Wilfrid Laurier University has appointed Poonam Puri, O.Ont, LSM, F.ICD, as special advisor to the Provost, with responsibility for supporting the development of a proposed Faculty of Law and Juris Doctor (JD) program at Laurier's Brantford campus.
Poonam Puri
A leading global expert in corporate law, governance and securities regulation, Puri is a full professor of Law and a former associate dean at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. As special advisor, Puri will support development and approval processes for a proposed Laurier Brantford law school which, pending approval, would welcome its first students in fall 2028.
"I am pleased to welcome Poonam to Laurier," said Provost and Vice-President: Academic Heidi Northwood. "Her expertise and leadership will help us realize our vision of a law school that would improve access to justice in Ontario, particularly for underserved groups such as Indigenous communities and residents of smaller cities."
A member of the Order of Ontario, Puri has received awards from the Royal Society of Canada, the Law Society of Ontario, the Attorney General of Ontario, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. She is the founding academic director of the Osgoode Business Law LL.M and the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic and Living Research Lab, both Canadian firsts, and served as Chair of York University's Senate.
"I am thrilled to be supporting this important initiative. From access to justice to advancing reconciliation, this proposed law school will bring important benefits to the region and the province," said Puri.
Laurier Brantford is located in south-central Ontario, a region of 2.1 million people that is currently not home to a law school. The lawyer-to-population ratio in the region is less than half the provincial average. Laurier's proposed law school would place a core emphasis on the justice needs of small and mid-sized towns and cities, Indigenous communities, and populations that lack access to legal representation. The program will include skills instruction and work placements, which will qualify students to apply to become licensed lawyers right after graduating, and offer a planned part-time option and year-round calendar.
New law schools in Ontario need to be approved by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Law Society of Ontario and the provincial government. Laurier is pursuing these approvals.
