Officers & Directors

Asher has also published articles that have appeared in legal journals, along with national newspapers. He has appeared on CBC, CTV and on various radio shows to discuss the legal issues of the day. His work has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada along with other Canadian courts.

Asher is a proud co-founder of the Runnymede Society, a legal society that has established chapters across the country.

He has authored over thirty journal articles on these topics, and five books, including The Charter of Rights in Litigation: Direction from the Supreme Court of Canada; The Civil Litigation Process, 9th edition; Public Law, 5th edition, and Boundaries of Judicial Review: The Law of Justiciability in Canada, 3rd edition.

Professor Kennedy received his JD from Queen’s University, LLM from Harvard Law School, and PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School. He clerked at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. His graduate studies were supported by a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship, and a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship. As a doctoral student, he held scholarship-supported visiting positions at NYU School of Law and the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law.

Professor Kennedy’s interests in the role of courts in society, and specifically civil and administrative justice, were largely inspired by his four years as a litigator at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He has remained an active member of the legal profession, as a member of the bars of Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta. He serves on the Alberta Judicial Council, the Federal Courts Rules Committee, and the (advisory) boards of the Centre for Constitutional Studies and the Edmonton Bar Association.

He has given numerous continuing professional development presentations for organizations as diverse as The Advocates’ Society, American College of Trial Lawyers (Manitoba chapter), and the Manitoba Council of Administrative Tribunals, among many others. He has been a frequent volunteer at pro bono legal clinics, even after leaving full-time practice. His commitment to pro bono work was recognized by the 2016 Young Advocates’ Society Commitment to Pro Bono Award.

His work has been published in academic journals across Canada and has been cited in courts across the country including the Federal Court of Appeal, British Columbia Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada. Mark is a Senior Fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a Research Fellow with the University of British Columbia-Okanagan Centre for Constitutional Studies and is also involved with the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals.

In addition to his research work, Mark is a frequent speaker and contributor to academic conferences and events for lawyers and judges. In service to the profession, Mark writes a weekly newsletter, The Sunday Evening Administrative Review, which is read by close to 1500 lawyers, students, and judges.

Outside of work, Justin is a devoted husband and father, an avid reader, and a lover of Italian wine. He is also the founder of the charity Advocates for the Rule of Law, a legal think tank dedicated to promoting constitutionalism and the rule of law across Canada and abroad.

With a keen understanding of the law and a dedication to making a difference, Justin W. Anisman is the trusted professional you can rely on for all your employment law needs.