![Maison James Ross 07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Maison_James_Ross_07.jpg)
The Faculty of Law is one of the professional
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
s of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. It is the
oldest law school in Canada, and continually ranks among the best law schools in the world. The faculty is known for its holistic approach though highly selective and competitive process for admission. Only 180 candidates are admitted for any given academic year. For the year 2021 class, the acceptance rate was 10%. McGill Faculty of Law has consistently ranked as the top law school for
civil law, a top law school for
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
, the most number of
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
clerkships of any law school in Canada, and consistently outranks Europe, Asia, and Latin America's top civil law schools.
Notable alumni include
Prime Ministers
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
John Abbott
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party.
Abbot ...
and
Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minist ...
, thirteen
Justices
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
of the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
(Including the most recent appointments,
Mahmud Jamal
Mahmud Jamal (born 1967) is a Canadian jurist serving as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada since 2021. Jamal worked as a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and taught law at McGill University and Osgoode Hall Law School before he w ...
and
Nicholas Kasirer
Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019.
Kasirer was previously a justice with the Quebec Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2019. He is a graduate of the McGill Univer ...
), as well as numerous
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. Three members of the current
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of Minister of the Crown, ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the ...
are graduates of the Faculty:
Catherine McKenna
Catherine Mary McKenna (born August 5, 1971) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, McKenna was the minister of environment and climate change from 2015 to ...
,
David Lametti
David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and has represented L ...
, and
Marc Miller.
Academics
Bachelor of Civil Law and Juris Doctor program
The McGill Faculty of Law offers a combined
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
(BCL) and
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
(JD) program. The BCL/JD program emphasizes a transsystemic and polyjural approach that integrates common law and civil law, sometimes within a single class. More recently, the Faculty has incorporated Indigenous law into its curriculum in response to the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
's recommendations for Canadian law schools.
In 2016, the Faculty reviewed its curriculum and added Integration Week: an introductory week of group work and lectures for first-year students.
They also added two Focus Weeks—one in fall and one in winter—that allow students to take intensive one-week courses.
The duration of BCL/JD program is somewhat flexible: the program can be completed in 3, 3.5, or 4 years. Students who opt for a minor, major, or honours program generally require 4 years to complete their degree. Majors are offered in International Human Rights and Development and in Commercial Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.
The Faculty of Law, in collaboration with the
Desautels Faculty of Management
The Desautels Faculty of Management is a faculty of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The faculty offers a range of undergraduate and graduate-level business programs, including the Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Adminis ...
and the Faculty of Art's School of Social Work, offers joint programs that combine the BCL/JD program with either a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
(MBA) or a
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...
(MSW).
A joint program takes 4 to 5 years to complete.
The Faculty of Law's Admissions Office has an acceptance rate of 10.1%.
Master of Laws (LLM)
The Faculty offers four
LLM
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
programs for students: one general LLM program, and three specialized LLM programs in Air and Space Law,
Environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
, and
Bioethics
Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...
.
Except for the LLM Bioethics program, all programs have
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
and non-thesis options. The non-thesis Master's of Law option prioritizes course work and can be completed in twelve months. The thesis option prioritizes research; it can be completed in sixteen to twenty-four months.
Student in the LLM Bioethics program write a thesis.
Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)
The Faculty offers three
DCL programs in General Law, Comparative Law, and Air and Space Law. Students generally complete the DCL program in 3 to 4 years.
Graduate Certificates
The Faculty offers graduate certificates in
Comparative Law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law (legal systems) of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal "systems" (or "families") in existence in the world, including the ...
and in
Air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
and
Space Law
Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts ...
. Graduate certificates are awarded upon completing a set number of credits. Certificates are based on coursework, and no thesis is required.
History
![Elspeh Angus and Duncan McIntyre Houses, Montreal 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Elspeh_Angus_and_Duncan_McIntyre_Houses%2C_Montreal_01.jpg)
The Faculty of Law was officially created in 1853, after a petition signed by young men studying law in Montreal was made to McGill in 1848.
With the incoming class of 1969, the Faculty added a stand-alone
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
degree, suitable to the practice of law in other Canadian provinces, which could be taken individually or jointly with the traditional Civil Law curriculum. The joint degree was then referred to as the National Programme, and taught common law and civil law in separate courses, but combined their study in a year-long introductory "Foundations" course and in some upper-year seminars.
[R. Macdonald, "The National Law Program at McGill: Origins, Establishment, Prospects" Dalhousie Law Journal, 1990: 13: 211-363.] In 1951, McGill inaugurated its first post-graduate law program with the creation of its Institute of Air & Space Law. The institute was founded by John Cobb Cooper, who had served as a senior official in Pan American World Airways, and the International Air Transport Association. Canada's only United Nations organ, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is also headquartered in Montreal.
With the incoming class of 1999, the Faculty eliminated its civil, common, and national programs, and replaced them with a single program, which includes some mandatory first-year courses and some upper-year courses which integrate both common and civil law. This joint and bilingual degree, which all students must take, is now referred to as the transsystemic program.
[Morissette, Yves-Marie, "McGill's Integrated Civil and Common Law Program" J. Legal Educ., 2002: 52: 12-28.] This program underwent slight revisions during a curriculum renewal unrolled in 2016. Under the newly revised program, criminal and property law are taught differently; incoming students also undergo two "integration weeks" (one in the fall and winter).
The Transsystemic program was created under the direction of former Dean
Stephen Toope
Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations.
In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down ...
, whereby every student graduates with degrees in both
civil law and
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
. This means that, from the first year, courses now explore civil and common law concepts in close comparison. Students analyse and critically evaluate the two traditions, their histories, and their social, political, and cultural contexts.
[Strauss, Peter, "Transsystemia—Are We Approaching a New Langdellian Moment? Is McGill Leading the Way?" J. Legal Educ., 2006: 56: 161-171.] Undergraduate students may participate in international exchange programs, and in the International Courts and Tribunals Program, which in 2006 received a
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
-
AUCC Award for Excellence in Internationalization.
Since 1976, the Faculty of Law's Institute of Air and Space Law, has annually published the first and only bilingual journal in the field of air and space law, the
Annals of Air and Space Law. Other Faculty of Law bilingual publications include the
McGill Law Journal
The ''McGill Law Journal'' is a student-run legal publication at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal. It is a not-for-profit corporation independent of the Faculty and it is managed exclusively by students. The ''Journal'' also publishes t ...
and the
McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
The ''McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law'' (''MJSDL'') is a biannual peer-reviewed law journal published at the McGill University Faculty of Law and run solely by law students. The journal was established in 2005 as the ''McGill Intern ...
.
The Buildings
Old Chancellor Day Hall and New Chancellor Day Hall are the names of two joined building at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
's downtown campus that house the Faculty of Law. Old Chancellor Day Hall was designed by noted architect
Bruce Price
Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including ...
for businessman
James Ross. New Chancellor Day Hall was completed in 1967 by architecture firm Bland, Lemoyne, Edwards, and Shine. The Old and New Chancellor Day buildings are connected by an underground passage and by an atrium, which also connects to the Nahum Gelber Law Library.
Today, Old Chancellor Day Hall is used for administrative and faculty offices. New Chancellor Day Hall includes all classrooms, a moot court room, student spaces, law student services, and administrative and faculty offices.
Old Chancellor Day Hall
In 1892, Canadian civil engineer, businessman, and philanthropist James Ross hired architect Bruce Price (whose other masterworks included
Windsor Station and
Château Frontenac
The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d ...
) to design a
château-style mansion in Montreal's
Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré''
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, Neighbourhood
, image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption = ''Rave ...
, on Peel Street.
Built largely of yellow sandstone from New Brunswick, the James Ross House was one of the most expensive private homes built in Canada during the nineteenth century. The house was a social centre for the Golden Square Mile.
His son
John Kenneth Leveson Ross, a noted bon vivant and sportsman, inherited both the house and the Ross fortune.
In the 1919, J.K.L. Ross hired architects Trowbridge and Livingstone to undertake $600,000 of renovations that affected every room in the house.
The renovation included adding a private bathroom to each bedroom, covering up a skylight, and putting in windows to create a library/reading room in what is now the Common Room.
["Home Sweet Home"](_blank)
, ''Law Focus 2014'', pp 21-23 John Ross declared bankruptcy in 1928, and the James Ross House was sold at auction in 1929 for a mere $51,000. The mansion was subsequently purchased by
J.W. McConnell in 1948 as a gift to
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
.
