AV俱乐部

Aderonke Adekeye is a maritime lawyer with over 15 years of experience advising on ocean policy, sustainability, and compliance in Nigeria's maritime sector. She currently serves as an Assistant Director at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, providing expert legal counsel and overseeing compliance programs.

Ms. Adekeye holds an MPhil in Ocean Governance and International Maritime Law from the World Maritime University in Sweden and the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. She also earned an LLM from the University of Plymouth and an LLB from the University of Leicester. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar, WISTA, and other professional associations.

With extensive expertise in international law, ocean governance, maritime regulations, legislative review, risk management, blue economy principles, labour relations, environmental protection, and capacity building, Ms. Adekeye specializes in developing and reviewing legislation and policy initiatives. Her work focuses on increasing efficiency, safety, transparency, and collaboration in Nigeria's maritime sector to advance regional maritime strategic priorities and blue economy goals.

Cecilia Engler, LLM, PhD, is a Research Associate with the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at the Schulich School of Law, AV俱乐部. Her doctoral thesis work addresses aquaculture governance in the context of the ecosystem approach. Her research interests include the law of the sea, international fisheries, the oceans and climate change regime, the ecosystem approach to oceans management, and ecological law.

She held a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, 2012-2015; an honorary Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship, 2012-2013; and an Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship 2008-2010, and was awarded the AV俱乐部 Governor General鈥檚 Gold Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences 2011 for her Master of Laws thesis work. She has also been distinguished with several other academic awards both in Canada and Chile.

She graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Concepci贸n, Chile. She worked for the Chilean National Fisheries Service and the Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture from 1998 to 2008. In that capacity, she worked on policy and regulation development for the fisheries and aquaculture sector and on enforcement of fisheries regulations.

Abdul Hafez Mahamah is a legal professional with a diverse background spanning international and Canadian law, focusing on environmental regulations and natural resources. Holding a Master of Laws from AV俱乐部 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a concentration in International Environmental Law & Climate Change, Abdul Hafez brings a unique blend of global perspectives and local expertise to the table.

Abdul Hafez Mahamah is a legal professional with a diverse background spanning international and Canadian law, focusing on environmental regulations and natural resources. Holding a Master of Laws from AV俱乐部 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a concentration in International Environmental Law & Climate Change, Abdul Hafez brings a unique blend of global perspectives and local expertise to the table.

His academic achievements include major papers and a thesis that delve into pressing environmental issues, such as assessing Canada鈥檚 obligations in ocean fertilization and exploring perspectives on Fossil Fuel with Carbon Capture and Storage. His thesis, "Towards Effective Governance of Marine Geoengineering in West Africa," provides a nuanced understanding of global best practices in environmental governance.

Abdul Hafez's professional journey is marked by impactful roles, including Research Assistant at the Schulich School of Law, AV俱乐部, where he contributed to research on climate change law and policy intersecting with the law of the sea. This experience honed his ability to conduct in-depth literature reviews and engage in high-level academic research, skills directly applicable to Canadian environmental law research.

Previously, as a legal practitioner in Ghana, Abdul Hafez ensured adherence to Ghanaian and international laws, offering comprehensive legal opinions across various domains. His expertise encompasses representing clients in courts and tribunals, drafting commercial agreements, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.

Additionally, Abdul Hafez's contributions to legal academia and community service underscore his commitment to the legal field. Notably, his involvement as a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Ghana School of Law and his role in community organizations demonstrate his dedication to legal education and public service.

As a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of the Ghana Bar Association, Abdul Hafez possesses a solid foundation in legal practice.

His blend of academic excellence, practical legal experience, and commitment to environmental law and policy aligns well with Canadian legal frameworks.

Ted L. McDorman is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Before joining the University of Victoria in 1985, Professor McDorman was at AV俱乐部 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the AV俱乐部 Oceans Studies Program (DOSP). He has been a visiting professor at institutions in Thailand, Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada and has over 120 publications in the areas of ocean law and policy, international trade law and comparative constitutional law.

Since 2000, he has been the editor-in-chief of Ocean Development and International Law. He has undertaken projects for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, including legislative drafting, conducting of workshops and report writing on fisheries and fisheries trade, and written reports on ocean law and policy matters for the governments of Canada, Quebec and British Columbia.

