Jennifer Koshan
Positions
Professor
Faculty of Law
UCalgary Research Excellence Chair
University of Calgary
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
LLM University of British Columbia, 1997
LLB University of Calgary, 1988
BSc University of Calgary, 1985
Biography
Before joining the Faculty in 2000, Jennifer practiced for several years in the Northwest Territories as Crown counsel, and worked as the Legal Director of the B.C. branch of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), a non-profit equality rights organization. Jennifer served as Graduate Program Director from 2006-2011, as Associate Dean (Research) from 2007-2011, and as ABlawg Coordinator from 2007 to 2011 and 2013 to present.
Jennifer regularly sits on LEAF case subcommittees. She is a member of the Equality Effect's volunteer legal team, working with international human rights law to improve the lives of women and girls and is a founding member of the Women's Court of Canada, a feminist judgment writing project. She also sits on the boards of the Alberta Law Reform Institute, Canadian Association of Law Teachers, and Public Interest Law Clinic.
Research Activities
Jennifer's research interests are in the areas of constitutional law, equality and human rights, state responses to interpersonal violence, feminist legal theory, and public interest advocacy. In 2016, Jennifer was awarded a SSHRC Insight Grant ($175,000 over five years), and is the lead on a team of five researchers who are studying access to justice in domestic violence cases at the intersection of multiple legal systems. Co-investigators are Wendy Chan (Sociology, Simon Fraser University), Michaela Keet and Wanda Wiegers (Law, University of Saskatchewan) and Janet Mosher (Osgoode Hall Law School). Research on phase 1 mapped domestic violence laws and policies across Canada and will be disseminated in an ebook funded by a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario Access to Justice Fund.
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
Course number | Course title | Semester |
---|---|---|
LAW 407 | Foundations in Law & Justice | |
LAW 547 | Human Rights Law | |
LAW 596 | Feminist Legal Theory |
Awards
- PEAK Scholar, University of Calgary. 2018
- Students' Union Teaching Award, Honourable Mention, University of Calgary. 2018
- Women in Law Leadership Award, Association of Women Lawyers and The Counsel Network. 2016
- Students' Union Teaching Award, Honourable Mention, University of Calgary. 2015
- Academic Excellence Prize, Canadian Association of Law Teachers . 2013
- Canadian Law Blogs Award for Best Law School / Law Professor Blog (shared), 2013
- Canadian Law Blogs Award for Best Law School / Law Professor Blog (shared), 2012
- Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary. 2010
- The University of Calgary Faculty Association (TUCFA) Community Service Award, 2004
Publications
- “Intersections and Roads Untravelled: Sex and Family Status in Fraser v Canada”. Jennifer Koshan. 30(2) Constitutional Forum. 29-42. (2021)
- “Domestic Violence and Access to Justice: A Mapping of Relevant Laws, Policies and Justice System Components Across Canada”. Jennifer Koshan, Janet Mosher and Wanda Wiegers. 2020 CanLIIDocs 3160. (2020)
- "COVID-19, the Shadow Pandemic, and Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Violence". Jennifer Koshan, Janet Mosher and Wanda Wiegers. 57(3) Osgoode Hall Law Journal. 739-799. (2020)
- "Mapping Domestic Violence Law and Policy in Alberta: Intersections and Access to Justice". Jennifer Koshan. 58(3) Alberta Law Review. 521-550. (2020)
- "Equality Rights and Pay Equity: Déjá Vu in the Supreme Court of Canada". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 15(1) Journal of Law and Equality. 1-29. (2019)
- "Impact of the Feminist Judgment Writing Projects: The Case of the Women's Court of Canada". Jennifer Koshan. 8:9 Oñati Socio-Legal Series. 1325-1354. (2018)
- "Specialised Domestic Violence Courts in Canada and the United States: Key Factors in Prioritising Safety for Women and Children". Jennifer Koshan. 40(4) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. 515-532. (2018)
- "Alberta v Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony". Jennifer Koshan and Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 30(2) Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. (2018)
- "R v JA". Jennifer Koshan. 30(2) Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. (2018)
- "The Role of Choice in Women's Freedom of Religion Claims in Canada". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 36(2) Religious Studies and Theology. 171-185. (2017)
- “Kahkewistahaw First Nation v. Taypotat: An Arbitrary Approach To Discrimination". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 76 Supreme Court Law Review (2d). (2016)
- “Inequality and Identity at Work”. Jennifer Koshan. 38:2 Dalhousie Law Journal. (2015)
- "Adverse Impact: The Supreme Court's Approach to Adverse Effects Discrimination Under Section 15 of the Charter". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 19:2 Review of Constitutional Studies. 191-235. (2014)
- "Under the Influence: Discrimination Under Human Rights Legislation and Section 15 of the Charter". Jennifer Koshan. 3(1) Can J Human Rights. 115-142. (2014)
- “The Costs of Justice in Domestic Violence Cases: Mapping Canadian Law and Policy”. Jennifer Koshan, Janet Mosher and Wanda Wiegers. in Trevor Farrow & Les Jacobs, eds, The Justice Crisis: The Cost and Value of Accessing Law . (2020)
- The Right to Say No: Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan and Patricia Nyaundi, eds. Hart Publishing. (2017)
- "Farming the Constitution: The Illegality of Excluding Alberta Farmworkers from Labour and Employment Legislation". Jennifer Koshan et al. in S McDonald and B Barnetson (eds), Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism. (2016)
In the News
- For the rule of justice and law. CBA National Magazine. (2021)
- Professors' research fights for gender equality, women's rights. UToday. (2021)
- Judges lack awareness of increased risks of domestic violence amid pandemic: study. The Lawyer's Daily. (2020)
- Marital rape myths have no place in Canadian law (Op Ed). Globe and Mail. (2017)
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