While the university may have initially planned to use it for a student residence, the Faculty of Law officially moved into the mansion in a ceremony attended by many members of the judiciary and the Montreal Bar on 9 February 1950. At the ceremony, McGill's Chancellor,
Orville S. Tyndale, declared on behalf of the Board of Governors that the mansion would be named Chancellor Day Hall in honour of McGill's first Chancellor,
Charles Dewey Day
Charles Dewey Day, (May 6, 1806 – January 31, 1884) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada / Canada East (now Quebec). He was a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada, which governed Lower Canada after the Lower ...
. The opening ceremony was held in the students' handsomely furnished common room, a gift from
Maurice Pollack.
On 9 July 2014, Old Chancellor Day Hall closed for 14 months for renovations to upgrade the building's heating, electrical systems, plumbing, windows, and more. Thirty-four staff and faculty members were relocated to New Chancellor Day Hall and to temporary offices on McGill College Avenue.
In December 2017, representatives of the Clan Ross Association of Canada and members of the Faculty of Law unveiled a plaque commemorating James Ross. The plaque is located near the main entrance.
New Chancellor Day Hall
New Chancellor Day Hall was built in 1967 to address the Faculty of Law's growing program and increased enrolment.
A six-storey precast concrete tower designed by architectural firm Bland, Lemoyne, Edwards, and Shine was erected just west of Chancellor Day Hall and connected to it by a corridor, at the cost of $1.825 million.
This extension was named New Chancellor Day Hall and blended with the adjacent Stewart Biological Sciences Building. New Chancellor Day Hall included additional classrooms, study spaces, and a moot court. Prior to the construction of the Gelber Law Library, the top floors of New Chancellor Day Hall housed the library.
The building was inaugurated on 21 January 1967. During the bilingual ceremony, the Faculty of Law awarded seven honorary degree, including degrees to Chief Justice
Robert Taschereau
Robert Taschereau (September 10, 1896 – July 26, 1970) was a lawyer who became the 11th Chief Justice of Canada and who briefly served as the Administrator of the Government of Canada following the death of Governor General of Canada Georg ...
of Canada, Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
of the United States, and
Lord Denning
Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when ...
of Great Britain.
Following the inauguration of the Gelber Law Library in 1998, the empty floors of New Chancellor Day that had previously been used as the library were used by McGill University to house various small research units attached to different faculties.
In 2005, all student services at the Faculty of Law were consolidated on the fourth floor of New Chancellor Day Hall.
From 2008 to 2009, New Chancellor Day Hall underwent major renovations. The project overhauled the third, fifth, and sixth floors. New architectural features included adding a massive skylight above a staircase between the fifth and sixth floors, piercing windows on the sixth floor, and creating partially frosted glass partitions between offices to allow natural light inside interior offices. The third floor is devoted to student spaces – accommodating a multimedia classroom with movable walls and a seminar room. The third floor is also home to multiple student clubs, student-run law journals, and the graduate students' lounge. The fifth and sixth floors feature a conference room, and house some of the Faculty's research units, as well as offices for professors, staff, graduate students, and visiting scholars.
Nahum Gelber Law Library
The Nahum Gelber Law Library is one of the 13 branches of the
McGill University Library
McGill University Library is the library system of McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada. It comprises 13 branch libraries, located on the downtown Montreal and Macdonald campuses, holding over 11.78 million items. It is the fourth-la ...
and houses over 220 000 volumes of statutes, regulations, law reports, treatises, books, journals and other legal material. Designed by
Dan Hanganu
Dan Sergiu Hanganu, (January 27, 1939 – October 5, 2017) was a Romanian-born Canadian architect. Based in Montreal, Quebec, he designed a number of prominent Quebec buildings, including the new wing of the Pointe-à -Callière Museum, the HEC Mo ...
, the Nahum Gelber Law Library was inaugurated September 1998.
The building was designed to link to New and Old Chancellor Day Halls via a two-level atrium for socializing and studying.
The Gelber Library is home to the Wainwright Collection, which was established in 1958 with the acquisition of several hundred volumes dedicated to the history of French law. The collection is primarily composed of early French jurists on general civil law before the Codification of 1804 and was the personal library of French legal historian François Olivier-Martin. Over the years, the Wainwright fund has allowed the Library to expand the collection beyond the classic vision of civil law, centred on France, to reflect the global influence of civil law across languages and continents. Today, the collection consists of 800 works comprising 1200 volumes and is conserved in controlled atmospheric conditions in the Peter M. Laing Room, located on the second floor of the Gelber Law Library.
Reputation
Graduates of the Faculty consistently account for one quarter of Canada's Supreme Court clerkships, more than any law school in Canada. One of the small number of elite law schools internationally that may submit International Court of Justice (ICJ) clerkship applications, it also consistently places graduates at the ICJ, and has a better placement record than any other Canadian law school.
Its flagship law review, the ''
McGill Law Journal
The ''McGill Law Journal'' is a student-run legal publication at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal. It is a not-for-profit corporation independent of the Faculty and it is managed exclusively by students. The ''Journal'' also publishes t ...
'', is the most cited law faculty review by Canada's Supreme Court, and was ranked the best overall student-run law journal in the world outside of the United States. It also publishes the ''
Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation
The ''Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation'' (''McGill Guide'' or ''Red Book''; french: Manuel canadien de la référence juridique) is a legal citation guide in Canada. It is published by the ''McGill Law Journal'' of the McGill University ...
'', the standard reference work for almost all Canadian law reviews, Canadian law schools, and courts.
The McGill University Faculty of Law has consistently placed as the top ranking law school in Canada and has the highest acceptance requirements. The alumni from McGill University's law school consist of a diverse group of distinguished leaders on a global scale. It has historically placed in the top ~20 law schools globally on multiple ranking systems.
It was recently ranked the 22nd best law school worldwide in the 2019 QS World Ranking.
It was ranked the 16th best law school in the world in the 2021 Times Higher Education World Rankings, marking consistent showings for McGill in the top 20 worldwide in the ranking. For the 2023 ranking, the
Times Higher Education
''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education.
Ownership
TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
ranked the Faculty the 17th best law school in the world.
Controversies
In 2018, the Faculty, along with the McGill Office for Students with Disabilities, were sued by a blind law student who alleged that he was systematically denied access to accommodation measures. His lawsuit was covered by local and national media outlets.
Notable people
Current faculty members
*
Adelle Blackett, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development, former member of the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
.
*
Allison Christians, holder of the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law.
*
François Crépeau, former director of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, holder of the Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, and former
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants.
*
Armand de Mestral,
Jean Monnet Chair
The Jean Monnet Programme, also known as the Jean Monnet Project or Jean Monnet Actions, is a European Union initiative to encourage teaching, research and reflection in the field of European integration studies in higher education institutions. I ...
in the Law of International Economic Integration.
*
Robert Leckey, dean and holder of the Samuel Gale Chair.
*
Marc Gold
Marc Gold (born June 30, 1950) is Canadian law professor and politician who has served as Representative of the Government in the Senate
The representative of the Government in the Senate (french: représentant du gouvernement au Sénat) is ...
distinguished law professor and politician
*
Stephen Allan Scott, professor emeritus and leading scholar on the Canadian Constitution.
*
Stephen A. Smith
Stephen Anthony Smith (born ) is an American sports television personality, sports radio host, and sports journalist. He is a commentator on ESPN's ''First Take'', where he appears with Molly Qerim. He also makes frequent appearances as an N ...
, scholar of contractual and remedial law.
*
Colleen Sheppard, professor and expert in human rights and discrimination
*
Daniel Weinstock
Daniel Weinstock is a full professor at the Faculty of Law of McGill University. He holds a DPhil in philosophy (Oxford), an MA in political philosophy, and a BA in French literature and political philosophy (McGill). Daniel Weinstock studied wit ...
, holder of the Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy
*
Peer Zumbansen, Business law professor, co-founder of the ''
German Law Journal
The ''German Law Journal'' is a peer-reviewed, online-only open access law journal reporting on the developments in German, European and international jurisprudence. It is published by Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Publication of th ...
''
Past faculty members
*
Payam Akhavan
Payam Akhavan (Persian: پیام اخوان) is an Iranian-born lawyer. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He is a senior fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto and is a visiting adjunct at the ...
, former UN prosecutor at The Hague.
*
F.H. Buckley (LLB 1974), Foundation Professor at
George Mason University School of Law
The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and ...
*
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, OQ (born May 8, 1940) is a retired Canadian politician who was Member of Parliament for Mount Royal from 1999 to 2015. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal gov ...
