USask College of Law Announces Three Appointments including Two Endowed Chairs

Professor Benjamin Ralston has been appointed to a tenure-track position in the College of Law, commencing January 1, 2023.

Since moving to Saskatoon in 2014, Professor Ralston has worked at the University of Saskatchewan in various capacities. He has held term positions as an Assistant Professor for the College of Law (including for the first year of the Nunavut Law Program in Iqaluit), worked on research and publications for the Indigenous Law Centre, taught law courses for Indigenous land managers, and taught a graduate course on environmental law and policy. He is also completing his PhD at the College of Law, with a dissertation investigating the intersection between environmental assessment practices and Indigenous rights in Canada. He earned B.A. and J.D. degrees at the University of British Columbia and then completed his Master of Laws with distinction at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He has written several academic articles, is the author of The Gladue Principles: A Guide to the Jurisprudence (2021), and is a co-author of Aboriginal Tenure in the Constitution of Canada, 2^nd Edition (2022). Benjamin has also practised law, primarily working as a litigator in administrative law, Aboriginal law, and environmental law. Benjamin is also a proud father and husband.

Professor Gemma Smyth has been appointed as the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan, H. Robert Arscott Chair for a six month term beginning January 1, 2023.

Professor Gemma Smyth is Associate Professor and Externship Director at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, on the territories of the Three Fires Confederacy. Professor Smyth has held various positions at the Faculty including Associate Dean (Academic), Academic Clinic Director and Director of University of Windsor Mediation Services. She teaches, researches and writes in areas related to clinic law, dispute resolution, lawyering skills, and legal education. Professor Smyth is the co-author of the first text on clinical legal education in Canada, with Professors Sarah Buhler and Sarah Marsden. She is Past President of the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education, a national collaborative working on issues related to clinical and experiential legal education in Canada.

The Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair was established in 1989 under an agreement between the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. The chair has a broad scholarly mandate and is available to scholars in both law and policy. The chairholder will teach a seminar, conduct research and organise a conference in their field of expertise. Previous incumbents have included Allan Blakeney, Roy Romanow, Alan Cairns, Judy Fudge, Denise Reaume and Dr. Annie Rochette.

Professor Anna Lund has been appointed to the Estey Chair in Business Law for a 6-month term beginning January 1, 2023 .

Anna Lund (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. She researches and teaches in the areas of bankruptcy and insolvency, debtor creditor law, civil procedure, access to justice, and housing.

Dr Lund's current research interests include foreclosures, medical bankruptcy, and alternative incorporated forms. Her book Trustees at Work: Financial Pressures, Emotional Labour, and Canadian Bankruptcy Law was published in December 2019 by the University of British Columbia Press. The Supreme Court of Canada has cited her work on environmental liabilities in insolvency law. She has articles forthcoming in the McGill Law Journal on the Mountain Equipment Cooperative insolvency proceedings; in the Dalhousie Law Journal comparing employment insurance and personal insolvency law; and in the University of British Columbia Law Review on using the oppression remedy to resolve disputes in religious communities. 

The Estey Chair in Business Law was established in 2012 by John and Bill Estey in honour of their father, the late Willard “Bud” Estey, former Justice of Supreme Court of Canada. Their donation of $2 million is the largest-ever private donation to the college. Chairholders are expected to teach business law courses within the college, conduct high quality research in their field of expertise and share their knowledge and insight by engaging in outreach activities with the wider legal community. The Chair has previously been held by Rod Wood, Cally Jordan & Michael W. Milani, KC.