Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Professor Emerita

Faculty of Law

Master's Student

Faculty of Arts , Department of History

Contact information

Email

jwhamilt@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

ABlawg

Twitter

Background

Educational Background

LLM Columbia University, 1992

LLB Dalhousie University, 1978

BA (with Distinction) University of Alberta, 1974

CV 2023

Biography

After receiving her LLB in 1978, Jonnette practiced law in Wetaskiwin, Alberta until 1991. Her practice was focused on family law, commercial law, and dependent adult law. She was also a member of the Alberta Farm Debt Review Board from 1986 to 1991 and mediated over 50 disputes between insolvent farmers and their creditors.

After attending Columbia Law School in New York City, Jonnette began teaching in the faculty in the fall of 1992. In the intervening years, she has taught 20 different law school courses, including Legal Communication and Research, Banking Law, Sale of Goods, Negotiable Instruments, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Commercial Arbitration, Legal Ethics, Feminist Legal Theory, Graduate Seminar in Legal Research and Methodology, Legal Perspectives, Property Law, Law and Literature, Property Theory, and Wills and Estates. She also served as Associate Dean (Research) (2001-2004, 2013-2014) and Graduate Program Coordinator (2001-2005).

Jonnette's current research in law centers on Charter equality rights and the intersection of human rights and residential tenancy law.  With her colleague, Jennifer Koshan, she has written fifteen journal articles and book chapters on equality rights, many of which have been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, as have several of her articles on alternative dispute resolution. Jonnette has also worked with The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in developing arguments for equality rights litigation, most recently in Fraser v Canada (2020, SCC). She is also a founder of and frequent contributor to ABlawg, the faculty's blog on recent developments in Alberta law. 

Jonnette's MA thesis in history will focus on the role of SE Saskatchewan farm women in debt restructuring and debt relief efforts during the Great Depression, building on her background with the Alberta Farm Debt Review Board and her maternal family connections with the Moose Mountain area. 

Research

Areas of Research

Charter Equality Rights, Property Law & Theory, Access to Justice

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
LAW 579.01 Legal Theory - Property Fall 2023

Awards

  • Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary Students' Union. 2018
  • Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship, Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch/Law Society of Alberta. 2017
  • Howard Tidswell Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, 2012
  • Howard Tidswell Memorial Awards for Teaching Excellence, 2008

Publications