(BCL 1961, LLD 2019), human rights lawyer, former
MP for
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
and former
Canadian Minister of Justice
*
Julius Grey
Julius H. Grey (born 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and university professor. He is particularly known for his expertise in constitutional and human rights law. He is a senior partner at the law firm Grey Casgrain, s.e.n.c.
Born in Wrocław, Poland, ...
(BCL 1971), Quebec human rights lawyer
*
Ralph Simmonds Justice of the
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...
*
Joseph Cohen, Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...
for
Montréal–Saint-Laurent
Montréal–Saint-Laurent was a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of the province of Quebec, Canada.
It was created for the 1912 election from parts of Montréal division no. 4 and Montréal division no. 6 electoral district ...
*
John Cobb Cooper
John Cobb Cooper Jr. (September 18, 1887 – July 22, 1967) was an American lawyer, airline executive and presidential advisor.
After graduating from Princeton University, he joined the Florida Bar and later the U.S. Navy. Post World War I, he be ...
(LLD 1952), founded the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in 1951
*
Paul-André Crépeau
Paul-André Crépeau, (May 20, 1926 – July 6, 2011) was a Canadian legal academic who led the reforms of the Civil Code of Quebec and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, he studied philosop ...
, responsible for drafting the new
Civil Code of Quebec
The ''Civil Code of Quebec'' (CCQ, french: Code civil du Québec) is the civil code in force in the Canadian province of Quebec, which came into effect on January 1, 1994. It replaced the ''Civil Code of Lower Canada'' (french: Code civil du Bas- ...
*
Herbert Marx, Canadian lawyer, university law professor, politician, and judge
*
James Mallory – for many years Canada's leading constitutional scholar
*
Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion
Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion, (November 23, 1843 – July 18, 1899) was a Canadian lawyer, professor, and politician.
Born in Varennes, Canada East, the son of Félix Geoffrion and Catherine Brodeur, he was the brother of Félix Geoffri ...
, Canadian lawyer, professor, and Canadian cabinet member
*
Charles Joseph Doherty (BCL 1876, Hon. LLD 1913) – Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 1911–1921
*
H. Patrick Glenn
H. Patrick Glenn (1940–2014) was the Peter M. Laing Professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University. He specialized in comparative law, private international law, and civil procedure.
Biography
Glenn was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada ...
, comparative legal scholar and author of "Legal Traditions of the World".
*
Patrick Healy (BCL 1981), judge at the
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
.
*
John Peters Humphrey
John Peters Humphrey (April 30, 1905 – March 14, 1995) was a Canadian legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate. He is most famous as the principal author of the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Childhood, ...
(BCL 1929, LLB 1976), founding Director of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Human Rights division and principal drafter of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
*
Daniel Jutras, former Dean of McGill Law and current Recteur of
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
*
Marianne Scott, first woman to be appointed as
National Librarian of Canada
*
David Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...
(LLD 2000), fourteenth Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, and former
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
*
Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold t ...
, Canadian lawyer, physician, 24th premier of Quebec
*
Nicholas Kasirer
Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019.
Kasirer was previously a justice with the Quebec Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2019. He is a graduate of the McGill Univer ...
(BCL 1985, LLB 1985), scholar of civil law, comparative law, and law and language, Dean of the faculty 2004–2009,
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
judge
*
Donald James Johnston
Donald James Johnston, (June 26, 1936 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian lawyer, writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-Euro ...
(BCL 1958, LLD 2003), 4th Secretary General of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Attorney General of Canada from 1984 to 1988.
*
David Lametti
David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and has represented L ...
(BCL 1989, LLB 1989), MP for
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun is a federal electoral district in Montreal, Quebec. It was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call o ...
,
Canadian Minister of Justice, and former
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of International Trade
*
Richard Lehun (BCL/LLB 2005, DCL 2007) German-Canadian inter-disciplinary visual artist, professor of fiduciary law and justice theory
*
W. C. J. Meredith, special
federal prosecutor
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
at the trial of
Fred Rose, for whom th
Meredith Memorial Lecturesare named
*
Roderick A. Macdonald
Roderick Alexander Macdonald (1948–2014) was a Canadian legal scholar. He was the 111th president of the Royal Society of Canada between 2009 and 2011.
Biography
Macdonald was born in Ontario on 6 August 1948. He was educated at York Universi ...
, Dean of the faculty (1984-1989) influential law reformer, scholar, teacher, mentor and Founding President of the
Law Commission of Canada
The Law Commission of Canada was an independent law commission that gave advice to the Canadian government on matters of law. The body was created in 1971 as the Law Reform Commission of Canada and was disbanded in 1992. The body was reestablished ...
Yves-Marie Morissette civil and comparative law scholar,
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
judge.
*
Margaret Somerville
Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville (born 13 April 1942) is Professor of Bioethics at University of Notre Dame Australia. She was previously Samuel Gale Professor of Law at McGill University.
Somerville was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and ...
, ethicist and former Samuel Gale Professor of Law.
*
William Tetley
William Tetley (February 10, 1927 – July 1, 2014) was a lawyer and professor of law at McGill University in Montreal, the visiting professor of Maritime and Commercial Law at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a former member o ...
, maritime law scholar,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
MNA for
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...
and
Cabinet Minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
.
*
Michael Trebilcock
Michael J. Trebilcock (born 1941) is a New Zealand-born, Canadian-based law academic. He is currently distinguished university professor and professor of law at the University of Toronto, specializing in law and economics.
Early life
Trebilcock at ...
legal scholar in economics
*
Stephen Toope
Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations.
In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down ...
(BCL 1983, LLB 1983, LLD 2017), international law scholar,
vice-chancellor of Cambridge University and former President of the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
.
*
Orville Sievwright Tyndale Orville Sievwright Tyndale (4 June 1887 – 29 October 1952) was a Canadian judge and Chancellor of McGill University.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Tyndale was educated at Montreal High School, the Feller Institute, McGill University, and the Univer ...
, Canadian judge and Chancellor of McGill University
*
Robert Stanley Weir
Robert Stanley Weir (November 15, 1856 – August 20, 1926) was a Montreal, Quebec judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to "O Canada", the national anthem of Canada. He was educated as a teacher and lawyer and consider ...
(BCL 1880, DCL 1897),
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
judge, considered one of the leading experts of the day on Quebec's
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
civil law
Alumni
Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada
*
Douglas Abbott
Douglas Charles Abbott, (May 29, 1899 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian Member of Parliament, federal Cabinet Minister, and justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Abbott's appointment directly from the Cabinet of Canada as Finance Minister to ...
(BCL 1918),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1954, previously Minister of National Defence and Minister of Finance
*
Louis-Philippe de Grandpré (BCL 1938),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1974, formerly president of the Canadian Bar Association
*
Marie Deschamps
Marie Deschamps, CC (born October 2, 1952) is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She retired from the court on August 7, 2012. In September 2019, Deschamps was appointed as a member of the National Security and Intelligence R ...
(LLM 1983),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2002, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal
*
Morris Fish
Morris Jacob Fish, (born November 16, 1938) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada from 2003 to 2013.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Aaron S. Fish and Zlata Grober, he received a Bachelor of Arts (with distinction) in 1959 and a Bachelo ...
(BCL 1962),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2003, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal
*
Clément Gascon
Clément Gascon (born September 5, 1960) is a Canadian jurist, who was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on June 3, 2014, and officially appointed the Court on June 9, 2014. He officially retired from the ...
(BCL 1981),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2014, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal
*
Désiré Girouard (BCL 1860),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1895, previously member of Parliament
*
Charles D. Gonthier (BCL 1951),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1989, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal
*
Mahmud Jamal
Mahmud Jamal (born 1967) is a Canadian jurist serving as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada since 2021. Jamal worked as a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and taught law at McGill University and Osgoode Hall Law School before he w ...
(BCL’93, LLB’93),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2021, previously a Judge on the Court of Appeal for Ontario
*
Nicholas Kasirer
Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019.
Kasirer was previously a justice with the Quebec Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2019. He is a graduate of the McGill Univer ...
(BCL 1985, LLB 1985),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2019, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal
*
Gerald Le Dain
Gerald Eric Le Dain, (November 27, 1924 – December 18, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer and judge, who sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1984 to 1988.
Life and education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Eric George Bryant Le Dain and ...
(BCL 1949),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1984, previously a Judge on the Federal Court of Appeal
*
Sheilah L. Martin
Sheilah L. Martin is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, having served in that role since December 18, 2017. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29, 2017. Before her appointment to Canada's ...
