Nana Efua Ahema Yanful

Nana Yanful (she/her) is a lawyer based in Tkaronto/Toronto who is deeply committed to advocating for racial justice, state accountability, and human rights in her legal and community work. With over 20 years of experience in community building, advocacy, equity, and diversity work, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her legal practice. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, Nana completed her articles at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and was called to the Bar in 2014.

Nana is the former founding Legal Director at the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC). She played a crucial role at BLAC by developing the legal clinic’s test case litigation strategy and spearheading their first interventions. These interventions included a landmark decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario regarding anti-Black racism and sentencing ( R v Morris , 2021 ONCA 680 ), a Charter challenge that supported the rights of Black sex workers , a Coroner’s Inquest that shed light on systemic anti-Black racism present in immigration detention, policing, and healthcare settings, and a police discipline appeal that paved the way for future cases to consider systemic racism when assessing the reasonableness of a police officer’s use of force.

Before joining BLAC, Nana worked as a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto. She also worked as an equity specialist, advising on and investigating human rights and health equity issues in healthcare and public health settings. Nana received the Community Service Award from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers and was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch. She was awarded the Ontario Bar Association’s President’s Award in 2021, and in 2020, Lexpert recognized her as a Rising Star: Leading Lawyers under 40.