About Us
About the Desautels
Business Law Accelerator
The Desautels Business Law Accelerator is an initiative of the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law. We advance excellence in business law education by creating transformative learning opportunities, supporting leading scholarship, and connecting academic insight with the practical needs of the business community in Manitoba and beyond. Our work is grounded in the belief that students and scholars achieve more when they have strong foundations to stand on.
Projects
Networks that support local businesses and enhance access to justice
Major Initiatives
Led through national and regional partnerships
National Forums
The Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights & Prairie Business Law Collaboration
Student Researchers
Students engaged through DBLA programs and research roles
What
We Do
Create hands-on learning opportunities for law students through research assistantships, clinics, case competitions, and more
Support innovative research in business law, technology, and private enterprise
Connect academic knowledge with real-world legal practice
Strengthen Prairie business communities, including rural and Indigenous economies
Encourage principled, community-minded approaches to business law
Our
pillars
Students
We prepare future lawyers through real-world experiences—from the L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic to case competitions and the Business Law Group.
Scholars
We support cutting-edge research across business law, including labour, negotiation, technology, and AI, and we help scholars kickstart new projects and ideas that strengthen business law in Manitoba.
Support
We strengthen community networks through national competitions, major conferences, and partnerships that connect the Prairies with business law professionals across Canada.
What Makes Us Unique
Prairie-focused expertise in private enterprise and business law
A collaborative network of students, scholars, and community partners
A launchpad for novel ideas, including the Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights
A focus on rural economies, access to justice, and Indigenous economic development
OUR THREE
Initiatives
The Desautels Business Law Accelerator advances a coordinated set of initiatives that connect legal education, professional practice, and the needs of our business community. National programs such as the Canadian National Negotiation Competition, the Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights, and the Canadian Academy for Legal Studies in Business support high-level training and scholarship, while the Prairie Business Law Collaboration is working to re-ignite rural legal service capacity across the Canadian Prairies through partnerships and professional alliances. Student-focused initiatives—including the Business Law Group .the Art Braid Business Case Competition and the Adam Lezack Award in Mergers and Acquisitions—further support the development of future business lawyers through experiential learning and recognition of academic excellence.
Together, these initiatives position the Accelerator as a regionally distinctive and nationally relevant hub for business law innovation. Aligned with the Strategic Goals of the University of Manitoba, we empower learners through student research opportunities and specialized academic programming, and we create knowledge that matters through publications, reports on Manitoba’s business law environment, and peer-reviewed commentary. In all these ways and more, the Accelerator continues to strengthen connections between students, scholars, and practice.
Discover our initiatives by selecting each logo for more information:
Connect With Us
Reach out to learn more about how you can engage with the Desautels Business Law Accelerator.