Michelle Lawrence is an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law and the Director of the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence.

Dr. Lawrence’s research focuses on issues of criminal law, evidence, and sentencing. Her work has been published in leading law and criminology journals, including the Canadian Bar Review, Canadian Criminal Law Review, Criminal Law Quarterly and Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She is on the editorial team for Canada’s first open-access casebook on criminal law, entitled Criminal Law: Canadian Law, Indigenous Laws & Critical Perspectives. In addition, she is a primary contributor, with Gerry Ferguson and Michael Dambrot, to Canadian Criminal Jury Instructions.

Dr. Lawrence holds graduate degrees in law and criminology, including a Masters of Law from the University of Cambridge and Ph.D. (Criminology) from Simon Fraser University. She completed her doctoral work as a Trudeau Scholar.

Since joining the Faculty of Law, Dr. Lawrence has twice received the Terry J. Wuester Teaching Award. She has held two Associate Dean appointments. She also has served as chair of the UVic Senate Committee on Appeals and as an Associate Director of the FREDA Research Centre on Violence Against Women and Children.

Dr. Lawrence previously practiced law as a partner at a national law firm. Her practice was based in Vancouver and comprised a diverse range of matters, including civil disputes, complex regulatory proceedings and criminal litigation. She currently sits as an Alternate Chair of the B.C. Review Board.