The Faculty of Law is one of the professional

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and st ...

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 ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, 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 Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

, 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 omniprese ...

, 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 n ...

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. Abbo ...

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 Canadians, French Can ...

, 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

(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 ...

and Nicholas Kasirer), 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 oft ...

. Three members of the current Cabinet of Canada 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 t ...

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 LaS ...

, 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 C ...

(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 l ...

(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 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 accou ...

(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 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 DCL or may refer to: * 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation) Computers * Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs * Data Control Language, a subset of SQL * Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within AutoC ...

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 t ...

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 for ...

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 effort ...

. 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

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

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 as ...

, whereby every student graduates with degrees in both

and

. 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 Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between anna ...

. 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 ...

and the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law. McGill University downtown campus 18

The Buildings

Old Chancellor Day Hall and New Chancellor Day Hall are the names of two joined building at

'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 F ...

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 ...

) to design a château-style mansion in Montreal's Golden Square Mile, 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"
, ''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

. 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 constitutio ...

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 whe ...

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-lar ...

and houses over 220 000 volumes of statutes, regulations, law reports, treatises, books, journals and other legal material. Designed by Dan Hanganu, 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 ''

'', 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 Adelle Blackett is a Canadian legal scholar working as a professor of law at McGill University Faculty of Law. Education Blackett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University at Kingston in 1989, a Bachelor of Civil Law and Bac ...

, 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 Allison Christians is a tax law scholar and the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law at the McGill University Faculty of Law/Faculté de Droit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her research and teaching focus on Canadian and U.S. domestic and internatio ...

, 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 in the Law of International Economic Integration. *

Robert Leckey Robert Leckey is the current Dean of the McGill University Faculty of Law where he is also a full professor. Education Robert Leckey graduated from Queen's University with a B.A.H. in English literature in 1997 and from McGill Law in 2002, wher ...

, 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 since 2020. Gold has sat as the senator for Stadacona, Quebec since he was appointed on the advice of P ...

distinguished law professor and politician * Stephen Allan Scott, professor emeritus and leading scholar on the Canadian Constitution. * Stephen A. Smith, scholar of contractual and remedial law. *

Colleen Sheppard Colleen Sheppard is a professor of law at McGill University Faculty of Law. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016. Sheppard's scholarship focuses on human rights issues and constitutional law. Works * Reviews of '' ...

, 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''

Past faculty members

Payam Akhavan Payam Akhavan (Persian language, 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, Toronto, Massey College at the University o ...

, former UN prosecutor at The Hague. *

F.H. Buckley Francis "Frank" Herbert Buckley is a foundation professor at George Mason University School of Law where he has taught since 1989. Before then he was a visiting Olin fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. He has also taught at Panthé ...

(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., an ...

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 g ...

(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$750,0 ...

* 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, ...

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 (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, Canadian lawyer, professor, and Canadian cabinet member *

Charles Joseph Doherty Charles Joseph Doherty, (May 11, 1855 – July 28, 1931) was a Canadian politician and lawyer. Early life and education Doherty was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Marcus Doherty, an Irish-born judge of the Supreme Court for the Pro ...

(BCL 1876, Hon. LLD 1913) – Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 1911–1921 * H. Patrick Glenn, 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 security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

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 rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

* 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- ...

Marianne Scott Marianne Florence Scott (born December 4, 1928) is a Canadian retired librarian and educator. She has held several positions in her career, the most notable being the third National Librarian of Canada (NLC). She was not only the first woman to be ...

, first woman to be appointed as

National Librarian of Canada National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

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 Commi ...

(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, ...

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 (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 highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

judge * Donald James Johnston (BCL 1958, LLD 2003), 4th Secretary General of the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

(OECD) and Attorney General of Canada from 1984 to 1988. *

(BCL 1989, LLB 1989), MP for

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun LaSalle—Émard—Verdun is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Montreal, Quebec. It was created by the Canadian federal electoral redistribution, 2012, 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally ...

, 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 g ...

at the trial of Fred Rose, for whom th
Meredith Memorial Lectures
are named * Roderick A. Macdonald, 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 The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. A ...

Yves-Marie Morissette
civil and comparative law scholar,

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, a ...

, ethicist and former Samuel Gale Professor of Law. * William Tetley, maritime law scholar,

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. * Michael Trebilcock legal scholar in economics *

(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 (BCL 1880, DCL 1897),

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 ...

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 ...

(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

– appointed to the Court in 1954, previously Minister of National Defence and Minister of Finance *

Louis-Philippe de Grandpré Louis-Philippe de Grandpré, (February 6, 1917 – January 24, 2008) was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Family and early life Louis-Philippe de Grandpré was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Roland de Grandp ...

