News

Congratulations to Nayha Acharya (LLM ’12), a PhD candidate from the Schulich School of Law who recently successfully defended her thesis entitled “The Virtue of Process: Finding the Legitimacy of Judicial Fact-Finding in Personal Injury Litigation,” an inquiry into the legitimacy of judicial fact-finding in civil litigation. 

The Examining Committee consisted of Schulich Law Professor Richard Devlin (co-supervisor), Professor Vaughan Black (co-supervisor), and Professor Sheila Wildeman (reader). Professor Bruce Archibald was the departmental representative. The chair was Dr. Lois Jackson, PhD Defence Panel, Faculty of Graduate Studies. Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Allan Hutchinson was the external examiner.

"Nayha's defence was rich, engaging, and provocative," says Devlin. "The Examination Committee pushed her hard on some of her core claims, and she gave as good as she got."

The law school provided me many opportunities to present my work at home and abroad, to do my research with an excellent supervisory committee, and to teach the wonderful students that come to Dal. 

"Defending a doctoral thesis is such a unique opportunity to present your work to people who have taken it seriously," says Acharya. "I learned a lot from the process. And finishing a long degree gave me occasion to reflect on my time as a graduate student at the Schulich School of Law. The law school provided me many opportunities to present my work at home and abroad, to do my research with an excellent supervisory committee, and to teach the wonderful students that come to Dal. I'm grateful for the head start that I've been afforded by pursuing this degree here, and I'm excited now for what is to come."