(BCL 1981, LLB 1981),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 2017, previously judge of the
Court of Appeal of Alberta
The Court of Appeal of Alberta (frequently referred to as Alberta Court of Appeal or ABCA) is a Canadian appellate court.
Jurisdiction and hierarchy within Canadian courts
The court is the highest in Alberta, Canada. It hears appeals from the A ...
*
Pierre-Basile Mignault
Pierre-Basile Mignault (September 30, 1854 – October 15, 1945) was a Canadian lawyer and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Pierre-Basile Mignault and Catherine O'Callaghan, he recei ...
(BCL 1878),
puisne justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1918, previously President of the Bar of Montreal
*
Thibaudeau Rinfret
Thibaudeau Rinfret (June 22, 1879 – July 25, 1962) was a Canadian jurist and the ninth Chief Justice of Canada and Administrator of Canada in 1952.
Early life
Rinfret was born in Montreal in 1879, the son of François-Olivier Rinfret and ...
(BCL 1900),
Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
– appointed to the Court in 1924, previously a Judge on the Superior Court of Quebec
Jurists and legal professionals
*
Jean-Louis Baudouin The Honourable Jean-Louis Baudouin (born August 8, 1938) is a lawyer and professor of law. He was judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec between 1989 and 2008.
Born in Paris, France, Baudouin obtained his BCL in 1958 at the McGill University Facul ...
(BCL 1958, LLD 2007)
*
Akintola Olufemi Eyiwunmi (LLM 1964), justice for the
Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...
*
Morag Wise, Lady Wise (LLM 1994) - Senator of the
College of Justice
The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.
The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...
, a judge of Scotland's Supreme Court.
*
Harry Batshaw
Harry Batshaw (14 October 1902 – 1984) was a Canadian lawyer and a justice of the Quebec Superior Court. Justice Batshaw was the first Jew to be appointed to a superior court in Canada.
Born in 1902 at DubroÅna, Mogilev Governorate, Ru ...
(BCL 1924), justice for the
Quebec Superior Court
The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
*
Alanna Devine (BCL/LLB 2006), former director of
Animal Advocacy at the Montreal branch of the Canadian
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...
*
John Gomery
John Howard Gomery (August 9, 1932 – May 18, 2021) was a Canadian jurist from Quebec. He was a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court from 1982–2007, and appointed Commissioner for the Royal Commission investigating the Sponsorship scandal in ...
(BCL 1956), former judge of the
Quebec Superior Court
The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
.
*
Benjamin J. Greenberg (BA’54, BCL’57), judge for the
Quebec Superior Court
The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
*
R. A. E. Greenshields (BCL 1885), Chief Justice of the
Superior Court of Quebec
The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
; Dean of the McGill University Faculty of Law, and 9th Chancellor of
Bishop's University
Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
*
Julius Grey
Julius H. Grey (born 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and university professor. He is particularly known for his expertise in constitutional and human rights law. He is a senior partner at the law firm Grey Casgrain, s.e.n.c.
Born in Wrocław, Poland, ...
(BCL 1971), Quebec human rights lawyer
*
Michelle Hanlon
Michelle Lea Desyin Slawecki Hanlon (born August 8, 1965) is an American space lawyer and space law professor. She is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of For All Moonkind, president of the National Space Society, co-director ...
(LLM 2017), founder and president of
For All Moonkind, president of the
National Space Society
The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Combi ...
, co-director of the
Center for Air and Space Law at the
University of Mississippi School of Law
The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law offers the only dedicated aerospace law curr ...
*
Chile Eboe-Osuji
Chile Eboe-Osuji (born 2 September 1962) is a Distinguished International Jurist at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and a Special Advisor to the President's Office at Toronto Metropolitan University. In his role at the Lincoln Alexander Schoo ...
(LLM 1991), Nigerian judge of the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
,
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
and former President of the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
*
Alison Harvison-Young (BCL 1983, LLB 1983), family law expert and judge of the
Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...
, former Dean of
Queen's University Faculty of Law
The Queen's University Faculty of Law is a professional faculty of Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. According to the 2013 Maclean's Magazine Law School Rankings, Queen’s is tied for third among law schools in Canada. ...
*
James K. Hugessen
James Cornelius Knatchbull-Hugessen (born July 26, 1933), known professionally as James K. Hugessen, is a judge currently serving on the Federal Court of Canada. He is the son of the senator Adrian Knatchbull-Hugessen.
Born in Montreal in 1933 ...
(BCL 1957) judge currently serving on the
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. ...
*
Mahmud Jamal
Mahmud Jamal (born 1967) is a Canadian jurist serving as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada since 2021. Jamal worked as a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and taught law at McGill University and Osgoode Hall Law School before he w ...
(BCL/LLB 1993), former judge on the
Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...
; now a judge of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
*
Glenn Joyal Glenn D. Joyal is a Canadian judge, who has been the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba since his appointment on February 4, 2011. He replaced Marc M. Monnin, upon his elevation to the Court of Appeal of Manitoba.
Joyal pursued ...
(BCL 1986), Chief Justice of the
Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba
The Court of King's Bench of Manitoba (french: Cour du Banc du Roi du Manitoba)—or the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, depending on the monarch—is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba.
The court is divided into tw ...
*
Richard Lehun (BCL/LLB 2005, DCL 2007) German-Canadian inter-disciplinary visual artist, professor of fiduciary law and justice theory
*
Allan Lutfy (BCL 1968) Justice and former Chief Justice of the
Federal Court of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
*
Edward Stuart McDougall, judge on the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...
.
*
Siobhán Phelan (LLM 1994), judge of the
High Court of Ireland
The High Court ( ga, An Ard-Chúirt) of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and sits with judg ...
*
Brian Slattery
Brian Slattery, B.A., BCL, D.Phil., F.R.S.C., is a Professor Emeritus of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a prominent academic in Canadian Constitutional Law and Aboriginal rights discourse. He ...
(BCL 1968), Professor Emeritus of Law at
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...
, prominent academic in Canadian Constitutional Law and Aboriginal rights discourse
*
George Springate
George Philip Gregory Springate (May 12, 1938 – November 20, 2019) was a Canadian police officer, lawyer, politician, professional football player, professor, and citizenship judge.
Life and career
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Walte ...
, former CFL player for the Grey-cup winning
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
, politician, and
Citizenship Judge
The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The overall mandate of the Commission is to assess referred applications to ensure they meet the residence or physical-presence ...
*
Max M. Teitelbaum (BCL 1957), puisne justice of the Federal Court of Canada.
*
Rıza Türmen (LLM 1980) – former judge of the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
, former Member of the
Turkish Parliament
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
and Turkish Ambassador to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
*
Richard Warman
Richard Warman is an Ottawa-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) from July 2002 until March 2004. He is best known as the primary instigator of actions related to Internet ...
(LLM 2004), renowned Canadian human rights lawyer
*
Ashfaq Khalfan (BCL/LLB 2002), international jurist in human rights law, Director of the Law and Policy Programme at
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, and Chair of the Board of Governors of the
Centre for International Sustainable Development Law
The Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) is an international legal research center that promotes sustainable societies and the protection of ecosystems.
The CISDL is led by a Board of Governors and guided by a roster ...
Political figures
*
John Abbott
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party.
Abbot ...
(BCL 1854), 3rd
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
.
*
Warren Allmand (BCL 1952) – served variously as Solicitor General, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs between 1972 and 1979.
*
Will Amos
William Amos (born December 4, 1974) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Pontiac, Quebec from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, he was first elected in the 2015 federal e ...
(BCL/LLB 2004),
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, MP for the
riding of
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
.
*
W. David Angus (BCL 1962), former
Canadian senator
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...
*
Laetitia Avia
Laetitia Avia (born 29 October 1985) is a French lawyer and politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as the member of the National Assembly for the 8th constituency of Paris from 2017 to 2022, representing a constituency coveri ...
(LLM 2013), French lawyer and politician of
La République En Marche!
Renaissance (RE), previously known as La République En Marche ! (frequently abbreviated LREM, LaREM or REM; translated as "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward"), or sometimes called simply En Marche ! () as its original name, is a l ...
(LREM) who served as the member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
for the 8th constituency of Paris from 2017 to 2022
*
Rachel Bendayan (BA’02, BCL/LLB’06) – Member of Parliament for Outremont
*
Peng Ming-min
Peng Ming-min (; 15 August 19238 April 2022) was a noted democracy activist, advocate of Taiwan independence, and politician. Arrested for sedition in 1964 for printing a manifesto advocating democracy in his native Taiwan, he escaped to Sweden ...
