Two graduates of the Peter A. Allard School of Law will be heading to Ottawa to clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada – one of the most competitive and sought-after positions for graduating law students.
Before beginning their appointments at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2027, Tyleigh Massey-Leclerc and Dylan Nouri will first complete a year of clerking at the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
For graduating students, clerking at any court is an unparalleled early-career opportunity. Judicial clerks gain insight into the judicial process, learn about effective advocacy, and support judges in their decision-making. Allard Law alumni often say that clerking was the highlight of their legal careers, and a Supreme Court of Canada clerkship is “the highest honour” available to Canadian law school graduates, says Allard Law professor Isabel Grant.
Massey-Leclerc and Nouri, who graduated this spring, took every opportunity to deepen their understanding of the law during their time at Allard. Both students served as research assistants and helped lead their competitive moot team to victory in 2025 at the Gale Moot.
“Dylan and Tyleigh were highly engaged with law both inside and beyond the classroom,” adds Grant. “I have no doubt that they will make important contributions to the work of the courts as clerks.”
A rare opportunity to take "a peek behind the curtain"
Massey-Leclerc was “smiling ear to ear” when she first got the call from Justice Nicholas Kasirer offering her a Supreme Court clerkship. “Thankfully, he was doing most of the talking, because I had just completely melted,” she says.
Through her clerkships, she hopes to gain a better understanding of what judges are looking for in written and oral advocacy. “That’s a skill that can take a lot of time to build,” she says.
Since high school, Massey-Leclerc has been set on working in criminal defence. “When I got to law school, I thought I’d keep an open mind. Maybe I’d want to do wills and estates?”
Once she started taking criminal law classes at Allard Law, that confirmed her plan.
“We need people working in the justice system who are cognizant of what brings someone before the court,” Massey-Leclerc says. “And it’s important that we have defence counsel who advocate not only for their client’s rights, but also for everyone’s rights.”
Once she begins her clerkship at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2027, Massey-Leclerc is particularly excited for the chance to “take a peek behind the curtain at our court of last resort” and to practice her French legalese.
“I think I’ll be continuously challenged, and there’ll be something new to learn every day,” she adds. “I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around the whole thing, and I probably won’t until I’m walking through the doors on my first day.”
A chance to support judicial decision-making
Nouri says it was “absolutely surreal” getting a call from Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal offering him a clerkship. “I don’t think my heart had ever been beating faster” than when answering the call and being offered the position.
His achievements this year include receiving a Wesbrook Scholarship – the most prestigious designation offered to UBC students with outstanding academic performance – and the Law Society of British Columbia’s 2026 gold medal, awarded to the graduating student with the highest cumulative grade point average at each B.C. law school.
Nouri credits his genuine interest in the law for his achievements and looks forward to putting his skills to work at the Supreme Court.
“I love legal research,” he says. “It’s surprisingly really enjoyable going down rabbit holes and finding the perfect case that says exactly what you wanted to say and then fitting it into an argument.” Since starting law school, Nouri has closely followed the Supreme Court’s decisions, which makes it particularly exciting to now have the opportunity to support judicial decision-making.
“I think it’s fascinating work that they do, because by the time cases get up to that level, they have a national role to play,” Nouri adds. “This is an extremely unique opportunity to be on the other side of the bench and to see how a judge thinks. They’re building the law, and that’s a massive responsibility.”
