Scott Franks
Scott Franks is an assistant professor in the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. His doctoral research investigates the judicial construction of Métis legal identity in the Alberta Métis settlements (University of Ottawa; SSHRC - Doctoral - Joseph-Armand Bombardier). His LLM research investigated barriers and opportunities to the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in law schools (SSHRC CGS-M, CBA Viscount Bennett, York University Graduate Fellowship and Scholarship, and Law Foundation of British Columbia).
Franks clerked for the Honorable Madam Justice Andromache Karakatsanis at the Supreme Court of Canada and practised at Olthuis Kleer Townshend L.L.P., a national Indigenous rights law firm. He has a juris doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School and is an alum of McGill University (Political Science) and Lester B. Pearson, United World College of the Pacific. Franks is a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation and is from northern Saskatchewan.
Franks' research is in the areas of Canadian Aboriginal law, Indigenous legal orders, constitutional law, legal professionalism and ethics, and Indigenous and interdisciplinary research methodologies. He also writes in criminal law and procedure, and in other legal areas relevant to Indigenous-settler relations.
Scott Franks, (PDF file) "Towards Implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in Law Schools: A Settler Harm Reduction Approach to Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Legal Orders in Canadian Legal Education" (external link, opens in new window) (Toronto: York University, 2020) [Thesis submitted in fulfillment of LLM at Osgoode Hall Law School].
Articles
Scott Franks, "Some Reflections of a Métis Law Student and Assistant Professor on Indigenous Legal Education in Canada" (external link) , (2022) 48 Mitchell Hamline Law Review 744
Scott Franks, "Revisiting Jury Instructions on Racial Prejudice Towards Indigenous Peoples in Criminal Jury Trials" (external link) , (2022) 100:3 Canadian Bar Review 406
Editorials
Scott Franks, " (PDF file) Jurisprudence, the Legal Profession & the Limits of Action (external link) " in Calls to Action Accountability: A 2022 Status Update on Reconciliation (Totonto, Yellowhead Institute, 2022) at p. 29.
Scott Franks, "Reconciling the contradictions in Aboriginal and Indigenous law" (external link) , Canadian Bar Association The National, September 30, 2022
Scott Franks, "Sustaining progress in Indigenous legal education" (external link) , Canadian Bar Association The National, October 11, 2022
Interviews
Simon Lewsen, "How can the legal profession advance reconciliation?" (external link) , Precedent, September 27, 2022
Oksana Romanov, "Interview of Professor Scott Franks, Acting Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at Ryerson University" (external link) , Ontario Bar Association Student Article, January 27, 2021
Presentations
Scott Franks, "Indigenizing the Tort Curriculum" (external link) , University of Idaho Sovereignty Series, September 7, 2022
Selected Professional Contributions
“Culturally Competent Legal Services for Indigenous Clients and Communities,” accredited through the Law Society of Ontario for 1.5 hours of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Professional Ethics hours, delivered at OKT Law, Toronto, Ontario.
Selected Publications
“Barton jury instructions may raise racial prejudice” (external link) (2019): Canadian Bar Association National Magazine (full journal article currently in draft).
Books
Scott Franks, “Metis,” in Lorraine Land and Matt McPherson (eds.), Aboriginal law handbook, 5th ed (Toronto: Thomson Reuters Canada, 2018) (substantial revisions to chapter).
Scott Franks and Dr. Suzanne Gessner, A Guide to Language Policy and Planning for BC First Nations Communities (Victoria: First Peoples’ Cultural Council, 2013).
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships—Doctoral, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 2020
Canada Graduate Scholarships – Masters, SSHRC, 2019
Viscount Bennet Fellowship, Canadian Bar Association, 2019
Graduate Fellowship, Law Foundation British Columbia, 2019
Roger Carter Leadership Award for Native People, University of Saskatchewan, 2013
TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership, TD Canada Trust, 2007
Northern Saskatchewan Scholarship to Lester B Pearson UWC, Cameco Corporation, 2005
| Degree | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|
| LLM (Master of Laws) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 2021 |
| JD (Juris Doctor) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 2016 |
| BA Hons. (Bachelor of Arts, Honours) | McGill University | 2010 |
| IB (International Baccalaureate) | Lester B. Pearson, United World College of the Pacific | 2007 |