Amanda was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 2004 and the Ontario Bar in 2006, after winning the Silver Medal for overall academic standing in the graduating class at University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law and being voted valedictorian of that class. In law school, Amanda built up and coordinated a chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada. She then clerked for the Chief Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
Amanda started her career with Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission as a staff criminal lawyer, and was selected for the Canadian Bar Association’s International Development Internship Program the following year. In Namibia, Africa, she researched implementation of sexual assault legislation at grassroots level, assisted in lobbying and advocacy on children’s legislation and wrote a paper on gender-based violence in southern Africa. Returning to Canada, Amanda worked at a community legal clinic in Ontario, assisting her clients with poverty law issues, including appeals to the superior and appellate courts. She engaged in public interest litigation in partnership with senior pro bono counsel.
Amanda then moved home to Saskatchewan and began her work with CLASSIC, the Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City, first as Executive Director, and subsequently as Supervising Lawyer, allowing her to focus on her main passions, teaching students and providing legal assistance to those who desperately need it. She oversees law students’ work at a walk-in advocacy clinic, trains and supervises law students as they provide client services, and takes an active role in more complex files that come into the clinic. Amanda is a member of the Saskatchewan Branch of the CBA and of the CBA’s national Access to Justice Committee. In addition to all that, Amanda finds time to volunteer in a number of organizations that fight for human rights and against poverty.