Signa A. Daum Shanks is a lawyer and historian. She has taught a variety of subjects at a variety of places, including University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, University of Alberta, University of Toronto, and Osgoode Hall Law School. Her courses have focused on legal history, Indigenous rights, law and economics and torts. These locations and subjects have impacted Prof. Daum Shanks' interest in law and society, data as evidence, and the legal profession. Her career in law has included working for the federal Department of Justice, Saskatchewan Justice, Ministry of the Attorney General -Ontario and a large national law firm's Toronto office.
Prof. Daum Shanks has received some very kind recognition along the way, including a SSHRC doctoral fellowship, a University of Saskatchewan's Arts and Science Alumni Leader Award, a scholarly paper award from the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, the President's Award from the Women Lawyers' Association of Ontario, a two-time presented Research Leader award from York University, and the Service Award from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law Common Law program. In addition, she has served as a specialist on advisory panels and an inquiry which have focused on judicial appointments, communications legislation, online harm and the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission.
She is currently engaged in researching microhistory, legal history, historical evidence in court, and the modern reinforcement of colonialism within Crown litigation.
Previously a member of a number of Boards, Prof. Daum Shanks is currently a Senior Fellow at Massey College and on the Board of Trustees for the Canadian Bar Association's Law for the Future Foundation.