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Jacqueline Swaisland earned a law degree from Queen’s University and an LLM as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, Jacqueline clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal, worked at the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ontario Attorney General’s Office, and then spent 10 years practicing immigration and refugee law at an internationally recognized immigration and refugee law firm. From early 2019-2020, Jacqueline was a Member of the Immigration Division of the IRB. In this capacity, she adjudicated admissibility hearings and detention reviews. She also trained new Immigration Division members. She is currently a partner at Landings LLP where she specializes in complex cases. She has appeared before all divisions of the IRB and the Courts including multiple times before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Jacqueline is currently a course instructor and course developer for the Enforcement course for Queen’s Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law. She is also the creator and subject matter expert for the Administrative Law Module for Toronto Metropolitan University’s Law Practice Program. Prior to these roles, Jacqueline taught immigration and refugee law to upper-year law students at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Ottawa for many years. She has also been adjunct faculty at the University of Guelph. Jacqueline is co-author of two books on admissibility and the refugee determination process respectively. In 2015, Jacqueline co-founded the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program, a national pro-bono program that trains lawyers to assist groups seeking to privately sponsor refugees. The program has assisted thousands of refugees to reach Canada safely. As a result of her advocacy, she has been recognized by the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Advocates Society, Precedent Magazine, and the University of Guelph which named her a distinguished alumnus.