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Jessica Chandrashekar (she/her) is a lawyer and academic whose work broadly focuses on abolition and access to justice. She obtained her Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts at the University of Toronto, and her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She completed her articles at Parkdale Community Legal Services.
Currently, Jessica works as a staff lawyer with Legal Aid Ontario’s Refugee Law Office as an immigration detention lawyer where she advocates for migrants detained throughout Ontario. In this capacity she has appeared at the Immigration and Refugee Board and Federal Court. Prior to joining the Refugee Law Office, Jessica had her own private immigration practice where she represented migrants in refugee claims, inadmissibility matters, and applications for permanent residence. As of 2024, Jessica is an incoming PhD student at Osgoode Hall Law School where she will begin doctoral work on a project tentatively titled “Abolition from Above? Migration-control, Decarceration, and ‘Alternatives to Detention.’” Through her doctoral research she will look at Canada’s immigration detention regime and the various ways the state expands penal power and carceral control as a response to human rights critique.
For nearly two decades Jessica has supported migrant serving organizations and activist efforts in a variety of capacities. She currently sits on the Canadian Council for Refugees’ Executive Committee and is a Board of Director with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians.