Faculty of Law alumnus and student to head to Ottawa for prestigious Supreme Court clerkships

A University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumnus and a current second-year student will be heading to Canada’s highest court. Based on their exceptional academic and extra-curricular achievements to date, Trevor Sullivan, ‘23 JD, and Chiara Concini, ‘25 JD, have been offered clerkships with the Supreme Court of Canada, starting in August, 2025 in Ottawa.

Sullivan, ‘23 JD, will be clerking with fellow U of A grad Justice Sheilah Martin, who obtained her LLM from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 1983. Meanwhile, second-year law student Chiara Concini will be clerking with Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

"The Faculty of Law is immensely proud to see two of our students offered Supreme Court of Canada clerkships for 2025/26. These positions are highly coveted and extremely competitive, so it is immensely gratifying to see the capabilities and talents of Trevor Sullivan (Gold Medalist, Class of 2023) and Chiara Concini (2L) being recognized in this way,” says Barbara Billingsley, Dean of the Faculty of Law. 

“I am confident that Trevor and Chiara will provide exceptional service to the Supreme Court and that their experience with the Court will provide a strong foundation for their future professional endeavours as members of the legal community."

The clerkships are exciting opportunities for Sullivan and Concini, both of whom  are eager to learn from and contribute to the work of the court. Concini hopes that the position will deepen her understanding of a broad range of topics in the legal profession. She also hopes to learn more about the balance the Supreme Court aims to strike between the need to develop new law, and the desire to reach just outcomes in the cases that come before it. 

Similarly, Sullivan hopes to get insight into judicial decision-making at the highest level of Canada’s legal system, to hone his research and analytical skills, and to “dive deep” into complex legal issues of national importance.

‘A source of inspiration’

Law was a natural choice for Sullivan after graduating with a bachelor of arts in political science. Law degrees can “open a lot of doors,” and he says a career in law sounded like a stimulating and rewarding one.

During his legal studies, Sullivan received numerous awards. In 2023, he received the Horace Harvey Gold Medal in Law, in recognition of his exceptional academic performance. Over the course of his law degree, he also received the Mr. Justice W.G. Morrow Memorial Prize, the John E. Brownlee Memorial Prize in Local Government Law, the President’s Scholarship in Law, the Pierre Mousseau Prize in Professional Responsibility and the Dr. Hazel Rutherford McCuaig Prize in Property Law.

Sullivan also has a significant amount of work experience in the field of law. During his studies, he worked with the Edmonton Community Legal Centre — which provides free legal aid to low-income Albertans — and the Legal Services Department of the Workers’ Compensation Board. 

Sullivan hopes to get experience in a wide variety of areas early in his legal career — though he is currently especially interested in administrative law and litigation. He says he’s excited to gain exposure to a diverse range of legal perspectives, and that his future work with the Supreme Court of Canada can help him achieve this goal. Plus, he says, he’s excited to work for a fellow U of A alum. 

“Seeing alumni from the University of Alberta serve on the Supreme Court of Canada shows the university's commitment to delivering a quality legal education and serves as a source of inspiration for current and future students,” he says. 

‘Immensely honoured’ 

Concini began studying at the U of A’s Campus Saint-Jean in 2020, and completed two years of political science and history at the French-language faculty before being admitted into the JD program by the Faculty of Law. She became interested in practicing law during her undergraduate degree, particularly language rights law. 

“I knew that I wanted to pursue law in order to gain a deeper understanding of the intricacies of language rights litigation,” she says. 

Fully bilingual in English and French, Concini decided to pursue a law degree at the U of A, in part, so she could stay connected to Campus Saint-Jean and the local French community.

While she was and remains interested in language rights law, so far Concini’s legal studies have also spawned her interest in other areas, including  criminal law, administrative and trust law, and federalism. While Concini is not totally sure what area of law she will eventually want to focus on, she knows that she wants to pursue a future career as a legal academic. That way, she can share her knowledge with the legal professionals of the future while exploring legal avenues that she finds most interesting. 

In addition to her studies, Concini is heavily involved in law school activities. She is a member of the Alberta Law Review, volunteers with Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta and was a member of the winning team of last September’s Brimacombe Selection Moot. Further, she is working on a research project with Professor Andrew Leach.

The Supreme Court usually selects clerks from the ranks of third-year law students and recent grads across the country. Concini is a rare exception.

She generously credits her upcoming clerkship with Chief Justice Wagner to U of A professors who encouraged her to apply and supported her application, U of A alumni Elisa Carbonaro, Leah Strand, Dylan Gibbs and Ashton Menuz who helped her prepare for the interview process, along with her friends and family and other members of the U of A community. 

Both she and Sullivan are excited to start. 

“I feel immensely honoured,” Concini says. “Being selected to clerk in the Chief Justice’s Chambers represents an incredible opportunity to learn from one of the country’s most esteemed jurists, all while giving back to the broader legal community by assisting the Court in its role of deciding matters of national importance.”