(BCL 1938),

of the

– 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 ...

(LLM 1983),

of the

– 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 Bachel ...

(BCL 1962),

of the

– 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),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 2014, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal *

Désiré Girouard Désiré Girouard (July 7, 1836 – March 22, 1911) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Born in Saint-Timothée, Lower Canada (now part of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec), the son of Jé ...

(BCL 1860),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 1895, previously member of Parliament *

Charles D. Gonthier Charles Doherty Gonthier, (August 1, 1928 – July 16, 2009) was a Puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Canada from February 1, 1989 to August 1, 2003. He was replaced by Morris Fish. Early life Gonthier was born in Montreal, Quebec to Ge ...

(BCL 1951),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 1989, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal *

(BCL’93, LLB’93),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 2021, previously a Judge on the Court of Appeal for Ontario * Nicholas Kasirer (BCL 1985, LLB 1985),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 2019, previously a Judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal * Gerald Le Dain (BCL 1949),

of the

– appointed to the Court in 1984, previously a Judge on the Federal Court of Appeal * Sheilah L. Martin (BCL 1981, LLB 1981),

of the

– 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 ...

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 The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest ...

(BCL 1878),

of the

– 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 A ...

(BCL 1900), Chief Justice of the

– appointed to the Court in 1924, previously a Judge on the Superior Court of Quebec

Jurists and legal professionals

* Jean-Louis Baudouin (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 As ...

Morag Wise, Lady Wise Morag Barbara Wise, Lady Wise, (born 22 January 1963) is the President of the Scottish Tribunals and a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Scotland's Supreme Courts. Education Wise obtained an LL.B (Hons) and Dip. L.P. the Uni ...

(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, and ...

, a judge of Scotland's Supreme Court. * Harry Batshaw (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 Que ...

Alanna Devine Alanna Devine is a Canadian lawyer who practices animal law in Quebec and Ontario. She completed her undergraduate degree in criminology at the University of Toronto and obtained degrees in civil and common law at McGill University McGill University ...

(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 (BCL 1956), former judge of the

. * Benjamin J. Greenberg (BA’54, BCL’57), judge for the

R. A. E. Greenshields Robert Alfred Ernest Greenshields (February 2, 1861 – September 28, 1942) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec; Dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill University and 9th Chancellor of Bishop's University. Gree ...

(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 university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who ...

(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-directo ...

(LLM 2017), founder and president of

For All Moonkind For All Moonkind, Inc. is a volunteer international nonprofit organization which is working with the United Nations and the international community to manage the preservation of history and human heritage in outer space. The organization believes t ...

, 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 Com ...

, co-director of the

Center for Air and Space Law The Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law has been the premier U.S. platform for Air and Space Law since 1965. It is the only American Bar Association accredited law school to offer an LL.M., a JD Concentrat ...

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 curri ...

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 Scho ...

(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 individua ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

and former President of the

* 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 So ...

, former Dean of Queen's University Faculty of Law *

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. O ...

(BCL/LLB 1993), former judge on the

; now a judge of the

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 pursue ...

(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 two ...

* 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 tota ...

* 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, conve ...

. *

Siobhán Phelan Siobhán Phelan is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the High Court December 2021. She formerly practised as a barrister and was the chair of the Free Legal Advice Centres. Early life Phelan studied law at Trinity Colle ...

(LLM 1994), judge of the High Court of Ireland * Brian Slattery (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 Law ...

, 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 Walt ...

, 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 *

Max M. Teitelbaum Max M. Teitelbaum (born January 27, 1932) is a former judge of the Federal Court of Canada. He was appointed in 1985 and retired in 2007. He was the first Jewish judge of the Federal Court of Canada. He is a graduate of the McGill University Facult ...

(BCL 1957), puisne justice of the Federal Court of Canada. *

Rıza Türmen Rıza Mahmut Türmen (born 17 June 1941, Istanbul, Turkey), is a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights and currently an MP for Izmir in the Turkish Parliament, with the Republican People's Party. He graduated from Istanbul Unive ...

(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 Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives ...

and Turkish Ambassador to Switzerland *

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 Ashfaq Khalfan is an international jurist in human rights law, Director of the Law and Policy Programme at Amnesty International, and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law. Education Khalfan ...

(BCL/LLB 2002), international jurist in human rights law, Director of the Law and Policy Programme at Amnesty International, and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law

Political figures

(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 of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...

. * 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 ...

