2024 Viscount Bennett Scholarship Recipients
The Law Society of Alberta is pleased to congratulate Naba Shirazi, Case Littlewood and Hero Laird, this year’s recipients of the Viscount Bennett Scholarship.
The Viscount Bennett Scholarship is funded through a trust established by the late Right Honourable Viscount Bennett. It was put in place to encourage a higher standard in legal education, offered to support those interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in law. This prestigious accolade is awarded to individuals with an exceptional academic record and a clear dedication to contribute to their community through the practice of law.
Naba Shirazi
Naba Shirazi recognizes that her upbringing in a family that always supported newcomers to Canada inspired her to pursue a legal career with a goal to uplift others through advocacy.
Shirazi, whose grandparents emigrated to Canada from India in the 1970s, said her commitment to advancing dignity for marginalized groups was inspired by family and the small but vibrant Muslim community in Edmonton. It set the foundation for her legal career.
“Watching my family extend a hand to help others inspired my pursuit of law. I was further motivated by witnesses’ challenges faced by the Muslim community, compounded by inadequate resources and support,” Shirazi said.
The next step in her academic journey is to pursue a Master of Laws (LLM) degree with a focus on public advocacy at Columbia Law School in New York City.
Since 2021, Shirazi has worked as an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada in Calgary. Her primary focus has been on corporate commercial litigation, as well as health and privacy law. She said that experience has taught her how to practice law in a way that values civility, courtesy and respect for others.
Before joining Norton Rose Fulbright, Shirazi earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Alberta and a Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa, where she was on the Dean’s List. Shirazi says the idealism that drove her to the law has evolved into a pragmatism on how to use a legal education for the betterment of others.
Pro bono work has reinforced to her that marginalized individuals often only receive the assistance they need when they have an advocate tirelessly championing their cause. A return to the academic world, and outside Canada, will allow her to see how other jurisdictions are addressing these challenges and developing unique solutions.
“Prior to attending law school, my objective was to work in public advocacy. I owed it to myself, my community to do the work I set out to do,” she said.
Columbia is a leading centre for public advocacy law and its location in New York offers access to organizations from the United Nations to leading think tanks.
“I’d like to learn how public advocacy operates in other countries. We seem to be a bit behind in Alberta,” she said. “I am aiming to gain insights into the structures, operations, and funding mechanisms of public advocacy clinics, think tanks, and NGOs (non-government organizations).”
She expressed gratitude for the Viscount Bennett scholarship that has allowed her to pursue her goals.
“I’m immensely grateful for the scholarship and the opportunity it has given me. Pursuing an LLM has been a goal for years, but the financial barriers stopped me. I’m looking forward to using these funds to improve public advocacy in Alberta”.
Case Littlewood
The intersection of law and philosophy has long been a subject of interest for Case Littlewood. As many of the institutions in society face increased scrutiny and criticism, he believes explaining how the law works, and why it does so, will be vital to safeguarding our legal institutions.
“I believe that having lawyers that can coherently explain why the law operates the way it does to the broader public is going to be essential to ensure our legal systems thrive,” Littlewood said. “The public sees decisions and outcomes, but rarely are the reasons explained. I’m hopeful that I can contribute to understanding, simplifying, and explaining legal reasoning.”
To pursue that goal, Littlewood will attend Oxford University to earn his Bachelor of Civil Law.
“This interest in the boundary between law and philosophy led me to choose Oxford,” he said. “The program offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore this intersection and an opportunity to grow and learn more about the common law, from exceptional professors, while surrounded by other students from common law jurisdictions around the world.”
Littlewood is currently an associate with Reynolds, Mirth, Richards and Farmer LLP in Edmonton, where he is focused on public law and litigation. He previously worked as a Judicial Clerk with the Court of Appeal of Alberta and served as Co-Editor in Chief of the Alberta Law Review.
Born and raised in Cochrane, Littlewood earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Alberta in 2022. He had previously earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy at Western University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy at the University of British Columbia.
He will study at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, which is renowned for its strong jurisprudence and legal philosophy curriculum.
“I’m hopeful my time at Oxford will help me to learn more about the foundations of our legal system and develop a deeper understanding of how the law works, so that I can in turn help others understand why it operates the way that it does, and how it could work better,” he said. “I intend to further my interests through courses in constitutional theory, jurisprudence, and in the philosophical foundations of the common law, among others.”
With his background in philosophy, one specific area of the law Littlewood wants to better understand is how lawyers and judges apply reason to their legal cases.
Littlewood is grateful for the support of the Viscount Bennett Scholarship. He credits the scholarship with allowing him to realize the incredible opportunity to study and learn from leading scholars and students and apply that knowledge in Alberta and Canada.
Hero Laird
Hero Laird, with a respect for law and how it can serve justice, wonders about the space that “love” exists within the law.
To better address historical and ongoing intergenerational injustice that Indigenous Peoples face, Laird wants to better understand what love, as a legal principle, can teach us about renewing legal orders, of both Indigenous and European roots, in Canada.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Canada has called for reform of the legal system to uphold Indigenous legal orders, and Laird notes there is a strong legal tradition of love present in some Indigenous legal orders, like Cree and Anishinaabe law, as well as roots of love in English law.
They make the point that with legislation, public policy and individual legal cases, a horrifying lack of love and care has often defined the treatment of Indigenous people by Canadian legal actors. As a result, discriminating and dehumanizing norms have been entrenched in the legal system, which affects everyone.
Love has historically played a strong role in Indigenous law and Treaty making. While love is not often referenced in modern Canadian law, Laird hopes it can play a strong role in the ongoing renewal of Canada’s multi-juridical legal field.
“There is an aspirational aspect in looking at love as a part of law that is persuasive and invites us to be our better selves. It is also about looking squarely at the abuses and the harms that can be caused if we don’t take into account how feelings affect decisions, applying legal principles like love to guide us,” Laird said.
Laird was born and raised in Alberta in Treaty 7 territory. They earned a Juris Doctor with Distinction from the University of Alberta, following an undergraduate degree from McGill University and a graduate diploma in social innovation at the University of Waterloo.
Since 2021, they have been working with Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge in Edmonton after previously working in advocacy roles for governments, non-profits and community-led networks.
“I want to work for a legal system that works for all of us and not just a few and we don’t have that right now. I want to be part of a world that has room for everyone, for all Nations to move forward,” Laird said. “I want to contribute to creating that, for my children and all future generations.”
Laird will continue their studies at the University of Alberta.
“I am fortunate to have a rich intellectual community here. There is a wonderful group of scholars focused on Indigenous law, including students, professors and community-based Indigenous knowledge holders,” they said. “It is a great privilege to learn with such generous teachers, especially knowing so little myself.”
Laird expressed gratitude for the Viscount Bennett Scholarship and the opportunity to continue their studies in their hometown.
“I think there is a great value in doing something in place. My journey is rooted here, and I want to learn from this place and the people here.”