McGill Supreme Court Law Clerks Seven BCL/JD graduates from McGill’s Faculty of Law have earned coveted judicial clerkships with Canada’s Supreme Court. They are: Maxwell Brodie Laurent Côté-De Lagrave Tim Gulliver Genny Plumptre Han Reardon Nicholas Waltenbury Narain Yücel Every year, each of the Court’s nine judges selects up to three law clerks to assist them in researching points of law, preparing memoranda and helping with other tasks. Law students, LLM candidates and recent graduates from across Canada apply for these prestigious positions.
“Through our bilingual BCL/JD program, McGill Law graduates are uniquely prepared to tackle the novel and complex legal questions that come before our highest court,” said Tina Piper, Dean of the Faculty of Law. “We extend our warmest congratulations to this newest cohort and wish them a most fulfilling and intellectually enriching experience in Ottawa.” Seven McGill graduates were tapped last year , and six the year before . Maxwell Brodie Maxwell Brodie Clerk for The Honourable Mahmud Jamal “A clerkship is a unique opportunity to see the judicial reasoning process up close,” said Brodie.
It is also a privilege to work at the Supreme Court on some of the country’s most complex and important cases.” While at McGill, Brodie served as a research assistant for Profs. Yann Joly and Jaye Ellis, a group assistant for Prof. Konstanze von Schütz, and was involved with the McGill Journal of Law and Health.
He is currently clerking at the Federal Court and will soon head to the Court of Appeal for Ontario before working at the Supreme Court. Laurent Côté-De Lagrave Laurent Côté-De Lagrave Clerk for The Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin At McGill Law, Côté-De Lagrave served on Prof. Allison Christians’s research and teaching team as well as with the Pro Bono Students of Canada and the Mobile Legal Clinic .
He’s currently a research lawyer at the Quebec Court of Appeal and pursing a part-time Master of Laws; his thesis focuses on the disclosure of evidence in criminal matters in the age of artificial intelligence. “I am deeply motivated to contribute to the analysis of issues of national importance,” said Côté-De Lagrave of applying to the Supreme Court. He looks forward to “advancing the mission of a court that plays a central role in upholding the rule of law.” Tim Gulliver Tim Gulliver Clerk for The Honourable Sheilah L.
Martin’s replacement Gulliver attended McGill Law as a McCall MacBain Scholar. He was active with the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law , the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and the Research Group on Constitutional Studies; he also worked as a Research Assistant for Prof. Jérémy Boulanger-Bonnelly.
“I submitted my application [to the law clerk program] because I wish to put into practice the knowledge I acquired during my time at the Faculty, in order to serve a democratic institution that plays a pivotal role in our country,” said Gulliver. He is currently completing a student clerkship at the Quebec Court of Appeal. Genny Plumptre Genny Plumptre Clerk for The Honourable Mary T.
Moreau Plumptre is a researcher at the Quebec Court of Appeal and previously completed internships at University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, the Samuelson-Glushko Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic of Canada and the National Human Rights Council of Morocco. At McGill Law, she developed a particular interest in equality law, notably through research projects with Profs. Colleen Sheppard and Jonas-Sébastien Beaudry.
When applying to the Law Clerk Program at the Supreme Court, “I was drawn to the opportunity to work on cases that raise questions without established legal answers and that often have profound repercussions for Canadian society,” said Plumptre. Han Reardon Han Reardon Clerk for The Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin While completing a master’s degree in Anthropology, Reardon pursued research on protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon; it piqued their interest in land rights and environmental law and inspired them to attend McGill Law, where they developed an interest in pursuing a practice in Aboriginal law. “The opportunities I received at McGill, including completing a Human Rights internship with the Cree Nation’s Department of Justice and Correctional Services in Eeyou Istchee, further confirmed my desire to practise in this area,” said Reardon.
Reardon articled at the Department of Justice Canada and is currently clerking at the Federal Court of Appeal. Nicholas Waltenbury Nicholas Waltenbury Clerk for The Honourable Andromache Karakatsanis Waltenbury completed a dual degree in Business and Political Science and worked in communications and public relations before joining McGill Law. He said he particularly enjoyed studying public law and participating in co-curricular activities, such as a group assistant for Prof.
Shauna Van Praagh, participating in the Laskin moot, supporting the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and participating in intramural sports. He is currently clerking at the Ontario Court of Appeal. “I [am] excited about the chance to do similar work from a different perspective at our country’s apex court,” said Waltenbury.
Narain Yücel Narain Yücel Clerk for The Honourable Nicholas Kasirer Before McGill Law, Yücel completed a BSc in Global Health and a master’s in Environment and Development, followed by work in climate change policy. He later completed a Master of Applied Data Science and currently serves as a judicial law clerk at the British Columbia Court of Appeal. “The law school’s transsystemic approach allows students to study and conduct research in diverse fields under the guidance of outstanding professors,” said Yücel.
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