Dr. Nicholas Bala

Biography

Nicholas C. Bala is an internationally recognized expert in issues related to children, youth, and families within the justice system, currently teaching Contract Law at Queen's Law. After graduating from Queen’s Law School in 1977, he articled in Ottawa and worked with the Review Counsel at Queen’s Legal Aid. He later obtained his LL.M. from Harvard. Since 1980, he has served on the Faculty of Queen’s Law, also taking on visiting professor roles at McGill, Osgoode Hall Law School, and Duke University. His research focuses on Family Children’s Law, with a particular emphasis on issues surrounding parental separation, spousal abuse and its effects on children, parental alienation, and shared parenting arrangements. Bala has engaged in interdisciplinary research projects with psychologists, social workers, and other professionals to understand the effects of the justice system on children and families. He has published extensively across various academic journals and his work has been cited in numerous court cases, including the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2006, he received Queen’s University’s Prize for Excellence in Research and has since been awarded by several legal organizations. His contributions to family law are recognized through his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2013 and his recent role as a principal investigator on several impactful research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

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