USask Law hosts 14th annual Dean’s Forum on Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution

The Dean’s Forum on Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution annually brings together justice system leaders, community stakeholders, and law students to examine the future of access to justice in Saskatchewan.

"For 14 years, the Dean’s Forum has had a meaningful impact on those who engage with the Saskatchewan justice system,” said Brea Lowenberger, Saskatchewan Access to Justice coordinator and the sessional lecturer who leads the Dean’s Forum course at USask Law.

The upper-year, semester-long course, unique to the College of Law, gives students the opportunity to work alongside justice leaders while researching, designing, and supporting real-world projects that strengthen access to justice in communities across the province.

"The Dean’s Forum is an unparalleled learning experience amongst Canadian law schools. The ability to assemble a group of leaders from all levels of court, government, and both the private and public sector bar provides a unique opportunity for students to present their research to key policy and decision makers,” said USask Law Dean Martin Phillipson.

“The success of the forum is that the willingness of these leaders to come together in a spirit of enquiry enables student-led research to have a concrete influence on the development of policy and even legislation. In other words, the Dean’s Forum provides our students with the opportunity to produce research of genuine impact.”

During the course, students develop policy discussion papers that examine access to justice initiatives in Canada and internationally. The papers highlight key ideas, emerging themes, and areas that warrant further discussion. On Dean’s Forum Day, students share their research and engage in large group discussions focused on implementing and further developing proposed initiatives. Students then prepare reports that summarize their projects and capture key outcomes from the forum discussions.

The 2026 Dean’s Forum focused on testing collaborative leadership tools and collective impact strategies that advance access to justice initiatives.

“It was one of the most rewarding experiences of law school, challenging us to move beyond theory and think critically about what real change in the justice system looks like,” reported Molly Waldman, a third-year USask Law student.

The forum expanded its reach this year to include Canadian initiatives, extending its impact beyond Saskatchewan. “As a result of my additional role as strategic advisor to the national Action Committee on Access to Justice, the students’ work will now have both a provincial and national reach, as it will be shared with and considered by both members of the SK Access to Justice Network, as well as other provincial/territorial collaboratives across Canada,” said Lowenberger.

"The SK Access to Justice Network and Dean’s Forum on Access to Justice are a rare opportunity to connect, learn, and make a real difference,” said Waldman. “I truly hope the Dean’s Forum continues to support collaboration and practical solutions in Access to Justice . . . and the work of students continues to spark conversations, build partnerships, and make a real impact.”

The tools and follow-up report from this year’s forum will be posted on the Dean’s Forum website at law.usask.ca/deansforum in the coming months.