(LLM 1953) – prominent Taiwanese democracy and independence activist
*
Albert Joseph Brown (BCL 1886) – Senator for Wellington, 1932–1938
*
Barry Campbell
Barry R. Campbell (born June 15, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, lobbyist and former politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1997 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Life and career
Campbell was born in Montrea ...
(BCL 1971) – lawyer, lobbyist and former politician
*
Leo Kolber
Ernest Leo Kolber, (January 18, 1929 – January 9, 2020) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and Senator, serving from 1983 to 2004.
Early life and career
Kolber was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Luba (Kahan) and Moses Kolber, ...
(BCL 1952) – Canadian businessman, philanthropist and Senator, serving from 1983 to 2004
*
Jérôme Choquette
Jérôme Choquette (; January 25, 1928 – September 1, 2017) was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. Choquette ran a private law practice, representing various claimants in a wide range of cases from his office on ''Avenue du Parc'', down ...
(BCL 1946) – prominent lawyer and Quebec politician
*
Michal Cotler-Wunsh (LLM 2006) – Israeli politician, member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, ×”Ö·×›Ö°Ö¼× Ö¶×¡Ö¶×ª ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
for the
Blue and White alliance
*
George Washington Stephens (BCL 1863) – Canadian businessman, lawyer, and politician
*
Maurice Alexander (BA 1908; BCL 1910) – Liberal Member of the House of Commons in the British Parliament for Southwark South East, UK
*
Brooke Claxton
Brian Brooke Claxton (23 August 1898 – 13 June 1960) was a Canadian veteran of World War I, federal Minister of National Health and Welfare and Minister of National Defence.
Early life
He was born in Montreal and received his early ed ...
(BCL 1946) – Minister of Health, 1943–1946; Minister of National Defence, 1946–1954.
*
John Joseph Curran
John Joseph Curran, (February 22, 1842 – October 1, 1909) was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He was the country's first Solicitor General between December 5, 1892 and October 17, 1895 and a member of the Conservative Party between Febr ...
(LLB 1862) – first Solicitor General of Canada.
*
Henry Joseph Cloran (BCL 1883) – Senator for Victoria, Quebec, 1903–1928
*
Samuel William Jacobs (BCL 1893) – Canadian lawyer, Member of Parliament and a leader of the Canadian Jewish community
*
Thomas D'Arcy McGee
Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and w ...
(BCL 1861), Member of Parliament, Minister of agriculture, immigration and statistics, and Father of
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...
.
*
Charles Dewey Day
Charles Dewey Day, (May 6, 1806 – January 31, 1884) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada / Canada East (now Quebec). He was a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada, which governed Lower Canada after the Lower ...
Chancellor of McGill University 1864–1884, political figure in
Canada East
Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...
.
*
Charles Drury
Brigadier-General Charles Mills "Bud" Drury, (17 May 1912 – 12 January 1991) was a Canadian military officer, lawyer, civil servant, businessman and politician.[Ken Dryden
Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...]
(LLB 1973),
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
,
MP for
York Centre
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
, and
Hockey Hall of Fame
, logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg
, logo_upright = 0.5
, image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg
, caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992
, map_type =
, former_name =
, established = 1943
, location = 30 Y ...
member, six-time Stanley Cup Winner
*
Brian Gallant (LLM 2011), former
Premier of New Brunswick
The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
The ...
.
*
Yoine Goldstein
Yoine J. Goldstein (May 11, 1934 – March 18, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer, academic, and former Senator.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, his education includes a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1955, a Bachelor of Civil Law (with honours) ...
(BCL 1958), former
Canadian senator
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...
.
*
Harry Blank
Harry Blank (born May 24, 1925) is a Canadian politician from Quebec and a seven-term member of the National Assembly of Quebec.
Early background
Blank is Jewish. He was born on May 24, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec and was the son of Udel Blank and ...
(BCL 1950) – Attorney, Liberal politician, and seven-term member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
*
Stanley Hartt (BCL 1963), lawyer, businessman and chief of staff to Canadian Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
*
Arnold Heeney
Arnold Danford Patrick Heeney, (April 5, 1902 – December 20, 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and civil servant.
He was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was educated at St. John's College, Winnipeg and received a Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(BCL 1927) – ambassador to the United States and NATO.
*
Christopher Benfield Carter (BCL 1866) – Quebec lawyer and politician
*
George Carlyle Marler
George Carlyle Marler, (September 14, 1901 – April 10, 1981) was a politician, notary and philatelist in Quebec, Canada.
Education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marler studied at Selwyn House School, Bishop's College School, Royal Naval Col ...
(BCL 1922) – Quebec politician, notary and philatelist
*
Véronique Hivon
Véronique Hivon (born 1970) is a Canadians, Canadian politician in the province of Quebec. Hivon was elected to represent the riding of Joliette (provincial electoral district), Joliette in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2014 Quebec ge ...
(BCL 1994, LLB 1994), member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
for
Joliette
Joliette is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of Greate ...
.
*
Balarama Holness
Balarama Holness (born July 20, 1983), also known as Steven Holness, is a politician and former Canadian football safety. He was originally signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He won a Grey Cup Championship wi ...
(JD/BCL 2021), rights activist, former
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) player, candidate for mayor in the 2021 Montreal municipal elections
*
Anthony Housefather
Anthony Housefather (born January 25, 1973) is a Canadian Member of Parliament representing the riding of Mount Royal on the island of Montreal. From 2015 to 2019, Housefather served as the Chair of the Justice and Human Rights Committee. Foll ...
(BCL 1993, LLB 1993),
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, MP for the
riding of
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
.
*
John Peters Humphrey
John Peters Humphrey (April 30, 1905 – March 14, 1995) was a Canadian legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate. He is most famous as the principal author of the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Childhood, ...
(BCom’25, BA’27, BCL’29, PhD’45, LLD’76), first director of the UN's Human Rights Division, principal author of the first draft of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
.
*
George Gordon Hyde
George Gordon Hyde, (January 24, 1883 – July 20, 1946) was a Canadian politician, and a prominent lawyer in the city of Montreal.
Born in Montreal, Quebec on January 24, 1883, he was educated at the High School of Montreal and McGill Uni ...
(BCL 1908), prominent lawyer and Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...
for
Westmount–Saint-Georges
Westmount–Saint-Georges was a former provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada. It elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.
It was created for the 1939 election from Westmount electoral district. It ...
*
Samuel William Jacobs (BCL 1893) – Member of Parliament for George-Étienne Cartier, Quebec.
*
Kurt Jaeger (LLM 1989) – current Ambassador of
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
to the United States
*
Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain
Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, (September 8, 1924 – March 24, 2016) was a Quebec lawyer, judge and politician. She was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, the first woman appointed a Cabinet minister in Quebec, t ...
(BCL’50, LLD’97), first woman to become a member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
, lawyer and judge.
*
Adrian Knatchbull-Hugessen
Adrian Norton Knatchbull-Hugessen, (5 July 1891 – 30 March 1976) was a Canadian lawyer and senator.
Knatchbull-Hugessen was born in Ashford, Kent, England on 5 July 1891, the son of Edward Hugessen Knatchbull-Hugessen, 1st Baron Brabo ...
(BCL 1914), Canadian lawyer and senator
*
Rodolphe Laflamme
Toussaint-Antoine-Rodolphe Laflamme, (15 May 1827 – 7 December 1893), was a French-Canadian lawyer, professor of law and politician. He received a BCL in 1856 and an honorary DCL in 1873, both from McGill University. He was a partner in a ...
(BCL 1856, DCL 1873), 5th
Attorney General of Canada
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
*
Michael Pitfield
Peter Michael Pitfield (June 18, 1937 – October 19, 2017) was a Canadian Senator and senior civil servant.
Pitfield was the youngest son of the Canadian financier Ward C. Pitfield and Grace MacDougall Pitfield, daughter of Canadian ice hockey ...
(BCL 1958), former Canadian Senator and senior civil servant
*
David Lametti
David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and has represented L ...
(BCL 1989, LLB 1989),
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, MP for the
riding of
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun is a federal electoral district in Montreal, Quebec. It was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call o ...
,
Canadian Minister of Justice, and former
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of International Trade.
*
Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minist ...
(BCL 1866), 7th
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
.
*
Joël Lightbound
Joël Lightbound (born February 8, 1988) is a Canadian politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Louis-Hébert. A member of the Liberal Party, he was first elected following the 2015 federal election.
