Type: Faculty

Mosher, Janet

Professor Mosher joined the faculty of Osgoode Hall Law School in 2001 after teaching at the Faculties of Law and Social Work at the University of Toronto, where she was also the Director of the Combined LLB/MSW program. Between 2001 to 2005 and 2011 to 2013 she was the Academic Director of Osgoode’s Intensive Program in Poverty Law at Parkdale Community Legal Services. She is the co-founder of the Feminist Advocacy: Ending Violence Against Women Clinical Program and has served on many occasions as the program’s co-director. Professor Mosher has served as the editor-in-chief of Osgoode’s Journal of Law and Social Policy, as the English language editor of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, and on the boards of several community-based social justice organizations.

Research Interests: Gender-based violence and legal interventions, access to justice for marginalized populations, welfare policy, poverty law, homelessness, legal aid, and clinical legal education

Teaching Areas: Feminist Advocacy: Ending Violence Against Women, Legal Process, Law & Poverty, Legal Ethics.

Recent Publications:
Domestic Violence and Access to Justice: A Mapping of Relevant Laws, Polices and Justice System Components Across Canada, co-authored ebook (CanLii)

“Domestic Violence, Precarious Immigration Status, and the Complex Interplay of Family Law and Immigration Law” (2023) 35:1 Canadian Journal of Family Law 297-358

“Introduction: Domestic Violence and Access to Justice within the Family Law and Intersection Legal Systems,” co-authored, (2023) 35:1 Canadian Journal of Family Law 1-32

“A Comparison of Gender-Based Violence Laws in Canada: A Report for the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence Working Group on Responsive Legal and Justice Systems,” commissioned by Women’s Shelters Canada for the Roadmap for the National Action Plan on Violence Against Women and Gender-Based Violence report (appendix F), co-authored, 30 April 2021

“COVID-19, the Shadow Pandemic, and Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Violence,” co-authored, (2020) 57:3 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 739-799

“The Costs of Justice in Domestic Violence Cases – Mapping Canadian Law and Policy,” co-authored, in Trevor CW Farrow & Lesley A Jacobs, eds, The Justice Crisis: The Cost and Value of Accessing Law (UBC Press, 2020) 149-172; version with extended footnotes on SSRN at

“Introduction” to “Reimagining Child Welfare,” a special volume of the Journal of Law and Social Policy, co-authored (2018) 28 JLSP

“Grounding Access to Justice Theory and Practice in the Experiences of Women Abused by Their Intimate Partners,” (2015) 32:2 Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice 149-176

“Accessing Justice Amid Threats of Contagion,” (2014) 51:3 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 919-56 (refereed), reprinted in Kristy Buccieri and Rebecca Schiff, eds, Pandemic preparedness & homelessness: lessons from H1N1 in Canada (Toronto, ON : Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 2016)

“From Research to Action: Four theories and their implications for knowledge mobilization,” (2014) 5:4 Scholarly and Research Communication 1-17 (lead author with Uzo Anucha, Henry Appiah & Sue Levesque) (refereed)

Graduate Research Supervision (LLM, PhD): Professor Mosher is particularly interested in supervising projects related to how law is implicated in gender-based violence; community-grounded conceptions of access to justice; law and social change; and poverty law. She welcomes qualitative projects, including those deploying community-based participatory action methodologies. Her current research grants include domestic violence and access to justice at the intersections of various areas of law and legal processes (family, child welfare, criminal, immigration, etc.) and the criminalization of women victims of domestic violence.

Professor Mosher is willing to read preliminary proposals from strong students in the areas of interest listed, and comment on interest in supervision prior to submission of an official application.

