Jennifer Koshan

Jennifer Koshan

Positions

UCalgary Research Excellence Chair

University of Calgary

Professor

Faculty of Law

Contact information

Email

koshan@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

ABlawg

SSRN

Twitter

Phone number

Office: 403.220.7329

Location

Office: MFH4311

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

Constitutional Law, Equality and Human Rights, State Responses to Interpersonal Violence, Feminist Legal Theory, Public Interest Advocacy

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

  • “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)

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