In 1987, the year Susan Richardson ('87 BA, Political Science; '08 MA, Criminology) finished her first degree at the U of A, there were no computers or cell phones. She points this out not as a reflection on how much times have changed, but as a way to demonstrate why she feels so strongly about continuing education.
"I work in an area where the more we can understand about the human condition, the better we can do our jobs," says Richardson, who spent almost two decades as a prosecutor and has been a judge with the Provincial Court of Alberta for the last seven years. "That knowledge is always evolving. How can you remain static with your knowledge base from [the time you graduated]? It completely limits your ability to be a public servant."
This thirst for knowledge has influenced Richardson throughout her career, prompting her to take unexpected detours at points where most of her peers continued along a straight-and-narrow path.
The first such detour took place after Richardson completed her law degree at York University in 1990 and returned to Edmonton. Immediately prior to her law degree, she had studied political science at the U of A, drawn to the field by a strong interest in history and current affairs, and an influential pair of professors. Richardson recalls that both Gurston Dacks and Tom Keating impressed her with their thorough knowledge of the subject matter they taught, but also by being "completely passionate and excellent teachers."
Richardson's time at York had included working with a law professor who examined the conflict people with mental illnesses often face with the law. In part influenced by this work, Richardson opted to delay her law career and seek out a different route. She spent the next two years as the program manager at a local non-profit called the Sheltered Workshop (now the Excel Society), overseeing programs to help prepare adults living with mental illness or developmental disabilities for employment.
The experience gave Richardson first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by vulnerable populations - knowledge she would continue to draw on when she began working in the area of criminal law as a prosecutor.
Richardson's work as both a provincial and federal prosecutor throughout the 90s and early 2000s earned her wide respect amongst her colleagues for her knowledge, ability and fairness. She took on many difficult cases, including one of the longest and most complex drug trials that has ever been prosecuted in Alberta.
Despite her successful professional life, Richardson still found herself driven to pursue lingering academic interests. In 2006 she enrolled in a master's program in the Department of Sociology, focusing on criminal justice. Once again, a pair of talented professors had a deep influence on her: criminology professor Bryan Hogeveen and women's studies professor Lise Gotell, whom Richardson calls "the best teacher I've ever had in my life."
Richardson credits her graduate education with having an "almost immediate" impact on her profession. In particular, the impact it had on her writing skills is something she values to this day. "I found it had an expressive outcome in terms of how I orally argued as well," she says. "Then of course now, as a judge, that's what I do. I write decisions."
She also says that studying areas such as deviance, criminology, native studies and women's studies helped widen her perspective, giving her a theoretical basis from which to look at the bigger picture of the problems she wrestles with in court.
Richardson's dedication to continuing education hasn't gone without notice by her colleagues. Terrence Matchett, Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta, notes that he knows of "no other prosecutor who has dedicated this much time and effort to expanding their knowledge base beyond the confines of the criminal law."
He also highlights the efforts she has made to assist other judges with their continuous legal education, such as reading and summarizing every decision published by the Provincial Court on a monthly basis - an undertaking she took on voluntarily for almost five years.
Richardson is also known for her willingness to share her knowledge with young lawyers, particularly by mentoring female lawyers.
"Women's lives are complicated, and when you have a job where people are always needing things from you immediately too, it's not unlike the other parts of your life, if you have children," she says.
Richardson feels that she found a way to juggle her obligations "without a lot of drama" - often creatively, such as by taking an unpaid leave from work every summer in order to spend time with her children. Now, she wants to share that optimism with other young women. "It's important for them to see that someone else had the same struggle or difficulty and was able to come out on the other side, uncompromised."
"There is room for everyone in the practice of law," she adds. "You just have to find your place."
Susan Richardson received a BA in Political Science in 1987 and an MA in Criminology in 2008.
The University of Alberta will be recognizing the 2018 Alumni Award recipients at a ceremony on Monday, September 24. To register for this event, click here.
