Patrick Garon-Sayegh (SJD 2022) appointed to faculty at the Université de Montréal

Patrick Garon-Sayegh (SJD 2022) is one of two new faculty members who have been appointed to the faculty at the Université de Montréal, effective August 15, 2022.

Garon-Sayegh is a lawyer and bioethicist whose work focuses on fundamental questions related to evidence and proof, at the intersection of the philosophy of science, the philosophy of law, and rhetoric (theory of argumentation). In particular, he studies how evidence and medical/scientific expertise are mobilized in the context of medical and medico-legal disagreements. This involves, among other things, analyzing the argumentative strategies that lawyers and medical experts deploy in practice, for concrete purposes, in the context of medical malpractice lawsuits. Garon-Sayegh also examines the interpretative work of practitioners—both legal and medical—as they move from general norms to particular cases. He shows how even the most objective pieces of evidence (notes in a medical chart, for example) can be imbued with moral significance. In general, his work seeks to take a fresh look at key terms in positive law—such as “expert” and “fault”—in a way that deepens our understanding of legal practice and the intertwining of legal and scientific knowledge.

Université de Montréal announcement