Dean’s One-to-Watch

Osgoode Hall Law School at York University honours outstanding alumni.

About Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, founded in Toronto in 1889, is among the oldest, largest and most distinguished law schools in Canada, with a diverse and accomplished alumni community of more than 18,000 worldwide.  

Maneesha Gupta (2022 Alumni Gold Key Award, One to Watch): Maneesha Gupta has shown exceptional leadership, professionalism and compassion not only in her career, but in her dedication to promoting mental health and equity and opportunity for racialized lawyers and law students, women, youth and people with disabilities. The intellectual property and technology lawyer with TD Bank is the founder of Mindful Lawyer Canada, which she launched in 2018 to help lawyers who experience isolation, mental illness, addiction and burnout. She expanded her innovative group meditation sessions and community-building activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, including weekly, virtual guided meditation sessions for Osgoode students through the law school’s peer support centre. For her work in improving lawyer mental health, she was selected as one of York University’s Top 30 Under 30 Changemakers and one of Canadian Lawyer magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada. As a director with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, she has developed career advancement and mentorship opportunities for foreign-trained lawyers, racialized law students, women and persons with disabilities. She has shown the same dedication to diversity and inclusion in her work as vice-chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section and as a mentor for a youth program in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community. “Maneesha is a driven lawyer,” reads her nomination letter, “who has improved the lives of others by pioneering initiatives in mental health, community building and diversity representation.”