OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association’s Fellowship Committee has selected Léa Brière-Godbout to receive the 2020-2021 Viscount Bennett Fellowship for her graduate legal studies.
Ms. Brière-Godbout is currently pursuing her SJD at the University of Toronto. The focus of her research is equality and the way we define discrimination. Her thesis will “paint picture of (the) current persuasive legal potential” of arguments under s. 15 of the Charter.
Quotes
“Léa Brière-Godbout’s sophisticated examination of historical equality rights jurisprudence in Canada, combined with her brilliantly articulated vision of what needs to be done to achieve substantive equality, is poised to be transformative work, directly relevant to the lives of marginalized and underprivileged Canadians. The CBA is proud to support such excellent legal scholarship that goes to the very heart of something we value dearly in Canada.” - CBA Viscount Bennett Fellowship Selection Committee.
"I am very grateful to receive the Viscount Bennett Fellowship, which will allow me to focus full-time on writing my doctoral dissertation. I really appreciated the positive feedback and the interest that the members of the committee showed for my research and found it extremely motivating". РL̩a Bri̬re-Godbout
The Viscount Bennett Fellowship is awarded annually to a Canadian law student to encourage high standards of legal education, training and ethics. The Fellowship was established under the terms of a trust created by former Prime Minister and CBA President Viscount Richard Bedford Bennett. The first Fellowship was awarded in 1946.
Quick Facts
- Ms. Brière-Godbout earned her LLB at the Université du Québec à Montréal and her LLM at Yale
- Before entering legal studies she earned a degree in social work. She went from there to law “hoping to acquire legal tools to help reduce inequalities on a broader public policy level.”
- She clerked for Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner in 2018-2019
- The Viscount Bennett Fellowship carries a value of $25,000
Related links:
Viscount Bennett Fellowship
Canadian Bar Association
-30 –
About the CBA
The CBA is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, notaries in Quebec, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.