Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Prasanna Balasundaram

Prasanna Balasundaram has been recognized by the Association of for Canadian Clinical Legal Education (ACCLE) with the Cirillo Award, given to an individual clinician who has made a significant contribution to the life of their legal clinic.

Balasundaram is the director of Downtown Legal Services (DLS), the community legal clinic and clinical education program operated by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Prior to his appointment, Balasundaram was a staff lawyer for seven years, overseeing the clinic’s refugee and immigration division.

He is well-known as an excellent litigator with notable successes with law reform/test case litigation, including constitutional challenges to the Safe Third Country Agreement and other interventions. He is also a very popular clinical educator and supervisor, who has supported, evaluated and reviewed case work for countless of U of T Law students.

ACCLE is an association of individuals and clinics who provide a forum for legal educators across Canada to share best practices, pedagogies and other information related to clinical legal education.

The Cirillo Award was named in honour of Lisa Cirillo, long-time ACCLE Board member and former Director of Downtown Legal Services.

“Our JD students and alumni will attest to the transformative client experience Downtown Legal Services provides,” said University Professor Jutta Brunnée, Dean of the Faculty of Law. “Congratulations to Prasanna on this significant honour, recognizing his educational contributions and the clinic’s impact on community it serves.”