About | Chressa Law

Meet Christiana Essie Sagay.

Christiana Sagay is Counsel and Founder of Chressa Law, a boutique law firm advising individuals and organizations on legal issues at the intersection of people, work, and movement.

Her practice focuses on employment law, immigration and cross-border mobility, and emerging technology matters. She advises individuals on employment and workplace matters, immigration, and legal issues arising from relocation and cross-border work. She also advises organizations on workforce matters and emerging technology issues, including technology contracting and the legal implications of AI and other technologies in the workplace.

Christiana’s experience spans private practice, government, and international institutions. Earlier in her career, she practised with a national law firm in Nigeria, where her work included commercial matters, human rights, and civil litigation.

In Canada, Christiana has advised senior federal executives and project leadership on regulatory and risk matters across national infrastructure projects, including liability, indemnity, and risk-allocation mechanisms, and has developed policy options for senior decision-makers. That experience informs an approach to legal advice grounded in careful analysis, practical judgment, and an understanding of how legal arrangements operate in practice.

Christiana has also worked with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in New York, supporting legal work on questions arising under the UN Charter and the mandates of principal organs, and contributing to the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs.

Admitted to practise law in Ontario and Nigeria, Christiana brings a cross-border perspective to her work. Her practice is particularly informed by the relationship between employment, migration, technology, and the changing nature of work.

Christiana holds a B.A. in Linguistics and an LL.B. with Honours from the University of Benin and a Master of Laws from American University Washington College of Law. She is completing a Ph.D. in Law at the University of Ottawa, where her research examines cross-border labour mobility and the legal protection of workers moving between jurisdictions.

Bar admissions

10+

Peer-reviewed publications

Countries of research reach

IBA

Co-chair, global committee

Education

✓Ph.D. in Law, University of Ottawa (in progress)
✓Master of Laws, American University Washington College of Law
✓LL.B. with Honours, University of Benin
✓B.A. in Linguistics, University of Benin

Admissions & Qualifications

✓Ontario, 2022
✓Nigeria, 2016

Recognition

✓Nominated by the Nigerian Bar Association for No Straight Line: 100 Lawyers, 100 Different Journeys, 2026

Activities & Affiliations

✓Member, Ontario Bar Association
✓Member, International Bar Association
✓Member, Nigerian Bar Association
✓Member, American Society of International Law
✓Member, Canadian Council on International Law

Speaking & presentations

Presented and spoken at leading institutions worldwide.

American Society of International Law·International Bar Association·Max Planck Institute·University of Ottawa·York University·British Institute of International and Comparative Law

A note from Christiana

“The law is not a set of answers. It is a set of questions, and how you ask them determines everything.”
Christiana Essie Sagay

Beyond the practice

Service to the profession.

Christiana co-chairs the International Bar Association’s Poverty and Social Development Committee and has served as the IBA Young Lawyers’ national representative for Canada. Within the American Society of International Law, she has served as secretary of the Women in International Law Interest Group. She has judged the Jessup Moot Court’s Canadian national rounds and coached the University of Lapland’s Jessup team.

Chressa Law also offers notarial services in Ontario.

Let’s talk about you.

A conversation about your situation is the natural next step. A short note is enough to start.

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