The OBA Foundation Award recognizes exceptional contributions to the improvement of the justice system through public legal education, innovative research, or other means.
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Nominations
Nominations for the Award, to be presented at the OBA Gala Awards Dinner should be submitted to the OBA Foundation and should include the following:
- name, contact information and current CV of the nominee;
- name and contact information of the nominator;
- a description of the nominee’s contributions to the improvement of the justice system through public legal education including research and other means.
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Eligibility
The OBA Foundation Award is presented to:
- a member of the Bar of Ontario who has practiced or has taught in an Ontario law school;
- an articling student or a law student enrolled in an Ontario law school;
- a member of the judiciary in Ontario; or
- an organization in Ontario.
2026 Award Recipients
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Tom Macintosh Zheng, Co-Founder of CourtReady
2026 OBA Foundation Award
Tom has made an exceptional contribution to public legal education and the improvement of the justice system by developing innovative, practical and accessible tools for self-represented litigants, as co-founder of courtready.ca. Courtready.ca offers interactive tools and a multilingual education platform providing low-cost courses in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish, thereby empowering self-represented litigants, many of whom come from marginalized communities, and promoting access to justice.