(BCL/LLB 2004), Liberal politician, MP for the riding of Pontiac. *

W. David Angus W. David Angus (born July 21, 1937) is a Canadian lawyer and former Canadian senator. Career Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1937, Angus moved to Montreal with his family at the age of nine and has been based there ever since. Educated at Lower C ...

(BCL 1962), former Canadian senator *

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 cover ...

(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 ...

(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 rep ...

for the 8th constituency of Paris from 2017 to 2022 *

Rachel Bendayan Rachel Bendayan (born May 10, 1980) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on February 25, 2019, following the resignation of former New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair.Annabelle Olivie ...

(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 Swede ...

(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 (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, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "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 (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 Henry Joseph Cloran KC (May 8, 1855 – February 8, 1928) was a lawyer, educator, journalist and political figure in Quebec. He represented Victoria division in the Senate of Canada from 1903 to 1928. He was born in Montreal, the son of Jos ...

(BCL 1883) – Senator for Victoria, Quebec, 1903–1928 *

Samuel William Jacobs Samuel William "Sam" Jacobs, , (May 6, 1871 – August 21, 1938) was a Canadian lawyer, Member of Parliament and a leader of the Canadian Jewish community. For many years he was the only Jewish MP in the House of Commons of Canada. He was fi ...

(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 was ...

(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 Dominion ...

. *

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 c ...

. * Charles Drury (BCL 1936) – Minister of Finance, Defence, Public Works, Industry, President of the Treasury Board *

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 Libe ...

(LLB 1973), cabinet minister, 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 ...

, and Hockey Hall of Fame member, six-time Stanley Cup Winner *

Brian Gallant Brian Alexander Gallant (born April 27, 1982) is a Canadian politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winning the Li ...

(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 (BCL 1958), former Canadian senator. * Harry Blank (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 ...

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 degree ...

(BCL 1927) – ambassador to the United States and NATO. *

Christopher Benfield Carter Christopher Benfield Carter (30 November 1844 – 9 August 1906) was a Canadian politician. Born in Montreal, the son of Christopher Carter and Amelia Jane Coward, Carter studied at the High School of Montreal, the Commercial Academy of Sor ...

(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 (BCL 1994, LLB 1994), member of the

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 Greater ...

. * Balarama Holness (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 ...

(CFL) player, candidate for mayor in the 2021 Montreal municipal elections * Anthony Housefather (BCL 1993, LLB 1993), Liberal politician, MP for the riding of

. *

(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

. * George Gordon Hyde (BCL 1908), prominent lawyer and Member of the

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. Its ...

(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 language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

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

, lawyer and judge. * Adrian Knatchbull-Hugessen (BCL 1914), Canadian lawyer and senator * Rodolphe Laflamme (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 vo ...

* Michael Pitfield (BCL 1958), former Canadian Senator and senior civil servant *

(BCL 1989, LLB 1989), Liberal politician, MP for the riding of

, Canadian Minister of Justice, and former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade. *

(BCL 1866), 7th

. * Joël Lightbound (BCL/LLB 2011), Liberal politician, MP for the riding of

Louis-Hébert Louis-Hébert could refer to: * Louis-Hébert (provincial electoral district) * Louis-Hébert (federal electoral district) {{Disambiguation ...

. *

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 Summi ...

(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 its own Charter". It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic a ...

. * Peter Samuel George Mackenzie (BCL 1883) – Liberal Member of the

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, a ...

* Alan Macnaughton (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 Just ...

(LLM 1989) – former acting president and vice-president of the Republic of Fiji 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 Ki ...

* Marcel Massé (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' ...

(LLB 1999), Liberal 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 ...

, 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 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 Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), the department of the Government of Canad ...

. *

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

for

Elizabeth Monk Elizabeth Carmichael Monk (August 4, 1898 – December 26, 1980) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer and Montreal city councillor. In 1942, she became one of the first two women admitted to the Bar of Quebec, Quebec Bar, alongside Suzanne Raymond ...

(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 t ...

(BCL 1976, LLB 1977), former leader of the NDP of the Official Opposition, MP for Outremont, former

MNA for Chomedy and Minister of

. * 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 eas ...

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 portfoli ...

. * Narcisse Pérodeau (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 ...

(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 Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

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 ...

(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. ...

, founder of the University of Alberta. * Larry W. Smith (BCL 1976), former Canadian senator, nine season running back for

and 8th commissioner of the CFL. * Francis R. Scott (BCL 1927, LLD 1967), constitutional rights lawyer, civil libertarian, poet, founder of the first social democratic party and the NDP *

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

for

. *

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 se ...

(BCL 1881),

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 N ...

