Meet the Business Advisory Committee
The Business Advisory Committee is a dynamic team of legal experts from the Faculty of Law who oversee the activities and operations of the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. The Advisory Committee communicates frequently, keeps recorded votes of all decisions, and is Chaired by the Director of Program Development of the Faculty of Law. The Committee works collegially and collaboratively with the Program Director to provide advice for program development, wisdom for the Centre’s matters when required, and the second of three levels of scrutiny for any proposed expenditures for research or academic program development through the Centre. The Business Advisory Committee has provided diligent oversight for the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law; their vision has guided the 2023-2024 impact of the Centre outlined in the following pages.
Dr. Bruce Curran
Associate Professor Curran is primarily focused on using empirical methods to study labour & employment law and dispute resolution. Dr Curran has developed and honed skills for innovative and high-quality scholarly research, and is also a member of the national Labour Law Casebook Group, a group of Professors from across Canada who have published the authoritative Canadian casebook for labour and employment law. In addition to his research abilities and extensive publishing record, Dr. Curran is an outstanding teacher and has received numerous awards for his teaching.
Dr. Michelle Gallant
Professor Gallant’s areas of teaching and research focus are on Taxation, Philanthropy of Law, International Law, Dispute Resolution, Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance. She has been a Commissioner of the Manitoba Law Reform Commission from 2012 to 2018, and was Deputy Commissioner of the Residential Tenancies Commission from 2008 to 2011, and most recently served on the national Emergencies Act Inquiry into the conduct of the Trudeau government during the COVID-19 crisis.
Instructor Yvan Guy Larocque
Yvan Guy Larocque is the Clinical Instructor for the L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic at the law school. His legal practice is focused on Indigenous Economic Development and Governance. Yvan has extensive experience advising Indigenous governments and Economic Development Groups on a wide range of corporate, financing, tax, and development matters.
Dr. Bryan Schwartz, K.C.
Professor Schwartz is the Asper Chair of International Business and Trade Law. Over the years he has received numerous awards and honours for teaching, research, and
community service. He teaches labour law and has advised or presented in a wide variety of public and commercial law cases in a wide variety of courts and tribunals. He has participated in the drafting of briefs or the presentation of oral argument in over a dozen Supreme Court of Canada cases. He is the founding and general editor of both the Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law and the Underneath the Golden Boy series, an annual review of legislative developments in Manitoba, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Manitoba Law Journal.
Dr. Katie Szilagyi
Dr. Katie Szilagyi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law. Dr. Szilagyi studies the intersection of technology law and legal theory with artificial intelligence, tracing the impacts of predictive analytics and algorithmic decision-making on the organizing force of the Rule of Law. Her innovative research brings together her educational backgrounds in both engineering and law, as well as her experience in legal practice, applying foundational legal concepts like property, autonomy, consent, and privacy to emerging technological settings.
Professor Darcy MacPherson
Professor MacPherson is the Research Director of the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. He has taught and researched in areas of corporate law, secured transactions and partnerships. His research has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and numerous Courts of Appeal across the country. He is currently supervising
five LL.M. students in areas of business Law. He is also responsible for the original creation of Robson Hall team in four different appellate mooting competitions, and for three different for-credit judicial clerking experiences at various Manitoba courts.
Dr. Laura Reimer, Business Advisory Committee Chair
Dr. Laura Reimer chairs the Business Advisory Committee and as Director of Program Development for the Faculty of Law, is also the Program Development Director of the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. With deep experience in private enterprise, business development, and academic teaching and research, Laura brings much to her leadership role at the Desautels Centre. She was an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Public Policy at the University of Winnipeg where she was awarded the prestigious Clifford J. Robson Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Upon completion of her Ph D, Laura held a program development/teaching post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Her research interests explore the intersection of theory and practice, and her expertise merges conflict transformation practices with policy, governance, and leadership. She is the author or co-editor of seven books.