Jackman Faculty of Law students can learn from notable practitioners via the program
The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights announced that Cheryl Milne, its executive director, chose Justin Safayeni as this year’s constitutional litigator in residence, with the two of them to co-teach the centre’s constitutional litigation clinic course in fall 2026.
Through the litigator in residence program, students of the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law can learn directly from notable practitioners in this practice area.
“The Asper Centre looks forward to welcoming Justin Safayeni, and to another year of impactful, experiential learning in constitutional litigation,” stated the law school’s news release.
In his new position, Safayeni can provide law students with practical, first-hand insight into constitutional advocacy and appellate litigation.
He has been acting for the Asper Centre in its application for leave to intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada in a challenge to the constitutional limits on state action impacting fundamental rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Students will help him work on such cases, including the Asper Centre’s pending challenge to the federal voting age.
More on Safayeni
As a partner at Stockwoods LLP, Safayeni focuses on administrative law, constitutional law, media/defamation law, and commercial litigation. He has appeared before all court levels in the country, including as lead counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada.
He has represented public interest organizations and other litigants in constitutional matters. His litigation experience has spanned Aboriginal rights and Charter rights relating to voting, free religion, free expression, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, equality, and life, liberty, and security.
According to the law school’s news release, Safayeni is especially interested in cases involving issues of freedom of expression in connection with the media and journalism.
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory has listed him as consistently recommended for litigation – specifically for defamation and media and regulatory and public law – and repeatedly recommended for corporate commercial litigation.
Safayeni was a Lexpert Rising Star in 2023. He has also appeared in the 2025 Lexpert Special Edition on Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers.
He is director and treasurer of the Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association. At the Advocates’ Society, Safayeni is vice chair of the appellate practice group and was chair of the regulatory and administrative law practice group.
Safayeni has presented on administrative and constitutional law topics and written about legal issues in mainstream, industry, and academic publications.
He has taught Canadian administrative law for Osgoode Hall Law School’s common law LLM program. He earned his JD from the University of Toronto in 2009 and admission to the Ontario bar in 2010.
