Law School Love Stories | Faculty of Law

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Law School Love Stories

February brings us Valentine’s Day – a day to celebrate love.

We thought it would be fun to find alumni who studied Passionate Precedents or the Law of Attraction at Fauteux. We love that we have gotten the opportunity to meet some law school sweethearts.

Common Law Alumni love stories span generations of couples who courted in the pursuit of love and justice. Cupid has been presiding over Common Law classes and we are excited to introduce you to a few law school lovebirds who passed the bar of love with A+.

Meet our Law School Sweethearts:

Annamie LLB'95 & Mark LLB'94
Stephanie LLB'08 & Andrew LLB'08
Linsey LLB'07 & Mark LLB'07
Kassie LLB'15 & Abdullah LLB'15
Alexandra JD'16 & Paul JD'16
Kitty JD'22 & Jared JD'22

If you met your life partner at law school, please join in the conversations on social media between February 12 and 14th and share your love story.

##FTXAmourLove

Read their love stories

Annamie LLB'95 & Mark LLB'94

Annamie and Mark met when Mark was a 2L and Annamie was a 1L. They were both heavily involved in student politics and bonded over that. One of their fondest memories is of the annual Fauteux boat cruise. Even as friends, Annamie always knew she would have a good time whenever Mark was at a party because he was such great company. Mark and Annamie started dating in Mark's final year and have been inseparable ever since. They have been married for 28 years and have two sons.

Stephanie LLB'08 & Andrew LLB'08

Stephanie and Andrew met in Fauteux in 2005 - their first year of law school. On the second day, they were in one of the introductory sessions in FTX 147A and started chatting. Andrew started to sit next to Stephanie in the classes they had together, even if that meant he had to sit near the front of the class. When Stephanie missed a class one day early in the first semester, Andrew sent her his notes. “It was at that point she realized that I was somewhat bright. I don't know if she still holds that view,” said Andrew.

While they have many great memories from their time in law school, one of their favourites is of the first-year boat cruise on the Ottawa River. To this day, they celebrate both their wedding anniversary and the anniversary of the boat cruise, when they started dating. It was the beginning of many great times to come, both with each other and with their law school friends.

On the day they graduated from law school, Andrew was the class speaker. He had the brilliant idea to propose during his speech, but then could not wait and asked Stephanie in the morning before they left for the graduation ceremony at the National Arts Centre. In response, Stephanie squealed so loud, that to this day, Andrew does not know if she said “Yes.”

When asked for comment on Andrew’s idea to propose during his graduation speech in front of hundreds of classmates, Stephanie said, “What on earth was he thinking?! It’s a good thing he’s handsome.”

Married 15 years, Stephanie and Andrew now have two sons and are on their second dog. Stephanie practices employment law at Dentons and Andrew is president of the County of Carleton Law Association and a partner at MBC Law Professional Corporation, where he practices civil litigation with a focus on construction law.

Linsey LLB'07 & Mark LLB'07

Linsey and Mark met by happenstance on a class trip with friends to Mont Tremblant during January break week of second year. Their first official date was shortly after that first meeting, where else but at Father and Sons. That same spring they both headed off to Europe for internships: Linsey to Geneva and Mark to Paris, where they continued to build their relationship on weekend adventures. They continued their love story in third year when they both participated in an international exchange for their final term at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

After graduating together in 2007, they articled in Ottawa at separate firms -; Linsey at Ogilvy Renault (now Norton Rose) and Mark at Fraser Milner Casgrain (now Dentons). After articling, they moved for work and school to Toronto and England, before coming back to Ottawa and adding two daughters to the mix. They have been together for 19 years and just celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve. In 2020, they established the Happy Roots Foundation, a private charitable foundation supporting infant and early childhood mental health.

Kassie LLB'15 & Abdullah LLB'15

Eleven years ago, first year of law school, Kassie and Abdullah started dating in their second semester around Valentine's Day.

Their love story began the first week of law school on the bus to the boat cruise in 2012. Shortly after, they met again in contracts class with Professor Chidi Oguamanam.

Kassie played club volleyball. Abdullah played varsity soccer, but he liked volleyball too, so they joined the law intramural volleyball team and got to know each other playing volleyball every week together.

