We are delighted to announce that U of T Law student Jimin Lee (2L) has received the 2025 Omatsu Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) Scholarship.
This prestigious scholarship was established in honour of Justice Maryka Omatsu, Canada’s first East Asian woman judge. During the 1980s, Justice Omatsu was a member of the National Association of Japanese Canadians’ negotiation team and helped win redress for her community for the WWII violations. In February 1993, Justice Omatsu was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice. She has presided in Toronto’s criminal courts, co-chaired the National Judge’s Association Equality and Diversity Committee, and co-edited a manual on Section 15 of the Charter. She retired from the bench in 2012. Justice Omatsu has received FACL Ontario’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and numerous other awards and honors. Justice Omatsu is one of FACL’s founders. The Omatsu FACL Scholarship is awarded to law students on the basis of leadership, community involvement and academics.
Prior to law school, Jimin earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, specializing in Criminology and Sociolegal Studies.
Jimin is actively involved in the law school community, currently serving as the Co-President of the Korean Law Students’ Association. She is also involved at Downtown Legal Services, where she represents low-income community members and students charged with criminal and university offences.
Outside of law school, Jimin volunteers with HanVoice, a North Korean human rights charity. Throughout her seven years of involvement at HanVoice, she spearheaded a lobbying initiative for HanVoice’s resettlement program and served as a Project Coordinator for a global summit on North Korean human rights.
Passionate about community organizing and workers’ rights, Jimin will be working at a union-side labour firm this coming summer.
