Who We Are

The Class Action Clinic at Windsor Law is the first clinic of its kind in North America. Our focus is on class members – people who are part of a large civil lawsuit launched on their behalf by representative plaintiffs and class counsel.

The Clinic is staffed by a team of law students, a staff lawyer, and a faculty director who provide a range of legal services, information, assistance with filing claims in settlement distribution processes, public education and outreach.

Because we serve class members across Canada, the Clinic provides its services online, by telephone and by video conference, as well as in person for those in the Windsor–Essex community.

Academic Clinic Director

Gemma Smyth

Education

BA(Hons), 1999, University of Western Ontario
LLB, 2002, University of Windsor
LLM, 2004, Osgoode Hall Law School

Professor Gemma Smyth (she/her) is Associate Professor and Externship Director at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, on the territories of the Three Fires Confederacy. She manages and teaches in the Judicial Internship Program and Externship Program at Windsor Law, and is the Academic Clinic Director for the Class Actions Clinic.

Professor Smyth has held various positions including Law Foundation Chair at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Associate Dean (Academic), Academic Clinic Director and Associate Professor and Externship Program Director and Director of University of Windsor Mediation Services. She has taught Clinic Seminar, Learning in Place (an Externship Program seminar), Dispute Resolution, Access to Justice, Mediation Clinic, and Research Methods. Professor Smyth researches and writes in the areas of clinic law, dispute resolution, lawyering skills, and legal education. Professor Smyth is the co-author of the first text on clinical legal education in Canada, with Professors Sarah Buhler and Sarah Marsden. Professor Smyth has written and annually published updates to an online, open source book, “Learning in Place: A Living Landscape of Practice”, now in its third edition. This text is freely available to clinical, internship, externship, co-op and other work-informed learning programs.

Professor Smyth hosts an open-access Youtube channel with materials on law practice with a focus on clinical law skills and a website on clinic supervision for lawyer-supervisors and law students in work-integrated learning environments. She is Past President of the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education, a national collaborative working on issues related to clinical and experiential legal education in Canada. Professor Smyth’s papers and other publications can be found on the University of Windsor’s digital repository . Professor Smyth is also a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee (West and South) and a Board member for the Canadian National Negotiation Competition.

Staff Lawyer

Andrew Eckart

Email: aeckart@uwindsor.ca

Education

B.A. (Economics and North American Studies), McGill University, 2005
LL.B., University of Windsor, 2010
Mediating Disputes, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 2017

Andrew is the founding Staff Lawyer at the Class Action Clinic. Prior to his role here, he gained class action experience in private practice as a plaintiff side lawyer. His first introduction to this work was as a an articling student clerking at the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, where he assisted judges on many class action matters, including a multi-year common issues trial.

As the Clinic’s Staff Lawyer, Andrew supervises and mentors student caseworkers and routinely represents clients through claims processes, at settlement approval hearings, and providing important, non-partisan, independent legal advice.

In addition to his work at the Clinic, Andrew is a mediator of civil disputes and sits on the OBA’s Class Action Bench-Bar Liaison Committee.

Articling Student

Kassandra Burke

Email: kburke@uwindsor.ca

Kassandra is an articling student and recent graduate from the University of Ottawa. Prior to law school, she completed an Honours Bachelor of Social Science in Criminology at the same institution. Motivated by her passion for access to justice, Kassandra has worked with non-profits in the Ottawa area to deliver legal services to underserved communities. Her experience includes pro bono work on wills, powers of attorney, guardianship applications, and immigration law.

When she’s not working, Kassandra enjoys traveling, cooking, and exploring new coffee shops.

Student Case Workers

Keren Harrison

Keren Harrison is a community leader, social justice activist, and a current Programming Analyst at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. She also serves as the co-executive Director of the Black Inclusion Association, a Calgary-based nonprofit that seeks to structurally elevate Black youth. Keren is also a distinguished volunteer, who has dedicated over 350 hours to equity-related community initiatives over the last two years. She is especially passionate about improving the experiences of racialized immigrants.

Keren holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a second Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Calgary. She also holds a Master of Arts in Globalization and International Development from the University of Ottawa. Keren is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.

Keren looks forward to building a people-centered, justice-oriented career. She is also excited to retire to a soft life with at least two cats.

Words to live by: Time by itself means nothing, no matter how fast it moves, unless we give it something to carry for us; something we value. - Ama Ata Aidoo

Luis Lara Palacios

Luis is an incoming third-year law student at the University of Windsor. Prior to his law school journey, he received a Bachelor's Degree in Criminology and Justice from Ontario Tech. As a student looking to build a career in public interest, he has been advocating for vulnerable populations, including cyclists and pedestrians with Community Bikeways, individuals with disabilities and mental health issues with the Health Justice Clinic, and even birds with FLAP Canada and Windsor Law's own Environmental Law Society. Outside of work, he enjoys volleyball, chess, bike rides along the river, and still plays Pokémon GO!

Alexander Romancia-Bishay

Alexander Bishay is a third-year law student at the University of Windsor. Prior to his legal education, he earned an honors combined Bachelor with Political Science and Psychology. Alex has a passion for civil advocacy, with a particular interest in Class Actions. His family was a claimant in a class action against a major food company when he was a child, and this has spurred his interest in advocating for disadvantaged claimants. Outside of work and school, Alex enjoys traveling, basketball, and has recently taken up wall-climbing.

Abbey Storey

Abbey is a second-year law student at the University of Windsor. Prior to her legal education, she received an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethics, Society, and Law from the University of Toronto. Passionate about increasing access to justice for underserved communities, Abbey volunteers with Windsor Law’s LEAF and Women and the Law Chapters and is excited to apply her commitment to equitable justice at the Class Action Clinic. In her spare time Abbey enjoys spending time with her cats and travelling with family and friends.