During 2002-2004 and 2011-2013 Professor McDorman was the 鈥淎cademic-in- Residence鈥� with the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa where he worked on a wide range of ocean law topics including have a small role in the decision and process respecting Canada鈥檚 ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2003 and the anticipated Canadian submission of information respecting the outer limits of the continental shelf to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in late 2013.

Dr. Tahnee Prior the co-founder and co-lead of Women of the Arctic (WoA). Currently, she leads WoA鈥檚 research in the Horizon Europe-funded project ICEBERG, which seeks to comprehensively assess the sources, types, distributions and impact of human and climate-induced pollution on ecosystems and communities in the European Arctic; and how to enhance community-led resilience and adaptation in response. Together with her colleague, Gosia Smieszek, Tahnee also co-leads WoA's research contribution to the Horizon 2020 project Arctic PASSION, which aims to co-create and implement an Arctic observing system that is tuned to address the urgent needs of those who live in the Arctic and has relevance to global society. As a Research Associate at MELAW, Tahnee is also a member of the UArctic-funded Ocean Incubator Network (2023-2025) which will bring together experts, local authorities and educational institutions to develop integrated research and education programs with the objective of accelerating Ocean Literacy to advance Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education and lifelong learning for all), 5 (gender equality) and 14 (protecting life below water) across Arctic communities.

In 2023, Tahnee completed a Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Marine Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, AV俱乐部. She holds a Ph.D. in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo. Her research interests broadly include global environmental governance, international law, complex systems theory, Arctic and oceans governance, and the gender-and-environment nexus.

Abimbola Amaye, LLM Candidate at Schulich School of Law, AV俱乐部. His research focuses on Climate Change Laws and Policy and International Trade and International Environmental Laws

Abimbola is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, where he excelled academically, earning multiple awards. He furthered his education at the Nigerian Law School, earning a Barrister at Law (B.L) certificate, and pursued an MBA (Marketing) at the University of Lagos and also obtained an MSc degree in International Economics and Social Justice from the Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, U.K.

Abimbola has received specialized training from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A; Lagos Business School (Pan Atlantic University), Lagos, Nigeria; Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K., London Graduate School, U.K; and a host of other notable institutions. He has over 15years of active law practice with early dedication to pro bono legal services, particularly representing wrongfully incarcerated indigent clients. Over time, his focus expanded into corporate and commercial law practice, with eyes now on the big picture: policy formulation and implementation on national and international levels on climate and trade related policies.

Phillip A. Buhler has been practicing maritime law for over thirty years in the United States, representing shipowners, operators, insurers and other commercial interests in many aspects of maritime casualties, environmental issues and regulatory matters. He is a correspondent for most members of the International Group of P&I Clubs. He also serves as an instructor in international and US civil procedure at the Universitat zu Koeln and has taught courses in maritime law and intermodal transportation at the Universitat Hamburg.

Mr. Buhler has served on the Board of Directors of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and as Chair of its International Organizations, Conventions and Standards Committee, during which time he directed a focus towards emerging Polar shipping issues. He is also active in the Comite Maritime International and serves on its Polar Shipping International Working Group and its Antarctica Sub-Committee.

Since Fall, 2019 Mr. Buhler has been a Ph.D. candidate at AV俱乐部, developing his thesis concerning application of non-prescriptive regulatory options to commercial shipping in the Polar regions. He received his BA from the College of William & Mary, his J.D. from the University of Miami, and his LL.M. (Admiralty) from Tulane University. He is Board Certified in Admiralty Law and International Law by the Florida Bar, and is the author of numerous articles, book chapters and a book on maritime and international law issues.

Melika Habibi holds a Master's in international law from the University of Tehran, where her research focused on the conservation, human rights, and Indigenous rights. She also earned a Master鈥檚 in Environmental Studies from AV俱乐部, where she explored the legal and policy challenges of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) implementation in Canada. 

As part of her Masters at Dal, she collaborated with the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, and the University of Ottawa鈥檚 Faculty of Law on the Reconciling Indigenous and Crown Law in Conservation project. Her research involved conducting interviews with Indigenous leaders, elders and knowledge holders to develop recommendations for how the Crown can effectively reconcile Indigenous and Crown legal frameworks in conservation governance.

