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Education CV
Ricki-Lee is a litigator and legal scholar focusing on constitutional, media, and defamation law, and matters pertaining to freedom of expression and access to information. She recently represented a global social media platform in a novel intermediary liability case, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in defamation, SLAPP-suit, and publication ban cases, and successfully represented the leading Canadian ISPs and telecoms in a constitutional challenge concerning telecommunications regulation, which won a national case impact award. She regularly provides advice to government departments, corporations, and individuals concerning access to information and freedom of expression matters. Ricki-Lee previously was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law where she taught Tort Law, an Editor of Law Matters (published by the Canadian Bar Association National Magazine) and Summer Academic Fellow at Harvard Law School. This past year she was a judge for the University of Oxford's Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. She is a member of the Journalist Safety Research Network at the Centre for Freedom of the Media.
Education
- Cambridge University, Faculty of Law, PhD Candidate, 2022-2026
- Harvard Law School, LL.M., 2016
- University of Calgary, J.D., 2014
- Western University (BA Hon), 2010
Doctoral awards
- Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship, 2022-2026
- University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law John Hall Studentship, 2022-2025
- Law Society of Alberta Viscount Bennett Scholarship, 2022-2023
Other awards (selected)
- Harvard Law School Summer Academic Fellowship, 2016
- Harvard Law School Entrance Scholarship, 2015
- The Right Honourable Viscount Bennett Scholarship, Law Society of Alberta Graduate Award, 2015-2016
- University of Calgary Faculty of Law Dean's List, 2011-2014
- Osgoode Legal History Prize, 2014
- Miller Thompson LLP Legal Ethics Prize, 2014
- W. Bernie Kelly, QC Memorial Prize (legal ethics), 2014
- Tavender Family Scholarship (awarded for academics and initiative and leadership), 2012
- Jason Lang Scholarship/Alberta Government Scholarship (academic acheivement), 2012
- Alberta Law Foundation Scholarship (academic achievement and extra-curricular involvement), 2013
- Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Scholarship (academic acheivement), 2013
- Maloney Family Scholarship (academic acheivement), 2013Education
- Cambridge University, Faculty of Law, PhD Candidate, 2022-2026
- Harvard Law School, LL.M., 2016
- University of Calgary, J.D., 2014
- Western University (BA Hon), 2010
Teaching Experience
- Workshops for the LL.M. Course 'Law, Technology & Society', University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law, 2023-2024
- Workshops for the LL.M. Course 'Information Law', University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law, 2023-2024
- Workshops for the LL.M. Course 'Private Law & Human Rights', University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law, 2023-2024
- Adjunt professor, Tort Law, University of Calgary, Faculty of Law, 2016-2017
- Teaching Assistant, Law & Society, University of Calgary, 2013-2014
Conferences
- Sciences-Po Law School, Young Digital Law Conference ‘Conflicts and Communities in Digital Law’ (Paris, France, upcoming 6th and 7th of June 2024), Paper accepted into the panel track, ‘Media Freedom & Journalist Safety in the UK Online Safety Act’
- International Society of Public Law ICON S Conference, IE Law School, (Madrid, Spain, upcoming July 2024), Panel Accepted, ‘Regulating content moderation of extreme and AI-generated speech on social media platforms: comparing and evaluating recent developments across Europe, the EU and the US’
- European Human Rights Law Conference, Conference Assistant & Chair of Panel on Freedom of Expression, (Cambridge, UK, September 2023)
- Conference Presentation, Journalist Research Safety Research Network, Symposium on Weaponization of the Law, ‘Online Abuse of Journalists as a Media Freedom Interest in the Online Safety Bill’ (June 2023)
- Conference Presentation, Cambridge Law Faculty, ‘Online Abuse of Journalists in the Online Safety Bill’ (May 2023)
- Presentation to Western Canadian Industries, ‘Defamation in the Business World’ (Calgary, May 2019)
- Conference Presentation, ‘Defamation and the Rise of Online Journalism in Canada’, Canadian Law & Society Association Conference (Vancouver, BC, June 2013)
Workshops
- Centre for Freedom of the Media, University of Sheffield, ‘Threats to Journalism in the UK’, 2023
- Workshop, Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, Ideas on UN Global Digital Compact, Lauterpacht Centre, University of Cambridge, 2023
Public Policy & Media
- Provided submissions to the Information Commissioner’s Office (UK) concerning the Draft Journalism Code pursuant to the Data Protection Act, 2018 (Nov 2022)
- CBC Radio, interviewed on live radio by CBC about the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial
Project Management & Editorial Experience
- Executive Director, Cambridge Pro Bono Project, 2023-2024. Projects for: the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; a South American Constitutional Court; Doughty Street Chambers; Client Earth
- Project Manager, Cambridge Pro Bono Project, 2022-2023 ‘The uptake of European Court of Human Rights decisions in domestic jurisdictions regarding climate protest’
- Editorial Board, Law Matters, Canadian Bar Association National Magazine, 2019-2022
- Senior Editor, Harvard National Security Law Journal, 2015-2016
Fellowships & Research Assistance
- Research Assistant, Professor Mark Tushnet, 2015- 2016, Research on comparative freedom of expression
- Harvard Law Summer Academic Fellow, 2016, Research on Journalistic Source Privilege
Fields of research
Ricki-Lee is currently completing her PhD on online abuse and disinformation targeting journalists. Her areas of interest are freedom of expression, media freedom, propaganda, access to information, rule of law, constitutional and comparative constitutional law, socio-legal studies, and international law pertaining to freedom of expression.
Supervisors
Dr David Erdos
Representative Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journals
- ‘Media Freedom and Journalist Safety in the UK Online Safety Act’, Journal of Media Law (January 24, 2024)
Legal Blogs
- “Rayhan’s Fight: Canadian trained human rights lawyer Rayhan Asat is telling the world about China’s Uygur Genocide”, Canadian Bar Association National Magazine (20 May 2021), available here.
- “Reforming the US Supreme Court: An interview with Harvard Law professor Mark Tushnet”, Canadian Bar Association National Magazine, (23 March 2021), available here.
- “Packing a Stacked US Supreme Court? President Biden’s dilemma and opportunity”, Canadian Bar Association National Magazine, (3 Feb 2021) available here.
- “A Bold Change to a Basic Constitutional Law Test”, Canadian Bar Association National Magazine, (22 May 2020) available here.
- “A Word to the Wise: Lawyer’s Use yours Carefully or Risk a Finding of Malice in Defamation Actions” (26 Oct 2020), available here.
- “SCC Rules on Anti-SLAPP Motions: Implications for Moving and Responding Parties” (15 Sept 2020), available here.
- “Supreme Court of Canada Finds Federal Act on Greenhouse Gas Pricing Constitutional” (April 1, 2021), available here.
- “Three Courts of Appeal Weigh in on the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act Reference” (23 April 2020), available here.
- “The Supreme Court of Canada upholds Statutory Protections for Journalistic Sources”, (1 Oct 2019) available here.
- “The Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Production Orders and sets the stage for Journalist Source Privilege Debate” (5 Dec 2018), available at CanLii Connects here.
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