2023 Law School Gold Medalist: Emmaline English

Each year the Law Society of British Columbia Gold Medal is awarded to the graduate with the highest cumulative grade point average in the graduating class of JD and JD/JID students. This year’s recipient is Emmaline English.

Emmaline came to UVic Law from a position with the federal government as Director of Policy, working with Carolyn Bennett who was, at the time, Minister of Crown-Indigenous relations. Emmaline and Minister Bennett came to UVic in 2019 to announce federal funding for the Indigenous law degree program, a visit that led her on a life-changing journey to the JD/JID program that she completes this spring. Emmaline also holds a degree in political science from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie University. 

In addition to achieving the highest grades in the law school, she completed the JD/JID with a concentration in Environmental Law and Sustainability. She co-authored papers in both Indigenous and environmental law. She made significant contributions in her work with the Environmental Law Centre and with experts from First Nations in BC and lawyers in writing the ELC publication “Protecting Indigenous Cultural Heritage Resources on Private Lands.” 

Emmaline is splitting her articles between the Environmental Law Centre at UVic and Woodward + Company LLP – a law firm in Victoria devoted to working with Indigenous communities.