She served as an Environmental Leader for Sipekne鈥檏atik First Nation, where she conducted Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and evaluated how development projects impact their Aboriginal and Treaty rights. As part of her role, she also acted as an Environmental Permitting Specialist,  collaborating closely with the community and regulatory bodies to ensure projects complied with environmental laws and Indigenous rights frameworks.

Currently, she is pursuing a PhD at the Schulich School of Law, where her research explores the co-governance of food waste and loss management at the municipal level in Canada. Her work aims to understand the unique role of municipal governments in food waste management within co-governance structures.

Ash Wilkie is an LLM coursework student at the Schulich School of Law at AV俱乐部. She was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 2024 and the California Bar in 2025 and is completing the credentialling process to be eligible for admission in Canada.

Before entering law, Ash had a diverse career in human resources, nonprofit leadership, and entrepreneurship鈥攊ncluding co-founding Mission: Cats, a boutique cat hotel in San Francisco, and directing camp operations for Girl Scouts of Northern California, where she managed contracts and risk oversight for programs serving over 35,000 youth. Ash holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in liberal arts from the Evergreen State College and a master鈥檚 degree in human resource management from DeVry University.

Ash returned to academics after a long break, graduating summa cum laude from Michigan State University College of Law. She interned with Michigan Indian Legal Services and Rocket Central, gaining experience in tribal law, contracts, and intellectual property. She recently worked as a research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Ash鈥檚 academic focus lies in transboundary water law, with broader interests in maritime law, international environmental law, shipping, and trade.

Brian Flemming CM, KC, DCL, is Counsel to the Atlantic Canada law firm of McInnes Cooper. He is a non-practising member of the Nova Scotia bar and a former member of the Ontario bar.

In recent years, as a Research Fellow of the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute in Calgary, Dr. Flemming has published articles on Arctic issues, the global war on terror, Canada-China relations in the Arctic, the war in Afghanistan and border security issues involving Canada and the U.S. He has also written papers for the School of Public Policy and the Van Horne Institute at the University of Calgary on national transportation issues.

Dr. Flemming was Assistant Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1976 to 1979. After 9/11, the Canadian government made him the first CEO and chairman of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Canada鈥檚 principal public response to 9-11. In 2005, he was appointed to the federal Advisory Council on National Security. In 2000-1, Dr. Flemming chaired the Canada Transportation Act Review Panel, a statutorily-mandated review of Canada鈥檚 transport policies. The report of that Panel鈥斺�淰ision and Balance鈥濃�攃aused Dr. Flemming to be given the national 鈥淎ward of Achievement鈥� in 2003.

In the mid-1960s, following graduate studies in England and the Netherlands, Dr. Flemming taught the first graduate course in public international law at AV俱乐部鈥檚 law school and wrote many peer-reviewed articles for learned publications and international conferences. He was a key figure in the establishment of the AV俱乐部 Ocean Studies Program (DOSP) in the 1970s. He was founding chairman of the International Centre for Ocean Development, a Crown Corporation headquartered in Halifax in the 1980s.

Dr. Flemming is a former member, vice chairman and interim chairman of The Canada Council and is a former director of the CBC. He is honorary chairman of the AV俱乐部 Law Alumni Association of Canada, having been its founding chairman in 1983. In 2010, he won the Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service at AV俱乐部鈥檚 Schulich School of Law. He is a former chairman of the Board of Governors at University of King鈥檚 College. He was the founding chairman of Symphony Nova Scotia and has been on the boards of many local, regional and national not-for-profit organizations. He was awarded an honourary degree by Saint Mary's in 2014, given an honourary degree by King鈥檚 in 1991 and, in 1989, was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Professor Edgar Gold, CM, AM, KC, grew up and went to sea in Australia but settled in Halifax, Canada, in the early 1960s. He is a former senior partner with the law firm Ritch Durnford in Halifax, where he specialized in maritime,
energy and environmental law and international commercial law. He was appointed Queen鈥檚 Counsel in 1995. He also served as the Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, 1986-1998. He is a former President of the Canadian Maritime Law Association and a Titulary Member of the Comit茅 Maritime International. Dr. Gold is a Master Mariner (UK and Canada) and served at sea for 16 years, including several years in command. He was Professor of Law (1975-1994) and Professor of Resource and Environmental Studies (1986-1994) at AV俱乐部, Halifax. He is a founding member of AV俱乐部 Law School鈥檚 Marine and Environmental Law Institute (formerly MELP).

