![Sarah Beamish and Christine Wadsworth](/sites/default/files/2023-07/Precedent%20Setter%20Awards.png)
Sarah Beamish and Christine Wadsworth (supplied images)
Sarah Beamish and聽Christine Wadsworth receive Precedent Setter Award
Published: July 10, 2023
and , alumnae of the 狐狸视频鈥檚 Faculty of Law, have each received the .
Created by Toronto鈥檚 Precedent magazine, the award recognizes lawyers in their first 10 years of practice who have demonstrated excellence and leadership.
Beamish, who graduated in 2015 from U of T鈥檚 joint juris doctor (JD) and master of global affairs (MGA) program in the Faculty of Law and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, is the principal of Beamish Law, a wide-ranging civil-ligation practice with a special interest in advocacy, equity and justice.
Beamish, who was previously named the youngest-ever chair of Amnesty International, at the Munk School.
鈥淎s a lawyer, you have this form of knowledge and power and access that鈥檚 unlike anything else,鈥 she told Precedent. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 squander that.鈥
Wadsworth, who graduated from the JD program in 2013, is a litigation partner at McCarthy T茅trault LLP in Toronto. The magazine named her a 鈥淏ay Street superstar鈥 for her defense work in high-stakes litigation.
Wadsworth has also taught trial advocacy at U of T and co-directs her firm鈥檚 partnership with the faculty's community legal clinic and clinical legal education program, Downtown Legal Services, providing pro bono legal counsel to low-income individuals facing criminal charges.
鈥淎ccess to justice, especially in criminal-justice cases, is a continuing problem,鈥 she told Precedent. 鈥淢y first pro bono client had a number of criminal charges hanging over his head. When I successfully got them dropped, it had a powerful impact on me.鈥