Natasha Jaczek

Most people who experience a serious legal problem in Canada do not even recognize its legal implications, at least initially. Why? Whose responsibility is it to teach these skills? The state? The legal profession? Under-funded non-profits? The people themselves?

Natasha’s research grapples with these questions and asks whether learning more about the law and the legal system early in life can better prepare people to recognize and respond to these problems in a safe and accessible way. Working with Professors David Wiseman, Amy Salyzyn, and Joel Westheimer, her doctoral research examines how different approaches to public legal education shape young people’s legal capability and legal consciousness. Specifically, she explores what youth know about the law, what they want to know, how they navigate legal issues in their own lives, and whether they believe any of it matters.

After practising law with the Department of Justice Canada, Natasha began devoting more time to community engagement, working closely with justice education and community advocacy organizations across Ontario. She has received the Nicole Bégin-Heick Scholarship and was named the Law Commission of Canada’s 2025 Emerging Scholar. She presents her research at academic conferences in Canada and internationally and works to amplify community voices in conversations about justice and the law.

• uOttawa Admission Scholarship
• Nicole Bégin-Heick Scholarship
• Law Commission of Canada’s 2025 Emerging Scholar

Natasha Jaczek, "Inuusuktunut Maligalirinirmut Ikajuqtiit: A Paradigm Shift for Public Legal Education" (2026) 57:1 Ottawa L Rev 9.