Kellinde Wrightson

Dr. Kellinde Wrightson

PhD
Pronouns: she/her

Affiliations

Associate Professor

Faculty of Law

Executive Director

Faculty of Law, Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program

Contact information

Email

kellinde.wrightso1@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

LinkedIn

Background

Credentials

BA Hons I University Medal, University of Sydney, Australia,

PhD (Arts), University of Sydney, Australia, 1995

LLB, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2006

Certificate of Accreditation (Canadian Law), National Committee on Accredition, Ottawa, 2018

Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2006

Called to Bar, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, 2006

Called to Bar, Queen's Bench, Alberta, 2018

Biography

Prior to joining UCalgary Law in 2021, Kellinde was an Associate Lawyer in Calgary specializing in real estate law, foreclosures, and wills and estates. She has sat on the Board of Directors of the Legal Education Society of Alberta since 2021.

Her book Decoding Canadian Legal Research, Writing and Conventions (Emond, 2024) was nominated for the Hugh Lawford Prize for Excellence in Legal Publishing. She is the author and presenter of Emond’s ITL Canadian Criminal Law Course for NCA Exams. 

She won the Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Award 2025 for her courses Law 430 Professional Development and Law 420 Foundations of Canadian Law.

Prior to moving to Canada in 2011, Kellinde worked in academe and law in Australia. She clerked at the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where she was appointed to the prestigious position of Researcher to the Chief Judge in the Equity Division. She researched and taught Medieval English Literature at the University of Sydney and the University of Wollongong for 12 years. She won 18 awards for excellence in that field.

Alongside her career in law, Kellinde is a published novelist with Brandl & Schlesinger. She held a Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Writer Residency and was Guest Author at the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Australia, in 2015.

Research

Areas of Research

Legal Research and Writing, Legal Education, Professional Development, Clinical Practice, Ethics and Professionalism

Projects

A Comparative Study of the Assessment and Accreditation of Foreign Trained Lawyers in Common Law Jurisdictions in an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Context

Working Title: "A Comparative Study of the Assessment and Accreditation of Foreign Trained Lawyers in Common Law Jurisdictions in an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Context"

Scope: Canada, the UK, Australia, USA

Aim: To foster discussion about the needs of both foreign trained lawyers and accreditation/licensing authorities. To gather raw data on the experiences of foreign trained lawyers in Canada. To undertake a comparative study between similar legal and cultural systems. To explore potential avenues for improvement to meet the needs of foreign trained lawyers and accreditation/licensing authorise. To examine issues of equity, diversity and inclusion with respect to the pathway of foreign trained lawyers in Canada from the beginning of the accreditation process to the first years of legal practice. To consider the whole of the project in the broader context of access of justice, and looking at issues of skill waste and nativism.

Outcomes: Publication of articles on the findings of the above research. Publication of a report of the same. Delivery of papers and talks at conferences, seminars and other relevant venues.

Expected Duration: 2021-2023

Awards

  • Guest Author, Sydney Writers' Festival. 2015
  • Writer in Residency, Banff Centre. 2013
  • Comparative Law Prize, University of Wollongong, Australia. 2004
  • Centre for the Book Fellow, British Library, London. 1998
  • Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian Research Council. 1996
  • Australian Research Council Research Award, Australian Research Council. 1997
  • Macquarie University Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University, Australia. 1996
  • Sir Robert Menzies/Australian Bicentennial Prize, Australian Federal Government. 1995
  • University of Sydney Gold Medal, University of Sydney, Australia. 1991
  • Sir Walter Reid Memorial Prize for Top Grades in 2nd Year Undergraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1991
  • Sir Walter Reid Memorial Prize for Top Grades in 2nd Year Undergraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1995
  • Helen B. Devine Prize for Anglo-Saxon Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1998
  • University of Sydney Award for Postgraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1991
  • University of Sydney Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1992
  • University of Sydney Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1993
  • University of Sydney Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1994
  • University of Sydney Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. 1995

