Associate, Narwal Litigation LLP
A tour de force, Rachel Barsky promotes access to justice for some of the country’s most vulnerable individuals. She is co-counsel in R. v. Tallio, currently leading efforts to vacate the conviction of Phillip Tallio, an Indigenous man who was convicted of second-degree murder at the age of 17 and remains incarcerated at 52. She has managed media relations on behalf of Tallio and drawn public attention to this important access-to-justice issue. The police said Tallio, who is intellectually impaired, confessed to raping and murdering his 22-month-old cousin after 10 hours of interrogation by police. Tallio was not given access to a lawyer. In addition to her efforts on the Tallio case, Barsky works on prison law matters for several federal inmates on a pro bono basis and is currently the principal investigator and author of a prison law reform project called “Preventing parole: the effect of innocence claims on parole eligibility” and a volunteer case reviewer with Innocence Canada.
WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY:
“Brilliant and determined.”
“Ms. Barsky deserves recognition for her outstanding work on the Tallio case. Kudos.”
“Outstanding young lawyer and inspirational for the work she’s doing with the Innocence Project; few people show this commitment to social justice.”