Background
In 2008, Lightb ...
(BCL/LLB 2011),
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, MP for the
riding of
Louis-Hébert Louis-Hébert could refer to:
* Louis-Hébert (provincial electoral district)
*Louis-Hébert (federal electoral district)
Louis-Hébert () is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Represented in the House of Commo ...
.
*
Hillel Neuer
Hillel C. Neuer (born 1969/1970) is a Canadian-born international lawyer, writer, and the executive director of UN Watch, a human rights NGO and UN watchdog group based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Neuer is the founding chairman of Geneva Summit fo ...
(BCL 1997, LLB 1997), international lawyer, writer, and executive director of
UN Watch
UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of United Nations Charter, its own Charter". It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Statu ...
.
*
Peter Samuel George Mackenzie
Peter Samuel George Mackenzie (19 December 1862 – 1 November 1914) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.
Born at Cumberland House, in the Hudson's Bay Company territories, Mackenzie was the son of Jane and Roderick Mackenzie. His father, a co ...
(BCL 1883) – Liberal Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...
for
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
*
Alan Macnaughton
Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton, (July 30, 1903 – July 16, 1999) was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1963 to 1966.
Macnaughton was born in Greater Napanee, Ontario, and educated at Upper Canada C ...
(BCL 1927) – former Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Commons.
*
Joni Madraiwiwi
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Lord Madraiwiwi Tangatatonga (10 November 1957 – 29 September 2016) was a prominent Fijian lawyer, legal scholar, jurist, and politician. He served as vice-president, and also acting president, of Fiji, and Chief Justi ...
(LLM 1989) – former acting president and vice-president of the
Republic of Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
Republic of Nauru
Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kir ...
*
Marcel Massé
Marcel Massé (born June 23, 1940) is a Canadian politician and civil servant.
Biography
Massé was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1940 and graduated from McGill University and Pembroke College, Oxford (as Rhodes Scholar in 1963). He served ...
(BCL 1961) – Canadian politician, civil servant and
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
*
Catherine McKenna
Catherine Mary McKenna (born August 5, 1971) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, McKenna was the minister of environment and climate change from 2015 to ...
(LLB 1999),
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician, MP for the
riding of
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...
, and
Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (french: Ministre de l’Infrastructure et des Collectivités) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the development of Canada's infrastructure. Infrastructure ...
.
*
Marc Miller (BCL/LLB 2001) Lawyer and MP for the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
current Canadian
Minister of Indigenous Services
The minister of Indigenous services (french: ministre des services aux autochtones) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet. The minister is Responsible government, responsible for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), ...
.
*
Walter George Mitchell
Walter George Mitchell, (May 30, 1877 – April 3, 1935) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.
Early life
Born in Danby, Quebec, the son of William Mitchell, a Canadian senator, and Dora Godard, Mitchell was educated at the Montreal Hig ...
(BCL 1901) Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...
for
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
*
Elizabeth Monk (BCL 1923) Canadian lawyer and Montreal city councillor, one of the first two women admitted to the Quebec Bar
*
Frederick Debartzch Monk
Frederick Debartzch Monk, (April 6, 1856 – May 15, 1914) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Monk was the son of The Hon. Mr Justice Samuel Cornwallis Monk (1814–1888) and Rosalie Caroline Debartzch (1819– ...
(BCL 1877) – Minister of Public Works, 1911–1912
*
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
(BCL 1976, LLB 1977), former leader of the
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National ...
of the Official Opposition, MP for
Outremont
Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...
, former
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
MNA for
Chomedy and
Minister of
Environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
.
*
Joe Oliver (BCL 1964), former MP for
Eglinton—Lawrence
Eglinton—Lawrence is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979.
It covers a portion of Toronto northwest of downtown. It stretches from Yonge Street in the ea ...
,
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
and
Minister of Natural Resources
The minister of natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government's natural resources portfolio ...
.
*
Narcisse Pérodeau
Narcisse Pérodeau (March 26, 1851 – November 18, 1932) was a lawyer, financier, politician, professor and the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He was born in Saint-Ours, Quebec and died in Montreal.
After several years of private pr ...
(BCL 1876), a Quebec politician and the 14th
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; French (masculine): ''Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec'', or (feminine): ''Lieutenante-gouverneure du Québec'') is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the , who operates distinctly within the province ...
.
*
Jim Peterson
James Scott Peterson (born July 30, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 2007 who represented the northern Toronto riding of Willowdale. He s ...
(DCL 1970) – Minister of International Trade, 2003–2006.
*
Sydney David Pierce (BCL 1925, LLD 1956) – Olympic hurdler and ambassador to Brazil, Belgium, Luxembourg, Mexico, and the OECD.
*
Lazarus Phillips (BCL 1918), Canadian lawyer and Senator.
*
John Rankin (LLM 1984) – current
Governor-General of Bermuda
*
Greg Rickford
Greg Rickford (born September 24, 1967) is a Canadian politician. He is the Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs in the Executive Council of Ontario under Premier Doug Ford. He represents the Kenora-Rainy River r ...
(BCL/LLB 2005) – Minister of Natural Resources, 2014–2015.
*
Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Alexander Cameron Rutherford (February 2, 1857 – June 11, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the first premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910. Born in Ormond, Canada West, he studied and practiced law in Ottawa before h ...
(BCL 1881), first
premier of Alberta
The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022.
The ...
, founder of the University of Alberta.
*
Larry W. Smith (BCL 1976), former
Canadian senator
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...
, nine season running back for
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
and 8th commissioner of the
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
.
*
Francis R. Scott (BCL 1927, LLD 1967), constitutional rights lawyer, civil libertarian, poet, founder of the first social democratic party and the
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National ...
*
Kathleen Weil
Kathleen Weil is a Canadian politician and lawyer. Weil was elected to represent the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Quebec Liberal Party and a former prov ...
(BCL 1982, LLB 1982), member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
for
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...
.
*
William Alexander Weir
William Alexander Weir (October 15, 1858 – October 22, 1929) was a Quebec lawyer, politician, and judge. He was the MLA for Argenteuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1897–1910, held several ministries, and helped rewrite ...
(BCL 1881),
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
judge and politician
*
Nick Whalen
Nicholas Julian Whalen (born June 6, 1973) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who represented the riding of St. John's East in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 until 2019. Whalen was defeated in the 2019 federal election by former Ne ...
(LLB 2011), Lawyer and former MP for the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Other alumni
*Ian DeVere Archer (LLM 1968) – Secretary of Health and Social Security of Barbados and former chairman of
Caribbean Airlines
Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is also the flag carrier of Jamaica and Guyana. Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, No ...
(national airline of Barbados)
*
Isidore Gordon Ascher
Isidore Gordon Gottschalk Ascher (1835–1914) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist and poet. He was born in Glasgow in 1835, the eldest son of Isaac Gottschalk Ascher and brother to Jacob Ascher. His family moved to Canada in 1841, and Isidore rece ...
(BCL 1862),
Scottish-Canadian
Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish people, Scottish descent or cultural heritage, heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a ...
novelist and poet
*
David P. O'Brien (BCL 1965), businessman, currently as
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
*
Peter Blaikie
Peter Macfarlane Blaikie is a Canadian lawyer and a bilingual politician from Quebec and founder of Heenan Blaikie.
Genealogy
Blaikie was born in Shawinigan, Mauricie on May 10, 1937. He was the son of Kenneth Guy "Bill" Blaikie (1897–1968) a ...
(BCL 1965), Quebec lawyer, politician, co-founder of
Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie LLP is a defunct Canadian law firm. It practiced in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, a ...
*
Lionel Chetwynd
Lionel Chetwynd (born January 29, 1940) is a British-American screenwriter, director and producer.
Life and career
Lionel Chetwynd was born to a Jewish family in Hackney, London, the son of Betty (née Dion) and Peter Chetwynd. His family move ...
(BCL 1967),
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
screenwriter, director and producer
*
Eleanor Clitheroe
Eleanor Ruth Clitheroe (born January 29, 1954) is a Canadian cleric and former businesswoman. She was president and CEO of Hydro One, a successor company to Ontario Hydro owned by the Province of Ontario.
Life and career
Born in Montreal, Qu ...
(LLM 1978), former president and CEO of
Hydro One
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...
*
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
, singer-songwriter (who only did a year of Law before dropping out)
*
Chuck Comeau
Charles-André "Chuck" Comeau (born 17 September 1979) is a Canadian musician and drummer, best known for being the drummer of the rock band Simple Plan. He also founded the apparel company Role Model Clothing along with his bandmate Pierre Bouv ...
