Reem Zaia

An old soul who prefers carbon copies over electronic versions of literature, philosophy and case law, Reem can often be found nestled with a book, the latest article in the New Yorker, or the Walrus, wrestling with new words and extrapolating some sort of metaphysical thought - a problem she attributes to her political science/philosophy degree, and to the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. Called to the Ontario bar in 2016, she has a penchant for criminal, constitutional and parliamentary law. Between 2008 and 2015, she was a political aide and parliamentary researcher. She worked for two Members of Parliament, holding a range of responsibilities including but not limited to communications, policy drafting, legislative research, and citizenship and immigration casework. In 2014, Reem and her moot partner Sarah Sullivan, brought the Sopinka Cup to the University for the Ottawa's Faculty of Law for the first time in history, earning the distinction as the top criminal law team. She was awarded the distinction of 'Best Overall Advocate' among all participating Canadian schools by the Advocates' Society and the American College of Trial Lawyers. Her zeal for criminal law eventually led her to the Ministry of the Attorney General where she served the Crown's office in Windsor, ON, her hometown, as a summer and articling student. It also led her to the halls of the Ontario Court of Justice where she clerked for Justice Vaillancourt in the matter involving Senator Michael Duffy. In 2016, she received a fully funded fellowship to obtain an LL.M. (Master of Laws) at the University of Toronto. Her scholarship focuses on Part VI authorizations, the reasonable expectation of privacy (a taste she acquired while working with Professor Kerr) and challenging wiretap evidence in terrorism prosecutions under the Criminal Code. When not lawyering, Reem is often eating, running, watching debates on CPAC, blogging and spending time with loved ones. She takes pride in her daily consumption of either dates or figs accompanied by 85% (or more) dark chocolate and almonds. In an alternative universe, she wishes she were a thespian and a house/trance DJ.