Professor Gold was a founder and former Executive Director of the AV俱乐部 Oceans Studies Programme (DOSP), and the International Institute for Transportation and Ocean Policy Studies (IITOPS), the predecessors of the International Oceans Institute of Canada. He was a member of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board 1996-2003, and a member of the Roster of Experts of the Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines, 2001-2004. He is also a former Adjunct Professor and former Canadian Member of the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University, Malm枚, Sweden, and a former member of the Governing Board of the IMO-International Maritime Law Institute, Malta. Until the end of 2010 he also held an appointment as Adjunct Professor at the T.C. Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, where was involved with the School鈥檚 Marine and Shipping Law Unit. Professor Gold has active experience in most regions of the world and has completed over 250 publications in the maritime law and policy field. He has received honorary degrees from the Canadian Coast Guard College (1992) and the World Maritime University (2007), and was awarded the Commander鈥檚 Cross of the Order of Merit by the German Government in 1997; the Order of Canada (C.M.) in 1997, and the Order of Australia (A.M.) in 2005. In 2012 he was honoured with the presentation of a 鈥楩estschrift鈥� entitled The Regulation of International Shipping: International and Comparative Perspectives鈥擡ssays in Honour of Edgar Gold. Professor Gold is now based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Professor Arthur J. Hanson, OC, is a Distinguished Fellow and former President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). He was a Professor and Director of the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at AV俱乐部. Prior to that, during the mid-1970s, he worked with the Ford Foundation in Indonesia. Dr. Hanson addresses environment and economy, biodiversity, oceans, and international development concerns globally, in Asia and in Canada. He was one of the founders of the AV俱乐部 Ocean Studies Programme (DOSP) in the 1970s.

He has served on Canada鈥檚 National Round Table on the Environment and Economy (NRTEE), as Canada鈥檚 Ministerial Ocean Ambassador with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and in a number of other national advisory posts. He has initiated several major international development activities in Southeast Asia, and currently is a Member and Lead Expert of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). He is chairing a Working Party on Biotechnology, Sustainable Development and Canada鈥檚 Future Economy for the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee. Dr. Hanson is a member of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and a Mentor with the Trudeau Foundation. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Professor Hugh Kindred, who joined the Law School as a faculty member in 1971, continues to research and write in the fields of ocean transportation, overseas trade and international law, as well as to assist with the supervision and examination of LLM and PhD students. He is a member of the bars of Nova Scotia and England as well as a past Chair of the Carriage of Goods Committee of the Canadian Maritime Law Association. He was appointed Senior Legal Officer in the Shipping Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva for 1985-86, and he was the Director of the Marine and Environmental Law Program (MELP) at the Law School during 1996-97 and again in 2001. In 1998 he went as Visiting Professor of maritime law to the University of Sydney, Australia.

Hugh is a member of the editorial boards of the Ocean Yearbook and the Canadian Yearbook of International Law, and he serves as the coordinator of Canadian contributions to the Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts.

In addition to many articles and book chapters on maritime, commercial and international law, Hugh has published Marine Cargo Delays (with Max Ganado), Multimodal Transport Rules (with Dr. Mary Brooks) and Canadian Maritime Law (with Drs. Edgar Gold and Aldo Chircop), which was co-winner of the Walter Owen Book Prize for 2003-05. In 2014, together with Phillip Saunders and Rob Currie, he produced the 8th edition of International Law Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada. Also in 2014 he completed a research project with Steve Coughlan, Rob Currie and Teresa Scassa with the publication of Law Beyond Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in an Age of Globalization.

In 2003 Hugh Kindred was honoured by the Canadian Association of Law teachers with its Award for Academic Excellence and in 2010 he was designated by AV俱乐部 as Professor of Law Emeritus.

