Queen's Law student wins national essay prize

Photo by Juris Kornets

President and CEO of LAWPRO Kathleen Waters (right) presents a cheque for $3,000 to Julie Lowe, Law '09, the winner of the 2008 TitlePLUS Essay Contest.

Julie Lowe, Law ‘09, has won the 2008 TitlePLUS Essay Prize in a contest open to students across Canada. The prize, founded by the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO), recognizes exemplary legal scholarship in real estate law.

"It's an honour to receive this award," said Julie.

In her essay, "Fraud and the Land Titles System: Deferred Indefeasibility," written for Professor George Alexandrowicz' Land Transactions course, Julie explores theories of indefeasibility with respect to victims of title fraud. In particular, she notes the recent Lawrence case held in the Ontario Court of Appeal and analyses different interpretations of it to determine how defeasibility is applied in Ontario.

"Basically my paper was about circumstances in which there are multiple innocent parties who should have to bear the loss and who has valid title to the property," Julie said.

Julie received her prize, which included $3000 cash, during a ceremony at LAWPRO'S offices in Toronto on May 31, 2008. Kathleen Waters, President and CEO of LAWPRO and Stephen Freedman, Director Compliance Risk and Chief Privacy Officer presented the award. "Given the ongoing incidence of title fraud and the need for awareness, we thought Julie's essay was very topical," Freedman said.

"Lawrence was a hot topic in the real estate industry at the time," said Julie. "I saw the decision, came across a few comments on the case and just started researching." Julie, who holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, credits her Queen's Law education with providing her the tools she needs in order to successfully conduct her research.