, drummer for
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...
(studied law but ultimately dropped out)
*
James Creighton (BCL 1880) "father of organized hockey"
*
Mary Dawson (BCL 1963), civil servant, former
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
*
James de Beaujeu Domville
James de Beaujeu Domville (23 June 1933''New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1966'' – 2 April 2015) was a French-born Canadian theatrical producer and administrator. In addition to his theatrical work, Domville served in several impo ...
(BCL 1957) theatrical producer and administrator, former commissioner of
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
(NFB)
*
Dennis Draper
Brigadier-General Dennis Colburn Draper (February 20, 1875 – November 8, 1951) was a Canadian officer who served as the chief constable of the Toronto Police Department from 1928 to 1946.
Early life
Draper was born and raised in Sutton in th ...
(dropped out before completing his studies), Brigadier-General, Chief Constable of the Toronto Police Department from 1928 to 1946
*
Yves Fortier (BCL 1958, LLD 2005), Canadian Ambassador to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and President of the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
.
*
George Buchanan Foster
Lieutenant George Buchanan Foster, (19 August 1897 – 3 June 1974) was a Canadian First World War flying ace. He was credited with seven aerial victories.
After the First World War, Foster would become a King's Counsel and prominent attorne ...
(BCL 1921),
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
flying ace and prominent attorney.
*
Michael Goldbloom
Michael Goldbloom (born 1953) is a Canadian lawyer, publisher, and academic administrator. He is the former publisher of the ''Toronto Star'', Canada's largest newspaper by circulation.
Early life and education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, as th ...
(BCL 1978, LLB 1979), Principal and Vice-Chancellor of
Bishop's University
Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
in Lennoxville, Quebec; former publisher of the
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
*
Shaul Gordon
Shaul Gordon (born July 11, 1994) is a Canadian fencer in the sabre discipline. Gordon has represented the country on the international stage since 2013, and has competed at two Pan American Games and six World Fencing Championships. Gordon forme ...
(BCL/JD 2019, LLM 2021), Canadian-Israeli award-winning fencer, Olympic athlete (Tokyo 2020)
*
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s – or 1940s and 1950s, as " ...
(BCL 1922), American bridge player and best-selling writer
*
(BCL 1980), attorney and television judge personality on "L'Arbitre"
*
A. Jean de Grandpré (BCL 1943), first chairman and CEO of
BCE Inc.
*
Roy Heenan
Roy Lacaud Heenan, (September 28, 1935 – February 3, 2017) was a Canadian labour lawyer, academic and art collector. He was a founding partner of the Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie.
Early life and education
He was born in Mexico City to ...
(BCL 1960, LLD 2008), Labour lawyer, academic, and co-founder of
Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie LLP is a defunct Canadian law firm. It practiced in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, a ...
*
Tasha Kheiriddin
Tasha Kheiriddin (born 1970) is a Canadian public affairs commentator, consultant, lawyer, policy analyst and writer.
Early life and education
Born on June 25, 1970, Kheiriddin was born and raised in Montreal and earned a law degree from McGill ...
(BCL/LLB 1993), conservative television media personality, public policy analyst and commentator
*
Hubert Lacroix
Hubert T. Lacroix (born July 13, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer who last served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the national public radio and television broadcaster, from 2008 until 2018.
Born in Montreal, Qu ...
(BCL 1976), former CEO and President of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
*
David Lawee (BCL 1993), tech executive, founder of
Google Capital
CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) is the independent growth fund under Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a r ...
*
Anthony Lemke
Roger Anthony Lemke (born October 7, 1970) is a Canadian television and film actor, best known for portraying Three (Marcus Boone / Titch) on Syfy's science-fiction drama ''Dark Matter.''
In French Canada, Lemke is best known for playing David R ...
(BCL/LLB) television and film actor, lawyer and entrepreneur
*
Annie MacDonald Langstaff
Annie MacDonald Langstaff (6 June 1887 – 29 June 1975) was a Canadian law student, legal activist, supporter of women's suffrage and an early woman aviator. Born in Ontario in 1887, she graduated from Prescott High School and then married in ...
(BCL 1914), the first woman to earn a law degree in Quebec, a legal activist, supporter of
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and an early woman aviator.
*
William Douw Lighthall
William Douw Lighthall (December 27, 1857 – August 3, 1954), often referred to as W. D. Lighthall, was a Canadian lawyer, historian, novelist, poet and philosopher.[David Ross McCord
David Ross McCord, King's Counsel, KC (18 March 1844 – 12 April 1930) was a Canadian lawyer and philanthropist, philanthropic founder of the McCord Museum in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Life and career
McCord was born in Montreal to ...]
(BCL 1867) lawyer, philanthropist, founder of the
McCord Museum
The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...
*
Hilmi M. Zawati
Hilmi M. Zawati (Arabic language, Arabic: Øلمي زواتي; born in 1953 in Nablus) is an international criminal law and human rights jurist, Professor of Criminal Law, and Chair at the Center for Justice and Accountability (CIAJ).
Zawati h ...
(LLB 1978, MA 1986, PhD 1994, LLM 1997, DCL 2010), International Criminal Law Jurist, and Chair of Centre for International Accountability and Justice (CIAJ)
*
Don Meehan
Donald E. Meehan (born April 10, 1951) is a Canadian National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) hockey player agent.
Early career
Meehan earned his bachelor's degree at Sir George Williams University. At McGill University, during his ...
(LLB 1975), founder of Newport Sports agency, which represents several hockey players in the NHL.
*
Mayo Moran (LLB 1990), Dean of University of Toronto Faculty of Law 2006–2014, first female dean.
*
Pierre Péladeau
Pierre Péladeau, (April 11, 1925 – December 24, 1997) was a French-Canadian businessman. He was the founder of Quebecor Inc., a Canadian media and telecommunications conglomerate in Quebec.
He was the father of billionaire Pierre Karl Pé ...
(BCL 1950), founder of Canadian media company
Quebecor
Quebecor Inc. is a Canadian diversified media and telecommunications company serving Québec based in Montreal. It was spelled Quebecor in both English and French until May 2012, when shareholders voted to add the acute accent, Québecor, in F ...
Inc.
*
Richard Pound (BCL 1962, LLD 2009), Canadian swimming champion, lawyer and prominent spokesman for ethics in sport.
*
Jennifer Stoddart
Jennifer Stoddart (born 1949) was the sixth Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Early life and education
Stoddart was born in 1949 in Toronto. In 1967 she graduated from Neuchâtel Junior College in Switzerland. Fluent in five languages, she studied ...
(BCL 1980, LLD 2015), civil servant, sixth
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The privacy commissioner of Canada (french: Commissaire à la protection de la vie privée du Canada) is a non-partisan ombudsman and officer of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner investigates complaints regarding violations of the feder ...
*
Frank Shoofey (BA 1961, BCL 1964), criminal lawyer.
*
Timothy Porteous (BA'54, BCL'57), former head of the
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
and the
Ontario College of Art and Design
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
*
Paulos Tesfagiorgis (LLM), Eritrean human rights activist
*
Stephen Toope
Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations.
In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down ...
(BCL 1983, LLB 1983, LLD 2017), international legal scholar,
vice-chancellor of Cambridge University and former President of the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
.
*Christopher Waters (LLM 1998, DCL 2002), Dean of
University of Windsor Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law is a Faculty (division), faculty of the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The first class of students matriculated in 1968, and the current building was opened in 1970. The Faculty has grown i ...
2006–Present
*
Robert Stanley Weir
Robert Stanley Weir (November 15, 1856 – August 20, 1926) was a Montreal, Quebec judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to "O Canada", the national anthem of Canada. He was educated as a teacher and lawyer and consider ...
(BCL 1880, DCL 1897),
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to "
O Canada
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
", the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
of Canada
*
Mortimer Zuckerman
Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inves ...
(BCL 1961), Canadian-American billionaire media magnate, co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of
Boston Properties
Boston Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in premier workplaces in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. As of June 30, 2022, the company owned or had interest ...
Deans of the Faculty
The study of law at McGill began in 1844 when William Badgley was appointed lecturer in law within the Faculty of Arts. While informal classes began earlier, the Faculty of Law was officially established at McGill in 1853, with William Badgley appointed its first dean. Over the years, the following people have served the Faculty of Law as deans.
* 1853–1855:
William Badgley
William Badgley (27 March 1801 – 24 December 1888) was born in Lower Canada, educated there, and admitted to the Lower Canadian bar in 1823. He became a judge and attorney general for Canada East.
