NSRLP Team

The National Self-Represented Litigants Projects takes its mandate from the Final Recommendations of the Research Report: 10 Actions Step for the SRL Phenomenon. We are very excited about continuing our work with and for SRLs in the coming year. We invite you to join us – by inviting a SRL to speak to your professional conference, law school class, participate in a policy working group or “road test” a new SRL resource – by participating in the regular discussion on our Facebook page, follow our Blog and/or signing up to receive our newsletter below.

Who We Are

NSRLP aims to continue to generate energy and motivation towards serious contemplation of system change, reflecting the findings of the Research Study. NSRLP is committed to collaboration to enhance the responsiveness of the Canadian justice system to SRLs, and to continuing dialogue among the stakeholders who include SRLs, lawyers, judges and court services staff. NSRLP is also acting as a clearinghouse for information and resources related to the SRL phenomenon. NSRLP is committed to information and resource-sharing on the SRL phenomenon among all interested and affected parties. NSRLP is funded by the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law and aligns with Windsor Law’s mandate to promote Access to Justice for all Canadians.

Our Team Includes

– Our Project Team located at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor.

– The NSRLP Advisory Board.

– Our Volunteers.

– The many SRLs and justice system professionals who collaborate with us.

It is the collective effort of all these groups that continues to advance the NSRLP mandates of research, resource development and dialogue & collaboration.

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Meet Our Team

Dr. Julie Macfarlane

Founder
Jennifer Leitch

Executive Director
Andrew Pilliar

NSRLP West Director
Ilana Luther

NSRLP East Director
Dayna Cornwall

Project Manager
Moya McAlister

NSRLP Communications Manager
Brauntë Petric

Podcast Producer
Lorissa Jaipaul

Research Assistant
Keerthi Chintapalli

Research Assistant

Dr. Julie Macfarlane

Founder

Dr. Julie Macfarlane is Emerita Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Windsor. Julie has researched and written extensively on dispute resolution and in particular the role of lawyers (for example her best-selling 2008 book The New Lawyer : How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law). She became interested in learning more about the personal experiences of self-represented litigants as they become a increasingly significant interest group in the justice system, leading to the National Self-Represented Litigants Research Study (2013). Julie is an experienced mediator, facilitator and conflict resolution educator who is committed to access to justice, the modernization of the justice system and public engagement in legal system reform. For more information about Julie, please see profjuliemac.com.

Jennifer Leitch

Executive Director

Jennifer Leitch, JD, LLM, PhD is a researcher and law teacher, primarily in the area of legal ethics and professionalism, access to justice, and dispute processes. Her PhD dissertation at Osgoode included ethnographic research involving self-represented litigants’ experiences participating in the civil justice system. She continues to research and publish in the fields of access to justice and legal ethics. She also practiced civil litigation at Goodmans LLP in Toronto. Jennifer was been an adjunct faculty member of Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law where she taught legal ethics and professionalism, legal process and legal research and writing as well as torts most recently. She is also the Associate Director and an instructor in the Ethics, Society and Law program at Trinity College, University of Toronto and a Senior Research Fellow with the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice. Jennifer lives in Toronto with her partner and twins.

Andrew Pilliar

NSRLP West Director

Andrew Pilliar is a teacher and researcher whose work focusses on improving access to justice. His doctoral research examines the structure of the market for personal legal services to sustainably improve access to justice. His prior LLM research explored the twin problems of access to civil justice and lawyer career dissatisfaction, suggesting an innovative practice model to alleviate both. Before returning to graduate studies, Andrew practiced in the litigation and insolvency fields at a national law firm and at a Vancouver boutique, and clerked for the BC Supreme Court.

In addition to his current research, Andrew has investigated pro bono work patterns among BC lawyers, the business/profession dichotomy in law, and the contours of graduate legal education in Canada. He is also a founder of the Access to Justice Research Network. His interest in access to justice extends both to how people find and obtain legal services, and also how legal service providers can deliver services in more accessible ways.

