Associate Professor Brandon Trask. Photo by Dr. Amar Khoday.
Tenure follows promotion for Robson Hall alum Brandon Trask
Class of 2012 grad now proud to teach next generation of Manitoba lawyers
After having been promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law as of March 30, 2025, Brandon Trask officially received Tenure at the University of Manitoba as of July 1. The significance of this rite of passage for junior faculty members may be lost on most students, but it matters in the grand scheme of things to faculty members, staff, their relationship with the union and the university and, ultimately, to their students, regardless of how dull an administrative function it seems. Trask took a moment from writing a book, supervising students and raising infant twins to talk about it.
What courses do you teach?
Criminal Law and Procedure (1L mandatory course), Constitutional Law (1L mandatory course), Evidence (2L mandatory course), Mental Health and Criminal Law (2L/3L elective), Law and Disability (2L/3L elective), and I co-supervise the Robson Hall Rights Clinic, which is now a component of the Digital Externship (3L clinical option).
What is your area of research focus?
My research focuses primarily on criminal law and procedure, evidentiary issues, and rights issues, as well as areas pertaining to progressive law and economics. I am also very interested in mental health, law and disability, political economy, and institutional design and development. I strive to have a positive impact on legal and policy developments by ensuring that my research focuses on social justice, with a particular emphasis on improving the pursuit of justice and fairness within the Canadian legal system.
What was your pathway to becoming a professor here?
I am originally from Winnipeg and worked for the Government of Manitoba as a research and policy analyst in the Office of Canada-US and International Relations as a Millennium Scholar while I was an undergraduate student in the University of Manitoba’s global political economy program. After two years of undergraduate studies, I was admitted to the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba, graduating in 2012. I then completed a Master of Laws (LLM) at the University of Toronto during 2012-13 under the supervision of Professor Michael Trebilcock, specializing in the area of law and economics.
After articling with the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Prosecutions Division and receiving my first call to the Bar in 2014, I worked as a Crown Attorney in Newfoundland and Labrador and later in Nova Scotia, where I was with the Appeals and Special Prosecutions Section of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. I had also been teaching (via distance) through Memorial University of Newfoundland’s law and society program between 2015 and 2020. I started working as an assistant professor here in 2020—it was great to come home after a wonderful adventure out east!
What does receiving promotion and tenure mean to you?
In a word, security. I am thrilled to be a law professor—it’s honestly one of the best jobs in the world. I love being able to constantly learn and share opinions, contributing to student learning and adding to the public discourse about pressing issues and topics. But, due to having developed post-traumatic stress disorder from prosecuting horrific child sexual abuse cases in my role as a Crown Attorney, I ended up transitioning into a career in legal academia sooner than originally planned, so it was a bit of a shock to the system to go from having a permanent position as a Crown Attorney into having the uncertainty—and lower compensation—of a pre-tenure assistant professor position. Earning tenure and a promotion to associate professor has definitely made me feel more secure in my role here.
What does an assistant professor need to do to be considered for it?
Applying for tenure and promotion is an inherently stressful process, since there are very high stakes; if an individual’s application for tenure is ultimately denied, they end up having to leave their role within a relatively short timeframe. So applying for tenure and promotion is actually a bit like approaching a trial as a prosecutor, in the sense that the applicant has the burden of proof. Essentially, this involves setting out a compelling case through proof of: 1) high-quality teaching across different courses, 2) a planned and deliberate record of research in defined areas, typically through publications like book chapters, books, or law journal articles, with an established plan for future research, and 3) contributions in the form of service to the law school, the University of Manitoba, academia, and the community more generally.
What do promotion and tenure mean for a professor’s students, their ability to do research, and to their faculty?
When a faculty member earns tenure and promotion, that is a signal that they will hopefully be around for a long time. This allows them to build long-lasting connections with scholars in other locations and/or disciplines, as well as partnering with members of the Bar and the Bench (in addition to other community members), to improve learning opportunities and experiences for students. I’m very excited to keep developing these collaboration opportunities going forward, as they’ll be beneficial for students and will lead to stronger research outcomes as well.