The University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, branded as Western Law since 2011, is the law school of Western University in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada. Founded in 1959, its first Dean was former Supreme Court of Canada justice, the Honourable Ivan Cleveland Rand, who saw the school as developing "in the minds of its students the habit of thinking in terms of the dynamic tradition, in the broadest sense, of our law." The current Dean of Law is Erika Chamberlain, former clerk to Supreme Court Justice John C. Major, who began her tenure in May 2017.

Facilities

The law school is situated in the southwest portion of Western's main campus and is housed in the Josephine Spencer Niblett building. While the school finds itself in the middle of the university's large campus, the law school is completely self-contained, offering students two lounges, a café, moot court room and library. The John and Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library, located on the second floor of the law school, is the central information resource for students and faculty members of the faculty. The collection currently includes approximately 193,000 volumes and 45,000 microforms. Primary materials include a comprehensive collection of Canadian legislation and law reports, the principal British and American legal sources, and a growing collection of European and other international materials. The library also has an excellent collection of legal treatises and periodical literature.

Admissions and academics

For the 2017 academic year, there were 2,152 applicants for the 173 first-year spaces. The mean entering grade was 84% (3.7 GPA) and the mean

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...

score was 162 (86th percentile). The school also has exchange programs with law schools around the world. Upper year students have the opportunity to study abroad for one semester for credit to their Western J.D. The faculty offers two masters-level degrees: the

Master of Laws 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 ...

(LL.M.) and the

Master of Studies in Law A Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.), also Master of Science of Law or Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) or Juris Master (J.M.) or Masters of Jurisprudence (M.J.) or Master in Law (M.L.), is a master's degree offered by some law schools to students ...

(M.S.L.). The

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

program began in September 2013. Western Law, in conjunction with other faculties on campus also offers joint degree programs, including combined business and law degrees, combined law and engineering degrees and combined law and Ph.D. degrees. The 2009–10 academic year marked Western Law's 50th anniversary.

Centres and clinics

The law school houses a number of student-staffed legal centres and clinics, which provide services to different segments of the community, while providing law students with practical legal experience. Pro Bono Students Canada Pro Bono Students Canada is a national program that started a branch at the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law in the 1998–99 academic year. The function of the program is to match law student volunteers with community agencies with a need for legal services but with insufficient resources to compensate legal counsel. Agencies typically involved in Pro Bono Students Canada include public interest and non-profit organizations, tribunals, legal clinics and lawyers working pro bono on a particular case. Law student volunteers complete legal research or other law-related projects for member organizations over the course of the academic year under the supervision of a lawyer mentor. The Western program is one of the largest national chapters. Community Legal Services Community Legal Services (CLS) provides free legal advice and representation to members of the community, and to

Fanshawe College Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...

and Western students. CLS is funded by

Legal Aid Ontario Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is a publicly funded and publicly accountable non-profit corporation, responsible for administering the legal aid program in the province of Ontario, Canada. Through a toll-free number and multiple in-person locations suc ...

, Fanshawe Student's Council, the University Students Council, and the Faculty of Law. Over 100 students work at CLS over the course of the academic year under the supervision of three experienced lawyers. Students carry their own files, and gain valuable experience in client correspondence, legal research and drafting of pleadings. Students also have the opportunity to appear at court on behalf of CLS' clients, arguing motions, appearing in criminal court and conducting Small Claims Court trials. Further, students that take upper-year advanced litigation practice courses, also work at CLS for academic credit. John Eberhard Q.C. was a third-year law student when he persuaded the dean and faculty members to allow him to create and coordinate Western’s (UWO) first “Student Defenders System”, the precursor of CLS. Dispute Resolution Centre The Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC) is a not-for-profit organization that provides mediation services to residents of London and Middlesex County who wish to resolve their disputes quickly, efficiently and inexpensively. Operated by Western Law students under the supervision the Faculty at the University of Western Ontario, the DRC can help develop solutions to conflict in an organized and informal way. The DRC mediates disputes in varied types of conflicts, such as landlord/tenant, consumer/merchant, interpersonal/relationship, private contract and separation disputes. Sport Solution The Sport Solution is a joint project of Athletes CAN and the Dispute Resolution Centre at Western Law. The program is nationally available and provides assistance in resolving sport-related problems and offers support throughout the dispute resolution process. Business Law Clinic The Western Business Law Clinic provides small or start-up businesses with legal representation on transaction matters including business structure, finance, intellectual property protection, product liability, employment law, government regulations, contracts, taxation, guarantees and personal liability and environmental issues.

Publications

The school publishes two law journals: the faculty-edited ''Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence'', and the student-edited ''University of Western Ontario Journal of Legal Studies''. The school also has a student newspaper, ''Amicus Curiae''.

Student life

The law school is home to many student-run clubs, including a student newspaper called Amicus Curiae and various interest-based clubs. The main student governing body of Western Law is the Student Legal Society (SLS) who oversees numerous clubs including: * Aboriginal Law Club * Black Law Student Association * Business Law Society * Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights * Christian Legal Fellowship * Criminal Law Students Association (CLSA) * East Asian Law Students Federation * Entertainment and Sports Law Association * First Generation Network – Western Law Chapter * Gender and the Law Association (GALA) * Health Law Club * International Law Association (ILA) * Italian Student Law Society (ISLS) * Jewish Law Students' Association * Labour and Employment Law Society * Legal Ethics Student Association * Mature Students Club * OutLaw Western *

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

* South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) * Student Environmental Law Association * Western Intellectual Property Association * Western Law Advocacy Club * Western Law French Society * Western Law Karaoke Club * Western Law Review Association * Women in the Law Approximately every other Wednesday during the academic year, the SLS organizes social outings for law students at large bars or night clubs. Known as "Dennings", they are named after Alfred Denning, the judge from England's Court of Appeal. A few hours before each Denning, the Mature Students Club hosts "

Puisne Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art obsolete in many jurisdictions and, when current, used main ...

Dennings" at a nearby pub geared towards more conversation and discourse. The law building houses a student lounge. A Starbucks operates in the part of the law building known as "Chambers". Law students also have access to all the amenities of the larger university campus. Western Law students participate in many

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

, competing with other faculty and residence based teams on campus. Students also participate in the yearly "Law Games" against teams from other law schools across Canada. Western organized the 2007 edition of these games.

References

{{Canadian law schools

Western Law Western law comprises the legal traditions of Western culture, with roots in Roman law and canon law. As Western culture shares a Graeco-Roman Classical and Renaissance cultural influence, so do its legal systems. History The rediscovery of th ...