Preparing to practise law in English and French

On June 5, 2026, eight students graduated with their JD degrees with a concentration in Access to Justice in French from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law. Congratulations to Avery Alexiuk, Ashley Allan, Tia Andrews, Joshua Dondo, Yomna Eid, Jayden Kyryluk, Tess Poulton and Vanessa Smith on this accomplishment. These graduates completed at least 26 credits of their law courses in French (approximately 1/3 of their courses). The Faculty also recognizes  Eric Matthews who graduated with his JD degree having completed a significant number of law courses in French.

The Access to Justice in French Concentration is an innovative program that addresses the access to justice need of increasing the number of lawyers in Manitoba and Canada who have the linguistic skills to provide legal services in French. For over a decade, students at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law have had the opportunity to pursue part of their legal education in French. However, only since the Fall of 2022 have first-year law students been able to take French law courses that would apply toward obtaining the Access to Justice in French Concentration (A2JF Concentration) designation upon graduation. Our 2026 graduates represent the second official cohort of students who have graduated with this concentration.

These graduates have distinguished themselves by their academic strength, collegiality, contributions to the work of Infojustice Manitoba and the Bilingual Students’ Association as well as their excellent work at the Laskin Moot, Bastarache Moot and the French stream of the Canadian National Negotiation Competition (CNNC). This year, our Laskin team won second place for their factums and our Bastarache team won the Michel-Bastarache Award for fair play, camaraderie, and dedication to the French language. One of our CNNC teams participating in French won the Spirit of Negotiation award (“le prix d’excellence dans l’esprit de la négociation”).

We wish our graduates well as they commence articling at Fillmore Riley LLP, Myers LLP, Taylor McCaffrey LLP and Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP in Winnipeg; Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP in Steinbach; Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP; Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Calgary; and a clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa.

On June 4, 2026, the Faculty of Law held a graduation luncheon at Promenade Brasserie in Saint-Boniface to celebrate the graduates of the A2JF Concentration and to thank members of the Franco-Manitoban legal community for their indispensable support of our students as instructors, guest lecturers, supervisors, coaches and judges of our moot teams.

We also wish to thank Justice Canada’s Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Fund for its generous support and the support of our students, the University of Manitoba, the Faculty of Law, the francophone legal community, l’Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba (AJEFM), Infojustice Manitoba, l’Université de Saint-Boniface, the Law Society of Manitoba, and the Manitoba Bar Association. We wish to recognize Dr. Lorna Turnbull, director of the A2JF Concentration and Justice Gerald Heckman of the Federal Court of Appeal, former co-director of the A2JF Concentration, for their vision and instrumental work in creating this concentration as well as the continued leadership and engagement of the A2JF team at the Faculty, including Professors Lorna Turnbull, Martine Dennie and Andrea Doyle.

Félicitations à nos diplômés et bonne chance dans vos carrières juridiques! Un grand merci à la communauté franco-manitobaine pour votre soutien continu. We look forward to seeing the impact that our graduates will have in improving access to justice in French in Manitoba and Canada.