Mgbeoji, Ikechi

Following five years of practice in civil litigation specializing in Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law, Professor Mgbeoji enrolled in the graduate program of Dalhousie University where he graduated, summa cum laude, with an LLM in 1999. A recipient of the Governor-General’s Gold Medal for the highest academic standing at the graduate level in Dalhousie University, he undertook his doctoral research in Patent Law, graduating, summa cum laude, in 2001. Throughout his academic career, Professor Mgbeoji has won numerous academic awards, scholarships and fellowships including the Killam Scholarship and the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft Award.  His teaching and research interests are in Patent Law, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, International Law on the Use of Force, International Environmental Law, Biotechnology and Law, Comparative Intellectual Property Law, Indigenous Peoples, and Anthropology. Professor Mgbeoji is the author of two books – Collective Insecurity: The Liberian Crisis, Unilateralism, & Global Order and Patents and Indigenous Peoples – and he is the co-author of Environmental Law in Developing Countries: Selected Issues. Prior to joining Osgoode in July 2003, he taught at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law.

McNeil, Kent

Kent McNeil is an Emeritus Distinguished Research Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught from 1987 to 2016.  His research focuses on the rights of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.  In 2007, he received a Killam Fellowship to pursue this research. In 2019, he was the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan H. Robert Arscott Chair at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, his alma mater.

In addition to his academic work, Professor McNeil has acted as a consultant for numerous Indigenous organizations and has been an expert witness in court cases in Canada and Belize. He is currently working on sovereignty issues in relation to the European colonization of North America and the development of international law in this context.  He will be pursuing this research as a Fulbright Canada Distinguished Chair in International Area Studies at Yale University in 2021-22.

McCamus, John D.

John D. McCamus has been a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School since 1971.  Prior to his faculty appointment, he served as Law Clerk to the Honourable Mr. Justice Laskin of the Supreme Court of Canada.  He teaches Contract, Commercial and Consumer Transactions, Contract Remedies, and Restitution. Professor McCamus is the author of The Law of Contracts, The Law of Restitution, editor of Freedom of Information: Canadian Perspectives, and co-editor of National Security:  Surveillance and Accountability in a Democratic Society, and Cases and Materials on Contracts, 3d ed.  Additionally, he has written several articles covering various aspects of the law of restitution, contracts, freedom of information, and the protection of privacy.  He is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Restatement of Restitution 3d.  Professor McCamus has a notable history of contribution to law reform efforts.  He has produced a number of research monographs for the Ontario Law Reform Commission and served as its Chair from 1992 to 1996.  In 1996-97, he chaired the Ontario Legal Aid Review.  Professor McCamus served as Dean of the Law School from 1982 to 1987.  His academic service also includes former positions as Assistant and Associate Dean, and Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Graduate Program.

Li, Jinyan

Jinyan Li is Professor of Tax Law and former Interim Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. She is currently the co-director of the LLM Tax program and academic director, Professional Graduate Studies Program.

Professor Li has authored, co-authored and co-edited numerous books, including: Income Tax at 100 Years: Essays and Reflections on the Income War Tax Act (2017); International Taxation in Canada (multiple editions); Principles of Canadian Income Tax Law (multiple editions); International Taxation in the Age of Electronic Commerce: A Comparative Study, and International Taxation in China: A Contextualized Analysis. She is the co-author chapter 13 (Capital Gains) of the Global Tax Treaty Commentaries on IBFD Tax Research Platform. She is the co-editor of Current Tax Readings, Canadian Tax Journal and a member of the editorial board of World Tax Journal. She has organized conferences and symposiums, the most recent of which are a symposium on Pillar Two (2022) and Women with Disabilities: Income Security and Tax Policy (2022).

Her work has been cited by Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada in Deans Knight Income Corp., Alta Energy and MacDonald.

She has recently served on the Panel of Experts advising the Minister of Finance, Canada on reviewing tax expenditures and a member of the advisory committee to the Minister of National Revenue on the taxation of e-commerce. She has also been a consultant to the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Auditor General of Canada, and the Department of Justice of Canada.

Professor Li has received numerous awards from external organizations, including: Tax Excellence Award (2021) from the Ontario Bar Association),  Lifetime Contribution Award (2017) from the Canadian Tax Foundation, Academic Excellence Award (2007) from the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, and D.J. Sherbaniuk Distinguished Writing Award (1999). She was a York University Research Leader (2017) and recipient of teaching awards (2004 and 2014). She is currently on the Council of IFA Canada and a speaker at Canadian and international conferences.