Publications

  • Pronoun Choice and Feminist Language Change in Australian Media. Kellinde Wrightson and Anne Pauwels. Australian Journal of Communication. (2001)
  • Fourteenth-Century Icelandic Verse on the Virgin Mary. Kellinde Wrightson. Viking Society for Northern Research, University College, London, UK. 1-171. (2001)
  • The Notorious Frances Thwaites. The Adventurous Life of Frances Thwaites. Australia's Most Notorious Female Serial Killer. 1867-1894. Kellinde Wrightson. Brandl & Schlesinger. 1-596. (2014)
  • The Jilted Fiancee. Kellinde Wrightson. Parergon, Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval Studies, Vol. 15, No. 1. 119-136. (1997)
  • Drapa af Mariugrat, The Joys and Sorrows of the Virgin and Christ, and the Dominican Rosary. Kellinde Wrightson. Saga Book, Viking Society for Northern Research, Vol. 24. 283-292. (1994)
  • The First English Translation of Drapa af Mariugrat. Kellinde Wrightson. Comitatus. A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 24, Issue 1. 79-90. (1993)
  • Review of "Deadly Waters. The Hidden World of Somalia's Pirates" by Jay Bahadur. Kellinde Wrightson. Journal of the Law Society of New South Wales, Vol. 50, No. 6. (2012)
  • Review of "The Old School" by P. M. Newton. Kellinde Wrightson. Journal of the Law Society of New South Wales, Vol. 49, No. 5. (2011)
  • Review of "Nothing to do with Justice. The Di Fingleton Story" by Diane Fingleton. Kellinde Wrightson. Journal of the Law Society of New South Wales, Vol. 49, No. 1. (2011)
  • Review of "Maverick Litigants. A History of Vexatious Litigants in Australia" by Simon Smith. Kellinde Wrightson. Journal of the Law Society of New South Wales, Vol. 48, No. 11. (2010)
  • Review of "The Last Gasp. The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber" by Scott Christianson. Kellinde Wrightson. Journal of Law Society of New South Wales, Vol. 48, No. 8. (2010)
  • Why Legal Flexibility is not a Threat to either the Common Law System of England/Australia or the Civil Law System of France in the Twenty-first Century. Kellinde Wrightson. Hanse Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 2. (2005)
  • The Laerthir Men of the Old Icelandic Marian Lament Drapa af Mariugrat. Kellinde Wrightson. Sagas and the Norwegian Experience. 685-692. (1997)
  • Marian Miracles in Old Icelandic Skaldic Poetry. Kellinde Wrightson. Treasures of the Elder Tongue. 87-99. (1995)
  • Changing Attitudes to Old Icelandic Marian Poetry. Kellinde Wrightson. Old Norse Studies in the New World. 138-153. (1994)
  • Reimagining the Past. The Notorious Frances Thwaites. Australia's Most Notorious Female Serial Killer. Kellinde Wrightson. University of Wollongong, Australia, Author Talk. (2014)
  • The Writing of Notorious Francies Thwaites. Kellinde Wrightson. Shoalhaven Library, New South Wales, Australia, Author Talk. (2014)
  • Dangerous Women. Why Women Kill. Panel Discussion. Kellinde Wrightson. Sydney Writers' Festival, Australia. (2015)
  • Author Q&A. Kellinde Wrightson on Baby Farmer Frances Thwaites. Kellinde Wrightson. Traces. Uncovering the Past. (2016)
  • Women Who Kill. Kellinde Wrightson interview by Natasha Mitchell. Life Matters, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2015)
  • "Legal Research and Writing Tips for Internationally Trained Lawyers". Kellinde Wrightson. CBA National and Manitoba Bar Association Legal Research Section and Internationally Trained Lawyers Section. (2026)
  • "ITL Canadian Criminal Law Course for NCA™ Exams". Kellinde Wrightson. Emond. (2025)

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