Juliet has a passion for legal education and has taught at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law since 2011 and is currently the Advocate-in-Residence and a Part-Time Professor in the Common Law faculty.
Throughout Juliet's career as a legal educator, civil litigator and tribunal member, she has been a capacity-builder. She is a perpetual mentor and develops long-term relationships. She gives tirelessly to support and empower those from within and outside of the legal profession, particularly those from equity-seeking backgrounds.
Juliet is the Chair of the Roundtable of Legal Diversity Associations (RODA) - a coalition of equity-seeking Canadian legal associations - and has held a number of leadership positions at the Ontario Bar Association. She has served as a member of the federal Judicial Advisory Committee and has been an active volunteer with a variety of community and advocacy groups including the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, LSO Equity Advisory Group, the County of Carleton Law Association, public and Chinese language school councils, the Ottawa Lawyers Feed the Hungry program and the Emily Murphy Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
“This award is a reflection of the types of valuable contributions that Juliet is making on a daily basis in our classrooms and in the Faculty more broadly”, says Professor David Wiseman, Vice-Dean of the English Common Law Program. “We are thrilled that she has been recognized in this way and we look forward to continuing to benefit from her involvement with us.”
Juliet's commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility principles and practices are rooted in her desire to serve with compassion. Her unceasing efforts on behalf of marginalized groups make Juliet an inspiration to her colleagues and the legal profession.
"Receiving this award is an honour that means so very much to me. I am all at once thrilled and humbled to receive recognition from my professional body. As an immigrant from a mixed-race background and the first in my family to become a lawyer, I remember very well those early tentative days of law school at the University of Ottawa. I marvel at how much I learned and developed during that time, and the paths that this legal education allowed me to take since - paths that I could never have charted - and for that I am very grateful. I have always felt that this privilege comes with responsibility and I hope my efforts have made a positive impact along the way. In one sense, so much good work being done by those in our profession and, in another sense, so much work still needs to be done. What a journey!" reflects Juliet.
The Lincoln Alexander Award was established in 2002 and is awarded annually in recognition of an Ontario lawyer or paralegal who has demonstrated long-standing interest and commitment to the public and to the pursuit of community service on behalf of residents of Ontario.
Congratulations Juliet!