Know another inspiring UAlberta grad? Nominate them for a 2019 Alumni Award. Deadline is Dec 15, 2018. Visit uab.ca/AlumniAwards
"I work in an area where the more we can understand about the human condition, the better we can do our jobs," says Richardson, who spent almost two decades as a prosecutor and has been a judge with the Provincial Court of Alberta for the last seven years. "That knowledge is always evolving. How can you remain static with your knowledge base from [the time you graduated]? It completely limits your ability to be a public servant."
This thirst for knowledge has influenced Richardson throughout her career, prompting her to take unexpected detours at points where most of her peers continued along a straight-and-narrow path.
The first such detour took place after Richardson completed her law degree at York University in 1990 and returned to Edmonton. Immediately prior to her law degree, she had studied political science at the U of A, drawn to the field by a strong interest in history and current affairs, and an influential pair of professors. Richardson recalls that both Gurston Dacks and Tom Keating impressed her with their thorough knowledge of the subject matter they taught, but also by being "completely passionate and excellent teachers."
Richardson's time at York had included working with a law professor who examined the conflict people with mental illnesses often face with the law. In part influenced by this work, Richardson opted to delay her law career and seek out a different route. She spent the next two years as the program manager at a local non-profit called the Sheltered Workshop (now the Excel Society), overseeing programs to help prepare adults living with mental illness or developmental disabilities for employment.
The experience gave Richardson first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by vulnerable populations - knowledge she would continue to draw on when she began working in the area of criminal law as a prosecutor.
Richardson's work as both a provincial and federal prosecutor throughout the 90s and early 2000s earned her wide respect amongst her colleagues for her knowledge, ability and fairness. She took on many difficult cases, including one of the longest and most complex drug trials that has ever been prosecuted in Alberta.
Despite her successful professional life, Richardson still found herself driven to pursue lingering academic interests. In 2006 she enrolled in a master's program in the Department of Sociology, focusing on criminal justice. Once again, a pair of talented professors had a deep influence on her: criminology professor Bryan Hogeveen and women's studies professor Lise Gotell, whom Richardson calls "the best teacher I've ever had in my life."
Richardson credits her graduate education with having an "almost immediate" impact on her profession. In particular, the impact it had on her writing skills is something she values to this day. "I found it had an expressive outcome in terms of how I orally argued as well," she says. "Then of course now, as a judge, that's what I do. I write decisions."
She also says that studying areas such as deviance, criminology, native studies and women's studies helped widen her perspective, giving her a theoretical basis from which to look at the bigger picture of the problems she wrestles with in court.
Richardson's dedication to continuing education hasn't gone without notice by her colleagues. Terrence Matchett, Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta, notes that he knows of "no other prosecutor who has dedicated this much time and effort to expanding their knowledge base beyond the confines of the criminal law."
He also highlights the efforts she has made to assist other judges with their continuous legal education, such as reading and summarizing every decision published by the Provincial Court on a monthly basis - an undertaking she took on voluntarily for almost five years.
Richardson is also known for her willingness to share her knowledge with young lawyers, particularly by mentoring female lawyers.
"Women's lives are complicated, and when you have a job where people are always needing things from you immediately too, it's not unlike the other parts of your life, if you have children," she says.
Richardson feels that she found a way to juggle her obligations "without a lot of drama" - often creatively, such as by taking an unpaid leave from work every summer in order to spend time with her children. Now, she wants to share that optimism with other young women. "It's important for them to see that someone else had the same struggle or difficulty and was able to come out on the other side, uncompromised."
"There is room for everyone in the practice of law," she adds. "You just have to find your place."
Susan Richardson received a BA in Political Science in 1987 and an MA in Criminology in 2008.
The University of Alberta will be recognizing the 2018 Alumni Award recipients at a ceremony on Monday, September 24. To register for this event, click here.
Know another inspiring UAlberta grad? Nominate them for a 2019 Alumni Award. Deadline is Dec 15, 2018. Visit uab.ca/AlumniAwards