Bright Futures: Postdoctoral fellows in law moving on to exciting new positions

Faculty of Law - Common Law Section
Research
Postdoctorate

By Common Law

Communication, Faculty of Law

Michael Da Silva, David Hughes, Anne-Sophie Hulin & Alexandre Lillo
Our law school boasts a thriving research environment, which each year plays host to a diverse group of postdoctoral fellows who bring their expertise on a broad range of fascinating research topics to the research community at Fauteux Hall.

Even through the last two tumultuous year of COVID-19, the Faculty of Law welcomed a number of new postdoctoral fellows, some of whom are now moving on to the next stage of their bright careers.

Michael Da Silva, David Hughes, Anne-Sophie Hulin & Alexandre Lillo
Michael Da Silva, David Hughes, Anne-Sophie Hulin & Alexandre Lillo

Michael Da Silva came to the Faculty of Law as a postdoc in 2020 through the Alex Trebek Postdoctoral Fellows program, which funded by a generous gift from the late Alex Trebek, an alumnus of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Arts. Dr. Da Silva’s primary research interests are in constitutional and administrative law, legal and political philosophy, health law and policy and the various intersections between all of these fields. During his fellowship he worked with the University of Ottawa AI + Society Initiative, under the supervision of Professor Colleen Flood, exploring the legal and ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence for health and healthcare.  In 2022, he accepted a position as a Permanent Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the University of Southampton School of Law.

David Hughes also came to the Faculty of Law as an Alex Trebek Postdoctoral Fellow.  He joined the Changing Orders: Shaping the Future and Securing Rights in a World in Transformation project in September 2020. An expert in international law, foreign relations law, and the ways various legal orders interact, Dr. Hughes authored several articles during his time at uOttawa, where he worked under the supervision of Professor John Packer and Professor Jennifer Bond.  Alongside Professor Packer, he co-authored a report for the Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security on the implementation of the United Nation’s Human Rights Due Diligence Policy. In 2022, Dr. Hughes accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Anne-Sophie Hulin came to the University of Ottawa as a postdoctoral fellow in 2021 to work with the University Research Chair on Accountable Artificial Intelligence in a Global Context. Anchoring her analysis in an approach that is both comparative and multidisciplinary, Dr. Hulin is interested in the study of how civil law is affected by technological, social, economic and political changes. Her research at uOttawa, supervised by Professor Céline Castets-Renard, focused on fiduciary models of data governance in civil law. Dr. Hulin accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke (in French), where she will pursue her interests in private law, comparative law, and the law related to information and AI.

Alexandre Lillo joined the Faculty of Law as a postdoctoral fellow in 2021 to work with the Public Law Centre, under the supervision of Professor Marie-France Fortin. As part of the University of Ottawa’s Forum on Water Law and Governance, his research as a postdoc focused on the legal mechanisms of water governance in Canada, and how they could be continuously and dynamically adapted. His other roles at uOttawa include Assistant Director of the Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability, and co-holder of the Research Chair in Teaching Innovation at the Civil Law Section with Professor Thomas Burelli. In 2022, he accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (in French) in the Faculty of Political Science and Law.

Our dynamic and inclusive research environment invites postdocs to take part in invigorating research activities, and affords opportunities to speak in regular conference series, or to participate in work-in-progress workshops. Learn more about postdoctoral studies at the Civil law Section (in French), and at the Common Law Section.

The Faculty of Law wishes the very best to all of the postdocs who moved on to new positions in 2022.