitoba Bar Association Pro Bono Award for her work symbolizing a coalition of poverty and psychological health and fitness corporations on important constitutional privacy challenges just before the Supreme Courtroom of Canada.

Possessing began her authorized career as an articling college student at RavenLaw’s Ottawa business, she clerked for the Honourable Justice Marshall Rothstein at the Supreme Court of Canada in advance of returning to Winnipeg to get the job done at a big organization in administrative, regulatory, labour and work legislation.

Her nominator factors out that Steinfeld demonstrates that dedication and tough get the job done can assist people today realize good points though marketing rules of obtain to justice and equality. Her willingness to help some others reach their targets is evident in the get the job done she has finished with the Manitoba Bar Association’s Females Lawyer’s Forum to advance the trigger of equality for attorneys identifying as gals functioning in the legal occupation in Manitoba.

Steinfeld delivers the subsequent advice to present-day regulation students:

As a law student, law firm or legal qualified, hardly ever suppose you are the specialist since you are the person in the home with lawful coaching. Be humble and curious. Acquire every opportunity to understand from, and be guided by, your consumers and all those people with whom you get the job done and collaborate.

 

Trailblazer Award – Dr. Jennifer Schulz  [LLB/1994]

Dr. Jennifer Schulz is a Professor at the College of Law, University of Manitoba and the current Affiliate Dean of the Juris Physician program.

Although continue to a regulation student, Schulz experienced her 1st publication, publishing a chapter in Professors Barney Sneiderman and John Irvine’s general public health regulation text e book.  She graduated from Robson Corridor in 1994.

After pursuing graduate reports at Cambridge and the University of Toronto, she began her profession as a regulation professor at the University of Windsor, at some point returning to the University of Manitoba by way of the College of Toronto, Osgoode Hall and Harvard. She has taught at Robson Hall considering the fact that 2004, training and conducting investigate in the spots of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Cultural Authorized Research. Dr. Schulz has served as equally Associate Dean JD and Associate Dean of Investigation and Graduate Experiments.

Dr. Schulz’s training capabilities have been identified many instances: she was named Professor of the Calendar year (2002) at the College of Windsor Excellent Trainer – 2 times (2015 and 2017) at the College of Manitoba’s Students’ Instructor Recognition Reception and she gained the Barney Sneiderman Training Award in 2019 from the University of Manitoba.

For her work in ADR, she was regarded with the Lionel J. McGowan Regional Award of Excellence in Dispute Resolution (2015) by the ADR Institute of Canada. Dr. Schulz regularly offers on the subject matter of ADR to the Manitoba Bar Affiliation, the Canadian Bar Association, and at educational conferences across North The usa and Europe.

She authored the Schulz Report, an expert evaluation of Manitoba’s Car Injuries Mediation software, and done a 3-yr skilled evaluation of the College of Hong Kong’s LLM method in ADR.

To her students, she delivers the regulation alive and has been instrumental in inspiring college students to excel in their individual careers. She serves as an inspiration to woman law college students, and is approachable and keen to advocate for the retention of women in the legal job.

Dr. Schulz shares these phrases upon currently being acknowledged with the Trailblazer Award:

I am certainly honoured to have obtained this award. It signifies a lot to me for the reason that it is from my alma mater and employer, the U of M, and especially its fantastic legislation college, Robson Corridor. My fellow professors and our college students are what make Robson Corridor a superb put to be each day. I particularly hope our college students know that not only can they obtain fulfilling careers as legal professionals as a result of graduating from Robson Corridor, but they can also locate a myriad of other exciting and exciting occupations – like remaining a regulation prof – mainly because they graduated from U of M.

 

The inaugural Regulation School Alumni Awards will be presented at the upcoming Practising Pros Reception to be held in March.

Story submitted by College of Law.