Dr. Suzanne Bouclin is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work is grounded in feminist, socio-legal, and critical approaches to law. She examines how law takes shape in institutions, social practices, and cultural representations, with particular attention to power relations, structural inequalities, and the lived experiences of marginalized people and communities.
Deeply committed to social justice, she brings together academic work and service to the community. In 2014, she founded the Ticket Defence Program, a mobile legal clinic for people experiencing homelessness in Ottawa. She has also worked with several national legal organizations to promote a more equitable and inclusive practice of law, including the Ontario Bar Association, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Court Challenges Program of Canada, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, and the National Association of Women and the Law. Her mediation practice is an extension of this commitment: she brings her expertise in dispute resolution to the service of access to justice, including as a mediator with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
A dedicated, bold, and innovative teacher, Professor Bouclin is recognized for her commitment to experiential learning and the practical training of jurists. In 2026, she received the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Section. Her teaching extends her feminist, socio-legal, and critical commitments by emphasizing practice-based legal education, access to justice, and the lived realities of marginalized people.
Courses
CML 3774 Dispute Resolution (Advanced)(3 crédits) – In French
Through practical exercises, this course develops students’ skills in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration across a range of legal contexts. It satisfies the advocacy requirement.
CML 3512 Theory and Practice in Law and Social Justice — 3 credits (in French)
Using films as a starting point, this course invites students to reflect on the relationships between law, power, and social justice