Howie recognized with award from Women in Law Leadership Canada

Leah Howie (BE'05, BSc'05, LLB'08), a sessional lecturer with the University of Saskatchewan College of Law (USask Law) is the first woman from Saskatchewan to be awarded a Stronger Together Award from Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Canada.

“Leah is a person that has positively impacted students, legal professionals, and colleagues through her leadership on a provincial and national level,” wrote nominator Heather Heavin, associate dean academic at USask Law.  

Howie is director of the Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan. She also teaches legal research and writing at the law college and instructs an upper-years law reform seminar.

“Being an accomplice, and a sponsor, and a mentor to so many incredible women that I’ve worked with and taught over the years, and to watch these individuals succeed and step into positions of influence and power is incredibly rewarding and inspiring work,”  Howie said in a video posted on the Women in Law Leadership LinkedIn page.

"I'm incredibly honoured to be the first Saskatchewan recipient of a Women in Law Leadership Stronger Together Award. It means a great deal to have been nominated and to have won,” says Howie, who also specifically thanked her nominators.  

It was in her role as sessional lecturer that Howie promoted and helped launch the college’s well-being coordinator position at the college. She also initiated experiential learning initiatives and created internships with the law reform commission.

“It is her incredible energy, resilience and infectious good-humour that make her such an incredible instructor and role-model,” stated Heavin.

In her role with the commission, Howie is part of the Saskatchewan Access to Justice (A2J) Network. She recently volunteered her time to support students in the development of handbooks on generative artificial intelligence for both the public and lawyers and is also a leader behind a forthcoming project focused on youth legal literacy programming.

“The outstanding contributions that she has made, all while exhibiting superior legal ability, selflessness, and integrity, warrant recognition,” wrote nominator Brea Lowenberger, director of CREATE Justice (Centre for Research, Evaluation, and Action Towards Equal Justice) and the province’s A2J coordinator.

Howie also helped develop the book Creating a Seat at the Table: Reflections from Women in Law and Dear Beth…A Women in Law Podcast, with collaborators Lowenberger and USask Law professor emerita Beth Bilson KC.

“Leah has made an outstanding contribution in building community among women lawyers in Saskatchewan and advancing their well-being,” said nominator Sandra Petersson, executive director of the Alberta Law Reform Institute.

Women in Law Leadership (WILL) is a Canadian not-for-profit that celebrates and advances women in law. The Stronger Together award recognizes outstanding contributions of women lawyers across Canada, specifically those who are:

• demonstrating extraordinary leadership in a cause which has positively impacted their communities;
• developing and promoting initiatives that contribute to the well-being and betterment of their communities; and
• blazing a trail in the areas of legal education and/or scholarship, equity, diversity, inclusion, and service through Pro Bono initiatives or service to other community organizations.