Three faculty members earn tenure and promotions

Three Faculty of Law members have been awarded promotions that will come into effect July 1, 2023.

Assistant professors Jessica Eisen and Hillary Nye have each been granted tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor, and associate professor Malcolm Lavoie has been promoted to the rank of professor.

Jessica Eisen

“I was thrilled to learn of my promotion, and I am honoured to have been recognized by my colleagues in this way,” says Eisen, who has taught in the Faculty and served in multiple committees – including the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, the Advisory Selection Committee, and the Indigenous and Aboriginal Law Content Subcommittee – since 2018.

Prior to joining the Faculty, Eisen earned her JD from the University of Toronto. She then completed an LLM at Osgoode Law School (York University) and an SJD from Harvard Law School. Her areas of expertise include constitutional law and animal law.

Recently, Eisen was awarded $10,000 through a Killam Research Fund Connection Grant to support, “Our More-Than-Human Constitutions,” an academic workshop she is coordinating with Lindsay Borrows – a PhD student at the Faculty who is also on a tenure-track appointment at Queen's University – that will investigate the relationship between constitutional law and the natural world.

When asked what she enjoys most about working with students, Eisen says:

“Law school is incredibly challenging, and invariably puts new pressures on students. I love helping students find the joy and self-discovery that can come with this experience. I also love giving students opportunities to reflect on how they want to fit into the legal profession and to see that the chances to bring kindness and integrity to the legal community start right here in law school.”

Hillary Nye

“I'm grateful to be in such a supportive academic environment,” says Nye about her promotion. “I was given guidance along the way about the tenure process, in both formal and informal ways, and I feel fortunate to have reached this milestone thanks to that support.”

An expert in legal philosophy – specifically debates about the nature of law and questions of political theory – Nye holds an LLB from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an LLM and JSD from New York University School of Law.

In addition to teaching Contracts in the 1L curriculum, Nye has taught two upper-year seminars in the Faculty: one on the Rule of Law and one on Equality. She has also served on several committees, including Prizes and Awards.

“The thing that has been most meaningful in my teaching career is when students say that I helped them get through a difficult time - that my advice, support, or guidance enabled them to thrive,” says Nye.

Malcolm Lavoie

An expert in property law, constitutional law, judicial remedies and Aboriginal law, Lavoie joined the Faculty as a visiting assistant professor in 2015 and began a tenure-track appointment as an assistant professor in 2017. He was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor in 2020.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that I have been given at the University of Alberta,” says Lavoie. “And I am very happy with the vote of confidence from the dean and my colleagues on the Faculty Evaluation Committee.”

Lavoie holds a BCL and LLB from McGill University as well as an LLM and SJD from Harvard Law School.

Lavoie’s newest book, Trade and Commerce: Canada's Economic Constitution, is being published McGill-Queen's University Press. He recently co-authored a new edition of a textbook entitled Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business and is working on a new edition of what will be the eighth edition of Principles of Property Law, with Eran Kaplinsky and Jane Thomson (University of New Brunswick).