Who We Are – Class Action Clinic

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: [email protected]

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

Jessica Rocha

Email: [email protected]

Jessica is a recent graduate of the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. Prior to law school, she earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Toronto. Motivated by a passion for community engagement, Jessica has gained valuable experience working in federal, provincial, and municipal elections.

During her second year of law school, Jessica served as a student caseworker with the Class Action Clinic, assisting class members across Canada. She is excited to return to the clinic to continue this meaningful work.

Jessica enjoys Pilates, cooking, and exploring new coffee shops when she’s not working.

Student Case Workers

Afaf Zafirah

Afaf is a second-year law student at the University of Windsor and holds a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Economics and Political Science from McGill University, where she graduated with distinction.

She brings hands-on experience to the Clinic from her previous role as a student caseworker during the Summer 2025 term when she supported clients throughout the claims process across a range of class action settlements. Afaf also currently serves as a research assistant at the Clinic, contributing to the development of an Ontario-wide class actions database. She will be summering at a litigation boutique in Summer 2026, where she hopes to work alongside class counsel to bring and continue advancing class actions.

Drawing on both her academic background and former professional experience in account management and consulting, Afaf has developed a strong ability to communicate with clients on high-stakes matters and to approach complex problems with clarity, care, and strategic focus. She is deeply committed to access to justice and to making legal processes more accessible and understandable for those navigating them.

At Windsor, Afaf is actively involved in student life, including with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Club, the Women of Colour Legal Alliance of Windsor, and the Personal Injury Law Club. Outside of her legal studies, Afaf is an avid traveler, enjoys spending time in nature, and is quadrilingual.

Noah Lane

Noah is a second year law student at the University of Windsor and holds his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies, as well as a Paralegal Program Diploma.

Noah has several years of legal experience that commenced when he was in high school working at the courthouse. He then completed a placement with a housing firm, and most recently worked at Legal Assistance of Windsor assisting with social benefits appeals.

Outside the classroom Noah is involved in the school as the VP of Operations in the First Generation Law Students’ Network and loves to participate in extra circular moot competitions.

In his personal life, Noah enjoys sports, in particular, Football, Basketball, Golf, Snowboarding. Noah also enjoys music of all genres, the beach, and spending time with his dog.

Asha Holland

Asha Holland is a JD candidate at the University of Windsor. Prior to law school, she held leadership positions at Real North Strategies, an advocacy and communications firm in Toronto, and the Ontario Real Estate Association, where she led the policy and research department. Asha has a broad background in public policy, having served in the Ontario Public Service with the Ministries of Health and Transportation. Her work included supporting the implementation of Medical Assistance in Dying legislation and contributing to the development of regulations for autonomous vehicles in Ontario.

Asha is committed to housing justice and client advocacy, recently completing an externship with the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, where she worked as a student caseworker. She is also an active community advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and recently co-authored an article with Windsor Law Professor Daniel Del Gobbo addressing the rise in misinformation and restrictive laws targeting trans women athletes in university-level sports.

Asha holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Queen’s University. Outside of work, she can be found pursuing creative hobbies like photography, thrifting, and preparing four-course meals for her friends and family.

Tara Wright

Tara is a third-year law student at the University of Windsor and holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Specialization in International Relations from the University of Western Ontario.

Prior to law school, Tara worked in a variety of roles – she was a barista, worked in field crop pathology, and umpired baseball. Her interest in class actions were sparked during her 2L summer, where she gained hands-on experience in a class actions legal department. At Windsor Law, Tara has participated in the Truth and Reconciliation Reading Circle and is a proud member of the Windsor Law Animal Justice Association.

In her spare time, Tara enjoys playing guitar, practicing film photography, and perfecting her latté art.

Tia Belisle

Tia is a third-year law student at the University of Windsor’s Faculty of law. As a law student, Tia was a senior caseworker at Community Legal Aid where she conducted Landlord Tenant Board hearings and provided direct client advocacy. She most recently worked with Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario where she held a similar role. She also worked as a research assistant contributing to research on judicial bias.

Prior to law school Tia joined BLG in 2019 as a Practice Assistant and evolved to a Legal Operations Coordinator where she drafted leasing documents and coordinated team projects. Most recently, Tia summered with BLG and will be continuing her articles with them.

Tia is also working on publishing an article shedding light on the disparities in legal protections for Deaf individuals in mental health facilities. Outside of law, she loves to be creative through embroidering, painting, and cooking.