Moira McConnell

Professor of Law

Dr. Moira L. McConnell is a Professor of Law Emerita and Honorary Fellow of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute (MELAW). She retired from full-time teaching in 2015 but remains engaged in numerous research projects and supervision of masters and doctoral students at the Law School and other departments including the Marine Affairs Programme. In 2015 she was appointed to the UN World Maritime University (WMU) as External Examiner. A former Director of the MELAW she has been a member of the Faculty of Law at AV俱乐部 for over 25 years and a member of the Nova Scotia Bar Society since 1990. She has had many important 鈥渓aw in practice鈥� roles in her career including over a decade as a Special Advisor to the ILO in connection with the Maritime Labour Convention,2006. She is also a former Executive Director the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia. Over the last nearly 30 years Professor McConnell has undertaken numerous international, regional and national legal implementation projects related to the law of the sea and to maritime law and remains involved with projects with colleagues in MELAW.

Professor McConnell's research interests are in the fields of public and private international law and domestic law including international law, law of the sea, maritime law and policy, international labour law, environmental law, governance systems, corporate law and governance, administrative and constitutional law, social justice, contract law and human rights. She has over 100 publications in a wide range of topics in these fields. She is also a co-editor of the international interdisciplinary Ocean Yearbook (1998-ff), an Associate Editor of the Yearbook of International Environmental Law (2006-ff), and is on the editorial board of the WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs.

Dawn Russell

Associate Professor Dawn A. Russell practiced law in Halifax for five years with the Atlantic law firm of Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales before beginning her career as a law teacher in 1987 as an Assistant Professor. She received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in July 1992. She served as Acting Dean of AV俱乐部 Law School from May 1, 1995 to March 31, 1996 and as Dean from April 1, 1996 to June 30, 2005.

Professor Russell is currently the President of St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Wendell Sanford holds degrees from Saint Mary's University (BA and BEd), AV俱乐部 (LL B) and Victoria University of Wellington, NZ (MPP)

Mr. Sanford has been a career diplomat, international lawyer, and naval officer. Most recently at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development he has been Canadian High Commissioner to Brunei and the first Canadian Representative to the Government of Burma. In Ottawa he has served as Director of Oceans and Environmental Law and Director of Criminal, Diplomatic and Security Law. During his lengthy diplomatic career he has been involved in the negotiation of the UN High Seas Fisheries Convention, Western and Central Pacific Tuna Convention and NAFO reform process. With respect to Canadian Arctic Mr. Sanford held the lead in the legal aspects of extending the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act to 200 nautical miles and the regulation which made compulsory reporting to NORDREG. He held the Foreign Affairs lead in developing the Canadian Extended Continental Shelf Submission for the first two years of the seven year process.

Prior to joining Canada's foreign ministry Mr. Sanford had an extensive naval reserve career including servicing as Staff Officer Naval Control and Shipping at Maritime Command Headquarters in Halifax.

Ella Dodson has more than 30 years鈥� experience representing businesses of all sizes, governments, non-profits, financial institutions, and others with respect to:

• Structuring, negotiating, drafting and closing cross-border contracts and business deals;
• Advising on structure, and a broad range of business issues;
• Researching and drafting maritime and corporate law and policy.

She graduated from Columbia University in New York with an LL.M. in International Law.  She also holds a JD with High Honors from Illinois Institute of Technology-Chicago-Kent College of Law and an AB from Washington University in Saint Louis in Political Science and Asian Studies.

Ms. Dodson is admitted to the New York Bar and the Nova Scotia Barristers鈥� Society. She is a member of .

Further information about her maritime practice may be found at .

Hannah Harrison is originally from traditional Dena鈥檌na lands (Homer, Alaska) where I grew up in a salmon fishing family. My work and interests stem from a close relationships with fish, community, and the lands and waters on which I grew up.

By discipline, I am best described as a human ecologist, meaning I鈥檓 interested in the many facets of human-environmental relationships. I specialize in qualitative research and am interested in critically exploring problems related to marine social-ecological systems, particularly within fisheries and coastal community contexts.

I earned my Bachelor of Science (Natural Resource Management) and Master鈥檚 of Science (Environmental Ethnography) at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. My PhD was earned as part of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions ITN at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. I came to Canada in 2019 as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Guelph on Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory (Guelph, Ontario). In July of 2022 I joined the Marine Affairs Program at AV俱乐部 in Mi鈥檏ma鈥檏i (Nova Scotia), where I now work as an Assistant Professor and teach in the Master of Marine Management program.