Law student wins James L. Thistle, QC, Memorial Award

Melissa Morrow first Faculty of Law student to receive this recognition

Lauren Bannon - 7 September 2022

Melissa Morrow

Third-year law student Melissa Morrow is proud to be the first student from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law to win a James L. Thistle, QC, Memorial Award – presented by the Canadian Bar Association – for an essay.

“Besides shock and elation, I was honoured and humbled to receive this national award,” says Morrow. “I know how many talented law students there are across Canada who also submitted essays for this competition and this will be the first win for a student at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law!”

The award, which was created in memory of the Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) former Chair, James L. Thistle, QC, aims to celebrate and reward interest in alternative dispute resolution topics in Canadian law schools. Essays submitted by students addressed important themes in the fields of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) or justice, public policy or public affairs.

Her essay, Retaining and Improving Investor-State Arbitration Amidst Calls for Reform, touches on ADR. Morrow looks at the nature of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) – a mechanism that allows foreign investors to resolve disputes with the government of the country where their investment was made – with a focus on arbitration, and discusses ways in which ISDSs can be reformed to improve its system.

“I was delighted to hear the news of Melissa's success,” says Professor Joanna Harrington. “Every year, I recommend that students write a paper not just for a course, but also with a concrete plan to submit the paper for an external essay competition – I'm just so pleased to see this external recognition for our students and their hard work.”

She continues:

“Essay competitions are great experiential learning opportunities, forcing one to work to a deadline, within the boundaries set for a topic and word count. They build confidence, as well as research, writing and project management skills. Melissa had all those skills in abundance and so it's great to see that she won the prize.”