Ilana Luther

NSRLP East Director

Ilana Dodi Luther has a background in law and policy and is the Executive Director of the Access to Justice & Law Reform Institute of Nova Scotia (formerly the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia). Now located at the Schulich School of Law, the Institute is a non-profit organization is dedicated to law reform and acting as a center of coordination, research, education, and action on access to justice.

Ilana first joined the Law Reform Commission as legal research counsel in 2011, transitioned to work as a policy analyst for government in 2017, then returned to the Institute to serve as Director in 2018.

Ilana has a first law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, an LLM from Harvard Law School. She has a Masters of Information Management from the University of Alberta and attended the Maytree Policy School in 2021. In 2015, Ilana earned her Doctorate in Law from the Schulich School of Law and teaches poverty law and law reform there on a part-time basis.

Dayna Cornwall

Project Manager

Dayna Cornwall holds degrees in English Literature and Education from the University of Windsor, and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked previously in public and academic libraries, in education research, and in human resources, and has brought a passion for information literacy to the NSRLP since joining the organization in 2016. Dayna coordinates the day-to-day and long-term objectives of the NSRLP, overseeing administration, information organization, and various special projects which include, among others: the 2018-2020 Family Law at the Library pilot program; the ongoing School for Family Litigants; and 2023’s Virtual Hearings Research Project. Dayna has spoken widely on the self-representation phenomenon at workshops and conferences across North America, is a contributor to the NSRLP blog and Slaw columns, and produces and co-hosts NSRLP’s award-winning podcast, “Jumping off the Ivory Tower.”

Moya McAlister

NSRLP Communications Manager

Moya McAlister has over 8 years of professional experience in marketing, fundraising, and non-profit management, and brings a passion for social justice issues to everything she does. Moya’s education is in English and Musical Studies, as well as Advertising and Marketing Communications Management. She was an Account Executive at a top North American advertising agency, but she has also worked as Volunteer and Development Coordinator at the Windsor Humane Society. Moya is heavily involved in community arts and social justice initiatives, including serving as Board Vice President and Marketing Director of Windsor’s Arts Collective Theatre, and Board Director of the Black Women of Forward Action. As Communications Manager, Moya leads activities related to revenue generation through grants and fundraising initiatives. She also manages project budgets and timelines and works closely with the social media coordinators to ensure NSRLP resources are spread efficiently across multiple digital platforms. Moya is also the point person for SRL outreach across Canada.

Brauntë Petric

Podcast Producer

Braunte is a third-year Communications, Media and Film student at the University of Windsor. Brauntë works on the NSRLP’s social justice podcast, “Jumping Off the Ivory Tower with Prof JulieMac”, for which she edits and produces each weekly episode, directs and produces promotional videos, and works on all aspects of marketing and sponsorship. Brauntë has been interested in film and audio since high school, and over the course of her undergraduate program has had many different media-related work opportunities. Brauntë worked previously at WECCC as their social media specialist, and at WE-TV as a camera operator. Brauntë’s favourite movie is “The Lord Of The Rings: The Twin Towers”.

Lorissa Jaipaul

Research Assistant

Lorissa is a third-year law student at the University of Windsor. Prior to coming to law school, she did her Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society and her Master of Arts in Socio-Legal Studies.

She has experience working with foster children, at a mental health non-profit, at civil litigation and family law firms, at a family law legal clinic, and with self-represented litigants.

Lorissa has been with the NSRLP since her second year of law school and plans to continue to use her education, experience, and skills to further access to justice for self-represented litigants.

Keerthi Chintapalli

Research Assistant

Keerthi is a second-year law student at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. Prior to law school, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminology at the University of Toronto. She has experience working with social advocacy groups in Toronto and continues to study the economic and social hurdles self-represented litigants face.

Keerthi has been with the NSRLP since her first year of law school and continues to apply her skills, expertise and education towards improving equity and access to justice.

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