Dr. Salima Samnani

Biography

Salima Samnani is a lecturer and Co-Director of the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic at the Peter Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. A Kenyan Indo-Canadian Muslim immigrant, she is an experienced litigator with expertise in public law, civil law, family law, child protection, and employment law. Her research primarily focuses on access to justice, anti-racism, and clinical legal education, particularly emphasizing trauma-informed and skills-based legal training through a feminist, anti-racist, and decolonization lens. Salima has dedicated over a decade to serving Indigenous communities and has been involved as Associate Counsel for the Missing Women Commission Inquiry, as well as counsel for the Union of BC Indian Chiefs during the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria and a Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practices from the University of Fribourg, in collaboration with the University of Bern and the University of Neuchâtel. Her thesis explored the impact of micro-financing and banking under-regulation on marginalized groups within society. Salima teaches courses in Family Law and Children's Law at the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic, located in the Downtown Eastside community of Vancouver, which is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Research Interests