York University Professor Emeritus Les Jacobs has been awarded the prestigious Visiting Fellowship at Trinity College, University of Oxford to pursue work examining the need for improved meaningful access to justice in the courts.
Jacobs is a leading international expert in interdisciplinary socio-legal research, theoretical work on social justice and rights and applied social research methods. He was the inaugural York Research Chair in Human Rights and Access to Justice (Tier 1) as well as professor and director of the Institute for Social Research at York.
Jacobs is thrilled to have been selected for the prestigious two-month fellowship at Trinity College – offered to scholars to engage in research and collaborate with other academics. “It’s prestigious and highly selective,” he says. “It’s fabulous news.”
During his stay at the University of Oxford, Jacobs will pursue the early stages of a book he is preparing to write about meaningful access to justice for ordinary people with legal problems that integrates data science findings, policy and legal research.
With the benefits Jacobs will receive as a visiting fellow – including access to research support and facilities – he hopes to use the time to further hone the book’s potential. “It’s a great opportunity for me to have some conversations, give a couple of talks about the work and get some good feedback,” says Jacobs.
The Trinity fellowship marks the latest accomplishment for Jacobs, who has received numerous awards over the course of his career, including being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2017 for his contributions to human rights and access to justice in Canada and abroad. He has held several notable positions in the University, including inaugural director of the York Centre for Public Policy and Law and executive director – and now senior research fellow – of the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice. He has authored numerous books on topics such as human rights, social justice and privacy rights in the digital economy, including most recently a 2024 co-authored book critiquing recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jacobs receiving the Trinity College fellowship marks not only an acknowledgement of his past achievements, but support and endorsement of his ongoing work in advancing human rights and access to justice globally.