Broadbent Fellow

Gemma Smyth is Associate Professor and Externship Program Director with the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. Gemma was Associate Dean at Windsor Law from 2015-16. She was Academic Clinic Director for Windsor's poverty law clinics, Legal Assistance of Windsor and Community Legal Aid, from 2009-2015. From 2003-2009 she was Executive Director of University of Windsor Mediation Services, a community-based dispute resolution non-profit. Gemma teaches and researches in the areas of clinical law, trauma-informed lawyering, legal education, dispute resolution and access to justice. Most recently, she co-authored a book with Professors Sarah Buhler and Sarah Marsden on clinical legal education in Canada and launched a series of open source videos for clinic law students at www.youtube.ca/clinicallaw. Professor Smyth won teaching awards in 2005, 2009 and 2015, a Mid-Career research award in 2016. She is called to the Bar of Ontario.

Gemma works particularly on issues affecting communities experiencing poverty and homelessness, and people with precarious immigration status. She was previously Chair of the Windsor Essex Poverty Reduction Strategy and Chair of the Windsor-Essex Elder Abuse Prevention Network. She is currently President of the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education, and sits on various community Boards. Gemma is working on a campaign supporting persons with precarious immigration status in Windsor-Essex. Gemma lives in Anishinaabe Territory, Windsor, Ontario with her partner and two daughters.