Lawrence, Sonia

Professor Sonia Lawrence joined Osgoode’s faculty in 2001. She graduated from the University of Toronto’s joint LLB/MSW program, went on to serve as law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada, and pursued graduate work at Yale Law School. Her work centers on critical analyses of legal conception of equality.

Sonia has served in a number of administrative roles at Osgoode including Assistant Dean of First Year and Director of the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies.  Her current teaching includes a first year public and constitutional law, a seminar in critical race theory, and serving as the academic director/instructor for Feminist Advocacy, a clinical legal education opportunity offered in partnership with the Barbara Schlifer Commemorative Clinic in Toronto.  In the past she has served as the academic director for Osgoode’s Anti-Discrimination Intensive Program (offered in partnership with the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (Ontario), and taught seminars in gender equality, graduate research and research methods, among others. Sonia is serving two terms as the President of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers / Association Canadienne des Professeurs de Droit.

Research Interests: Public Law, Gender, Race, Critical Race Feminism, Feminism, Equality Law, Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Kierstead, Shelley

Professor Shelley Kierstead’s research interests lie in the areas of family law, access to justice, and dispute resolution.  She has also conducted research in the conflict of laws area, completing a Master of Laws degree focusing on this topic at the University of Toronto 1993.  Professor Kierstead first taught Legal Research and Writing (LRW) at Osgoode in 1993, and became Director of the LRW program at Osgoode in 2002. In 2005, she completed a doctoral dissertation in the family law area and obtained a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.  Since 1997, Professor Kierstead has also coordinated a parent education program for separating parents entitled the “Parent Information Program.” This program is an initiative of Osgoode’s Centre for Public Law and Public Policy. Research Interests: Family Law, Legal Process

Johnson, Tom

A member of the Osgoode Hall Law School faculty since 1987, Professor Tom Johnson has served as Co-Director of the Schulich and Osgoode joint JD/MBA Program, Director of Osgoode’s Intensive Program in Business Law, Director of the Osgoode Business Clinic, and Co-Director of Osgoode’s LLM Program in Bankruptcy and Insolvency.

Professor Johnson’s areas of teaching include contract law, commercial law (secured transactions, bankruptcy and insolvency, capital market regulation and international business transactions), international development and project finance.  He is a recipient of the Osgoode Teaching Excellence Award.

Professor Johnson has more than 25 years of experience as a consultant to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, working on access to finance and land tenure reform projects in developing countries.  In that role he has advised governments in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Imai, Shin

After he became a lawyer in 1980, Shin Imai practised at Keewaytinok Native Legal Services in Moosonee and later had his own practice in the areas of human rights, refugee law and indigenous rights. He joined the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in 1989 to work on the development of Alternative Dispute Resolution programs and to initiate justice projects in indigenous communities.

He was appointed to faculty at Osgoode in 1996 and is currently a director of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project. He has served as Academic Director at Parkdale Community Legal Services, the Director of the Intensive Program on Aboriginal Lands, Resources and Governments, Director of Clinical Education, and Co-director of the Latin American Network on Research and Education in Human Rights (RedLEIDH).

Imai was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at the Law School in 2004 and 2007, and the University-wide Teaching Award in 2010.

Hutchinson, Allan C.

A member of Osgoode’s faculty since 1982, Professor Allan Hutchinson served as Associate Dean from 1994 to 1996 and later, in 2003, he was named Associate Dean (Research, Graduate Studies and External Relations). Professor Hutchinson is a legal theorist with an international reputation for his original and provocative writings. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2004 and named a Distinguished Research Professor by York University in 2006.  His research interests are law and politics; legal theory; the legal profession; constitutional law; torts; jurisprudence; civil procedure; and racism and law. As well as publishing in most of the common-law world’s leading law journals, he has written or edited many books. Much of his work has been devoted to examining the failure of law to live up to its democratic promise. His latest publications are Evolution and the Common Law (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and The Companies We Keep: Corporate Governance for a Democratic Society (Irwin Law, 2006). In 2007, he received the University-wide Teaching Award and was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.

Research Interests: Public Law, Legal Profession, Legal Theory