Kenneth Grad

Biography

Kenneth Grad is Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law (effective July 1, 2024). His research and teaching focuses on criminal law, evidence, legal history, and human rights. He holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, M.A. in History from Queen’s University, J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School (Gold Medal), and LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

Kenneth is completing his Ph.D. at Osgoode Hall Law School. His doctoral work studies the efficacy of the criminal sanction and other regulatory measures as tools for combating hate and racist speech, with emphasis on the social and legal history surrounding the prosecutions of Holocaust deniers Ernst Zündel and James Keegstra. He has received numerous awards for his Ph.D. research, including the R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship and Peter Oliver Prize from the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, the J.S.D. Tory Research and Writing Award from Osgoode Hall Law School, the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Switzer-Cooperstock Student Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History from the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.

Kenneth taught first-year criminal law at Osgoode Hall Law School as Adjunct Professor in fall 2023. Previously, he was a Graduate Teaching Assistant for a legal ethics course at Osgoode Hall Law School and lectured on criminal law and evidence for Osgoode Professional Development. He is a frequent speaker and contributor on legal approaches to hate speech, among other topics.

Kenneth's scholarly writing has been published in several prestigious academic journals, including the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Manitoba Law Journal, Canadian Journal of Law and Technology, Canadian Jewish Studies, and Criminal Law Quarterly.

Immediately prior to commencing his doctorate, Kenneth practiced criminal law with Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP in Toronto. Prior to that, he practiced civil litigation with leading law firms in New York City. In addition, he served his articling year as a judicial law clerk to Justice Morris Fish of the Supreme Court of Canada. Kenneth has appeared and argued before all levels of court in Ontario, including several appearances in the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He is called to the bar in Ontario and New York.

Research Areas

  • criminal law
  • evidence
  • legal history
  • human rights
  • constitutional law

Selected Publications

  • “The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Bail Pending Appeal After R v Oland” (2022) 45:4 Manitoba Law Journal (peer-reviewed)

  • “A Gesture of Criminal Law: Jews and the Criminalization of Hate Speech in Canada” (2022) 59:2 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 375-427 (peer-reviewed)

  • “Civil Law Alternatives in the Fight Against Hate Speech: The Case Study of the Marcus Hyman Act” (2022) 33 Canadian Jewish Studies/Études juives canadiennes 13-50 (peer-reviewed)

  • “Harmful Speech and the COVID-19 Penumbra” (2021) 19:1 Canadian Journal of Law and Technology 1-34 (with Amanda Turnbull) (peer-reviewed)

  • “Picked the Wrong Cars: A Comment on R v Theriault, R v Khill, and the Initial Aggressor” (2020) 68:4 Criminal Law Quarterly 386-409

Awards

  • R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Legal History (2023-24)

  • Switzer-Cooperstock Student Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History (2023)

  • Avrom Silver Graduate Student Research Fund Award (2022-23)

  • SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship (2020-23)

  • Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History (2022)

  • R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Legal History, Honourable Mention (2021-22)

  • J.S.D. Tory Research and Writing Award (2010 and 2021)

  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2019–20)

  • Honourable Willard Z. Estey Teaching Fellowship in Law (2019-20)

  • York University Graduate Scholarship (2019-20)

  • The Gold Medal (highest academic standing at Osgoode Hall Law School) (2010)

  • George Graham Sinclair Memorial Prize (2010)

  • Chancellor Van Koughnet Prize (2010)

  • McCarthy Tétrault LLP Prize (2008)

  • Harry R. Rose Criminal Law Prize (2008)

  • Clifton H. Lane Memorial Prize (2008)

  • Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP Prize in Legal Process (2008)

  • Fogler, Rubinoff LLP Prize in Property Law (2008)

  • Carswell Prize (2008)