Abdullah was Vice President Finance with AECLSS and enjoyed meeting with other students, understanding the issues they were facing and planning social events. Kassie warmly remembers her work with the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

Their joint love of food and travel brought them together throughout school.

“Our first date was at the Horn of Africa on Rideau … Father and Sons was an amazing ‘welcome home’ place, almost like Cheers. We went often for 10 cent wings and fried pickles. We did everything together. We have so many unreal memories.”

Their fondest law school couple memory was in third year, studying at University of Graz in Austria, learning European law, and travelling. “We spent 5 months studying during the week and travelling to 11 different countries on the weekends.” They both headed to British Columbia after graduation, articling in Vancouver and now working in their field - Kassie practices Aboriginal law and Abdullah is in-house counsel at a technology company. They live in Burnaby with their one-year-old son.

Alexandra JD'16 & Paul JD'16

In 2014, Alexandra and Paul met, not in the classroom, but the next most likely place to find a law student – the pub. It was a year-end event to celebrate the first-year law students completing their year. The meeting was a brief exchange of names and a handshake. As it was the end of the year, both parted ways for the summer break.

Their paths crossed the following year in two classes they had together, civil procedure and insurance law. They eventually became friends and often helped each other out by sharing class notes and practice exams.

In June 2016, Alexandra and Paul attended their graduation ceremony in Ottawa. Paul was sitting directly behind Alexandra during the ceremony. At one point, Alexandra turned around to congratulate Paul. Neither had any idea they would be in a relationship in the coming months, let alone husband and wife six years later.

When they completed their articling, they went on their first big trip together to Italy – a trip they will never forget!

In 2018, Paul decided to make their annual Christmas tradition visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake one to remember when he proposed to Alexandra on December 20, 2018.

In 2020 during the pandemic, Alexandra and Paul welcomed a new addition to their family – a Shichon puppy named Benny.

On July 23, 2022, Alexandra and Paul were married in the Niagara area at Our Lady of the Scapular Catholic Church, and their reception was held at The Gate House, (known as Wilson’s Hotel in the late 1700s). This was particularly serendipitous for Alexandra and Paul, because in 1797, Wilson’s Hotel hosted the inaugural meeting of the Law Society of Upper Canada, as the Law Society of Ontario was then known.

Two centuries after the Law Society was established, Alexandra and Paul met at uOttawa . They fell in love, shared a passion for the law, and supported each other on their journey to becoming lawyers. Alexandra and Paul’s love story started at Fauteux and it will forever be a place they cherish.

Kitty JD'22 & Jared JD'22

Kitty & Jared met on the first day of law school. They were in the same big group. Kitty was from Vancouver and Jared from Windsor. The first time they spoke to each other was in property law class when Professor Jeremy de Beer asked the students to discuss the Bundle of Rights theory with one another.

Kitty and Jared started dating just before COVID struck. They then spent the COVID summer of 2020 together in Ottawa, taking courses remotely. Kitty took Business Organizations with Professor Ian McGregor and pursued an SPI at Sharp Ang Family Law. Jared took the Legal Writing Academy course with Professors Ellen Zweibel and Virginia McRae and also worked for a landscaping company.

Kitty and Jared’s funniest memory was preparing and trying out for the uOttawa Tulane International Baseball Arbitration Competition moot team. Only three students are selected for the team each year. Jared has been a baseball fan his whole life, so he was eager to make the team and feeling confident. Kitty didn't know anything about baseball, but wanted to try out for the experience. Jared gave Kitty a three-day crash course in baseball statistics to help her prepare. Kitty was ultimately selected for the team and Jared was not. Jared continued to help Kitty decipher advanced metrics right up until the competition, and felt like part of the team, after all.

With law school proceeding remotely, Jared and Kitty moved to Vancouver together in August 2020 and have lived there happily ever since. They did both 2L and 3L completely through Zoom. Now, Kitty is an associate doing corporate work with Chen and Leung Barristers & Solicitors and Jared is an associate with the litigation boutique Eyford Partners LLP. They visit Ottawa most summers and are known to frequent Fathers & Sons when in town.