Professor Steger is a leading authority in international economic law. Emeritus professor since 2019, she has twice held the Hyman Soloway Chair in International Trade and Business Law and taught at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law for over 20 years. Her research is focused on global economic governance with an emphasis on improvement and reform of international economic organizations, international trade and investment agreements, and dispute settlement mechanisms, including the WTO and international investment arbitration.
In 2022, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University by the University of Sherbrooke “en raison de son apport exceptionnel au développement de la société.” She is the President of TradeLab (www.tradelab.org), a global network of law school clinics dedicated to make global economic regulation work for everyone by connecting students to developing countries, SMEs, and NGOs to build lasting legal capacity. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Trade Experettes (www.tradeexperettes.org), whose mission is to shine a light on women trade experts and empower women through trade.
Professor Steger was the first Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (1995-2001) and the first woman appointed as a director in the history of the GATT/WTO Secretariat. During the Uruguay Round, she was the Senior Negotiator for Canada on Dispute Settlement and the Establishment of the World Trade Organization as well as the Principal Counsel to the Government of Canada for the Uruguay Round agreements. She also served as General Counsel of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. She has also been a visiting professor at The Hague Academy of International Law, Columbia University, Washington College of Law American University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Victoria.
She has led a major international and national research network as Scientific Director of the Emerging Dynamic Global Economies (EDGE) Network, a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE), devoted to responding to the challenges of the emerging economies in the changing global landscape. She was also co-leader of a major international collaborative initiative, the Canada-EU Trade Environment Technology Exchange (TETE), aimed at managing the interfaces among trade, environment and technology policies and encouraging regulatory cooperation in the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations.
Professor Steger has been appointed to dispute settlement rosters, including the CUSMA and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement; served as a panelist in WTO, NAFTA and Canadian Free Trade Agreement disputes; acted as counsel to governments in several WTO and NAFTA disputes; and provided technical assistance and training to developing country Members of the WTO.
She has an LL.M. from the University of Michigan, an LL.B. from the University of Victoria, and an Honours B.A. from the University of British Columbia.
A frequent writer and commentator, she has published 11 books and over 140 articles, book chapters and reports.
- Curriculum Vitae (pdf, 235 KB)
- SSRN page