He was also the founder of a law firm now kn ...
, DCL 1870
* 1855–1876:
John Abbott
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party.
Abbot ...
, BCL 1854, DCL 1867
* 1876–1888: (acting dean, 1876–1881), BCL 1872
* 1888–1896: Norman W. Trenholme, BCL 1865, DCL 1887
* 1896–1897: Leonidas Davidson, BCL 1864
* 1897–1914: Frederick Parker Walton, LLD 1915
* 1914–1915:
Sir Charles Peers Davidson (acting dean), BCL 1863, DCL 1875, LLD 1912
* 1915–1921:
Robert Warden Lee, DCL 1877
* 1921–1928:
R. A. E. Greenshields (acting dean, 1921–1923), BCL 1885, LLD 1929
* 1928–1936:
Percy Ellwood Corbett, DCL 1961
* 1936–1946: C. Stuart Lemesurier, BCL 1912
* 1946:
John P. Humphrey (dean designate), BCL 1929, PhD 1945, LLD 1976
* 1946–1949: C. Stuart Lemesurier, BCL 1912
* 1949:
Gérald Fauteux
Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux (October 22, 1900 – September 14, 1980) was the 13th Chief Justice of Canada from 1970 to 1973.
Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the son of Homère Fauteux and Héva Mercier, he studied at the Université de ...
, LLD 1955
* 1950: A. Sydney Bruneau, BCL 1917
* 1950–1960:
W. C. J. Meredith
* 1960–1961:
Maxwell Cohen (acting dean), LLD 1994
* 1961–1964:
F. R. Scott, BCL 1927, LLD 1967
* 1964–1969:
Maxwell Cohen, LLD 1994
* 1969–1974: John W. Durnford, BCL 1952
* 1974–1979:
John E. C. Brierley, BCL 1959
* 1979–1980: William Foster (acting dean)
* 1980–1984:
John E. C. Brierley, BCL 1959
* 1984–1989:
Roderick A. Macdonald
Roderick Alexander Macdonald (1948–2014) was a Canadian legal scholar. He was the 111th president of the Royal Society of Canada between 2009 and 2011.
Biography
Macdonald was born in Ontario on 6 August 1948. He was educated at York Universi ...
* 1989–1994:
Yves-Marie Morissette
* 1994–1999:
Stephen Toope
Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations.
In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down ...
, BCL 1983, LLB 1983, LLD 2017
* 1999–2003: Peter Leuprecht
* 2003–2009:
Nicholas Kasirer
Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019.
Kasirer was previously a justice with the Quebec Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2019. He is a graduate of the McGill Univer ...
, BCL 1985, LLB 1985
* 2009: Shauna Van Praagh (acting dean)
* 2009–2016:
Daniel Jutras (acting dean, 2009–2010)
* 2016–present:
Robert Leckey, BCL 2002, LLB 2002
Student life
Law Student Association
The overarching student organization is the Law Student's Association (LSA): an elected group of law students who represent the student body. The LSA was created in 1912 and incorporated in 1992. The executives and representatives of the LSA are elected by McGill's law students.
During the school year, the LSA hosts a weekly coffeehouse on Thursday evenings designed to encourage students to network and socialize over food and drink. The coffeehouse tradition was started in 1989 by
David Lametti
David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and has represented L ...
when he was part of the LSA.
Some coffeehouse events are sponsored by law firms for networking with students, while others are hosted by student associations and clubs.
Christie Bike Ride
The Dugald Christie Memorial Community Bike Ride, also called the Christie Bike Ride, is an annual charity fundraiser organized by McGill Law students. Funds are distributed to local organizations that increase access to justice, especially for marginalized communities. Past recipients of the funds include Project Genesis,
Head and Hands, and the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal.
The Christie Bike Ride was started in 2009 in honour of alumnus
Dugald Christie.
Christie was a Vancouver-based lawyer that championed access to justice for low-income communities. He was killed while cycling from Vancouver to Ottawa to raise awareness about access to justice.
Journals
McGill Law Journal
The
McGill Law Journal
The ''McGill Law Journal'' is a student-run legal publication at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal. It is a not-for-profit corporation independent of the Faculty and it is managed exclusively by students. The ''Journal'' also publishes t ...
(MLJ) was founded by
Gerald Le Dain
Gerald Eric Le Dain, (November 27, 1924 – December 18, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer and judge, who sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1984 to 1988.
Life and education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Eric George Bryant Le Dain and ...
and
Jacques-Yvan Morin
Jacques-Yvan Morin, (born July 15, 1931 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a former professor of law and a politician in Quebec, Canada. Morin graduated from the McGill University Faculty of Law with a BCL in 1953, where he was the founder of the ''McGi ...
in 1952. The MLJ publishes four volumes a year on general law topics. The MLJ is frequently cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and is the most cited student-run law journal by the Court.
The McGill Law Journal also publishes the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. The original Guide was published in 1986 and was intended to standardize Canadian legal citations.
Today, the Guide is used by most Canadian legal journals.
The McGill Law Journal regularly hosts office hours to assist McGill students using the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.
McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
The
McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
The ''McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law'' (''MJSDL'') is a biannual peer-reviewed law journal published at the McGill University Faculty of Law and run solely by law students. The journal was established in 2005 as the ''McGill Intern ...
(MJSDL) was established in 2004 and focuses on sustainable development and environmental law and policy. It is peer-reviewed and published bi-annually.
McGill Journal of Law and Health
The McGill Journal of Law and Health (MJLH) was established in 2007. It is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal and is published annually. The MJLH focuses on health law and has been cited four times by the Supreme Court of Canada. Most recently, an article from the journal was cited in the
Reference Re Assisted Human Reproduction Act.
McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution
The McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution (MJDR) is a bilingual peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to scholarship in the fields of arbitration, mediation, facilitation, negotiation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
The McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution was first published in 2015.
Legal Information Clinic at McGill
The Legal Information Clinic at McGill is a non-profit legal information clinic for McGill students and the Montreal community.
The Legal Information Clinic is a separate entity from McGill but is run by McGill law students. Originally founded in 1973 by then-law student Michael Bergman, the Clinic works on more than 2,000 cases a year.
The Clinic also provides a student advocacy service for McGill students accused of disciplinary offences or looking to resolve disputes with McGill University.
Quid Novi
Quid Novi, also known colloquially as the Quid, is the Faculty of Law's student-run newspaper. Since the publication of its first edition in March 1981, Quid Novi has been a forum for both students and faculty to share news and opinions on both legal and non-legal matters. Quid Novi is published on a weekly basis during the academic year.
L.E.X. Outreach Program
The Faculty of Law of McGill University founded the Law-Éducation-Connexion Outreach Program, also called the L.E.X. Outreach Program, in 2006. The program has law student volunteers deliver presentations at local schools and answer student questions. The program targets youth in communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the legal field and schools that have high dropout rates, with the goal of encouraging an interest in post-secondary education and legal studies. In 2009, the program was expanded following a donation from the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation.
See also
*
List of law schools in Canada
A number of law schools in Canada operate as a faculty (division), faculty or as an affiliated school to a Canadian public university. Twenty law schools offer common law schooling, whereas seven schools offer schooling in the Civil law (legal sys ...
*
McGill Law Journal
The ''McGill Law Journal'' is a student-run legal publication at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal. It is a not-for-profit corporation independent of the Faculty and it is managed exclusively by students. The ''Journal'' also publishes t ...
*
McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
The ''McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law'' (''MJSDL'') is a biannual peer-reviewed law journal published at the McGill University Faculty of Law and run solely by law students. The journal was established in 2005 as the ''McGill Intern ...
*
Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation
The ''Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation'' (''McGill Guide'' or ''Red Book''; french: Manuel canadien de la référence juridique) is a legal citation guide in Canada. It is published by the ''McGill Law Journal'' of the McGill University ...
References
* Hobbins, A. J. "Designating the Dean of Law: Attempts to Control the Nature of Legal Education at McGill University by the Montreal Corporate and Professional Elite, 1946–1950". ''Dalhousie Law Journal''. XXVII (2004), pp. 163–202.
* Pilarczyk, Ian C. " 'A Noble Roster': One Hundred and Fifty Years of Law at McGill" McGill University, 1999
‘A Noble Roster’ , Ian C. Pilarczyk
External links
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Nahum Gelber Law Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgill University Faculty of Law
Law schools in Canada
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...