(LLB 2011), Lawyer and former MP for the Liberal

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 (BCL 1862),

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish descent or 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 large impact on Canadian culture sin ...

novelist and poet * David P. O'Brien (BCL 1965), businessman, currently as chairman 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 (BCL 1965), Quebec lawyer, politician, co-founder of Heenan Blaikie *

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 screenwriter, director and producer * Eleanor Clitheroe (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, drummer for Simple Plan (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 The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is an entity of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament, who administers the ''Conflict of Interest Act'' and the ''Conflict of Interest Code ...

. * James de Beaujeu Domville (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 (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

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 attorn ...

(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 fig ...

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

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 pa ...

* Shaul Gordon (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 * Anne-France Goldwater (BCL 1980), attorney and television judge personality on "L'Arbitre" *

A. Jean de Grandpré Albert Jean de Grandpré (14 September 1921 – 31 July 2022) was a Canadian lawyer and businessman who served as the president and chief executive officer of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. Life and career Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was ed ...

(BCL 1943), first chairman and CEO of BCE Inc. * Roy Heenan (BCL 1960, LLD 2008), Labour lawyer, academic, and co-founder of Heenan Blaikie * Tasha Kheiriddin (BCL/LLB 1993), conservative television media personality, public policy analyst and commentator * Hubert Lacroix (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 governme ...

* David Lawee (BCL 1993), tech executive, founder of

Google Capital CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) is the independent growth fund under Alphabet Inc. Founded in 2013, it focuses on larger, growth-stage technology companies, and invests for profit rather than strategically for Google. In addition to capital ...

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 ...

(BCL/LLB) television and film actor, lawyer and entrepreneur * Annie MacDonald Langstaff (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 women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, 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 gran ...

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 (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 Hi ...

* Hilmi M. Zawati (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 (LLB 1975), founder of Newport Sports agency, which represents several hockey players in the NHL. *

Mayo Moran Mayo Moran (born June 2, 1959) is a Canadian lawyer and academic. From 2006 to 2014, she was Dean (education), Dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto. She was the first female dean of that fac ...

(LLB 1990), Dean of University of Toronto Faculty of Law 2006–2014, first female dean. * Pierre Péladeau (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 Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming champion, lawyer, and spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and vice-presi ...

(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 fed ...

* Frank Shoofey (BA 1961, BCL 1964), criminal lawyer. *

Timothy Porteous John Timothy Irvine Porteous, CM (August 31, 1933 – February 11, 2020) was a Canadian administrator. Student days A native of Montreal, he studied at Bishop's College School, Selwyn House School and McGill University, where he earned both a ...

(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 in ...

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 d ...

* Paulos Tesfagiorgis (LLM), Eritrean human rights activist *

(BCL 1983, LLB 1983, LLD 2017), international legal scholar, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University and former President of the

. *Christopher Waters (LLM 1998, DCL 2002), Dean of University of Windsor Faculty of Law 2006–Present * Robert Stanley Weir (BCL 1880, DCL 1897),

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 Europe ...

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 inve ...

(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, DCL 1870 * 1855–1876:

, 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 Robert Warden Lee, FBA (14 December 18686 January 1958) was a British lawyer, Rhodes Professor of Roman-Dutch law, and fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Life and career Robert Warden Lee was born in Hanmer, Flintshire, the son of a vicar, ...

, DCL 1877 * 1921–1928: R. A. E. Greenshields (acting dean, 1921–1923), BCL 1885, LLD 1929 * 1928–1936:

Percy Ellwood Corbett The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

, 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, 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 * 1989–1994: Yves-Marie Morissette * 1994–1999:

, BCL 1983, LLB 1983, LLD 2017 * 1999–2003: Peter Leuprecht * 2003–2009: Nicholas Kasirer, BCL 1985, LLB 1985 * 2009: Shauna Van Praagh (acting dean) * 2009–2016: Daniel Jutras (acting dean, 2009–2010) * 2016–present:

, 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

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

(MLJ) was founded by Gerald Le Dain 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Oc ...

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 (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.

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

*
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 vari ...

Academics

Bachelor of Civil Law and Juris Doctor program

Master of Laws (LLM)

Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)

Graduate Certificates

History

The Buildings

Old Chancellor Day Hall

New Chancellor Day Hall

Nahum Gelber Law Library

Reputation

Controversies

Notable people

Current faculty members

Past faculty members

Alumni

Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada

Jurists and legal professionals

Political figures

Other alumni

Deans of the Faculty

Student life

Law Student Association

Christie Bike Ride

Journals

McGill Law Journal

McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law

McGill Journal of Law and Health

McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution

Legal Information Clinic at McGill

Quid Novi

L.E.X. Outreach Program

See also

References

External links