Michelle Lawrence

Michelle Lawrence serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law and Director of the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence. Her career bridges academic scholarship with extensive legal practice, focusing on systemic justice issues and legal education.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Criminology from Simon Fraser University
• LL.M. from the University of Cambridge

Professor Lawrence's research centers on criminal law, administrative law, and evidence law, with strong interdisciplinary connections to criminology. Her work is deeply informed by practical experience in complex regulatory proceedings and criminal litigation, emphasizing real-world applications of legal theory. She integrates insights from corporate malfeasance cases and access-to-justice initiatives into her scholarly framework.

Through her directorship at the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence, she leads initiatives addressing legal service accessibility and justice system reform, particularly for marginalized communities. Her professional trajectory from litigation partnership to academic leadership demonstrates a commitment to translating practical legal challenges into educational and systemic improvements.