Working in collaboration with the Faculty of Law’s International Law Group, the Chair seeks to provide opportunities for students, professors, alumni and the international law community to engage, learn and be inspired by leading experts in the field through clerkships (at venues such as the International Court of Justice), membership and sponsorship of international law organizations (such as the Canadian Council on International Law), conferences, workshops, speakers, communications and other activities. Each year, the law school presents the Hyman Soloway Lecture by a leading academic in business or international economic law.
Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law
The Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law promotes teaching and research in business and international economic law at the University of Ottawa.
Chairholder
Wolfgang Alschner
Professor Alschner is an empirical legal scholar specialized in international economic law and the computational analysis of law. His new book, Investment Arbitration and State-Driven Reform: New Treaties, Old Outcomes, recently published with Oxford University Press (2022), explores how a new generation of international investment treaties has been rolled back in investment arbitration practice.
Professor Alschner is an Associate Professor at the Common Law Section with cross-appointment to the Faculty of Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is also a faculty member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa and heads the uOttawa Legal Technology Lab. Professor Alschner’s teaching materials on computational legal analysis are available on www.datascienceforlawyers.org.
Among his other roles and affiliations, Professor Alschner acts as a co-editor of the World Trade Review, a member of the editorial board of the Journal of International Economic Law (JIEL) and a member of the Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA). He also co-founded the investment treaty analytics portal www.mappinginvestmenttreaties.com and the Electronic Database of Investment Treaties (EDIT).
Professor Alschner holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, a Master of Law from Stanford Law School, a Master in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute as well as an LLB from the University of London and a BA in International Relations from the University of Dresden, Germany.
Donor
The Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law is an endowed chair at the Faculty of Law in the name of the principal donor, the late Mr. Hyman Soloway, Q.C., formerly the long time senior partner in the law firm of Soloway Wright. Mr. Soloway began his long and distinguished legal career in 1945 after his discharge from the army. He was a recognized expert in corporate and commercial law and was on the board of a number of major Canadian corporations. He was counsel to the National Energy Board from 1970-1978. Mr. Soloway completed his education at Queen’s University and Osgoode Hall.
Mr. Soloway was also a leader in community and public affairs. He was a member of the Canadian Jewish Congress, President of the Ottawa Jewish Community Council and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ottawa Civic Hospital. He served as the Chair of the Board of Governors of Carleton University and was a member of the Board of Governors at the University of Ottawa. Both institutions recognized his many accomplishments and contributions by awarding him honorary doctorates.