McGill University Faculty of Law


The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, 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 and the acceptance rate is generally at 11%. Its civil law degree is ranked as the best in Canada, and consistently outranks Europe, Asia, and Latin America's top civil law schools.
The Faculty offers the Juris Doctor common law degree, previously an LL.B., and Bachelor of Civil Law degrees, concurrently, in three to four years, allowing graduates to practice in the Canadian, US and UK common law system as well as Quebec, continental Europe, east Asia and Latin America's civil law system. The Faculty also offers the Master of Laws and Doctor of Civil Law degrees.
Notable alumni include Prime Ministers John Abbott and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, twelve Justices of the Supreme Court, as well as numerous Members of Parliament. Three members of the current Cabinet of Canada are graduates of the Faculty: Catherine McKenna, David Lametti, and Marc Miller.

History

The Faculty of Law was officially created in 1853, after a petition signed by young men studying law in Montreal was made to McGill in 1848. With the incoming class of 1969, the Faculty added a stand-alone common law 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. 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. 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".
The Transsystemic program was created under the direction of former Dean Stephen Toope, whereby every student graduates with degrees in both civil law and common law. 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. Undergraduate students may participate in international exchange programs, and in the International Courts and Tribunals Program, which in 2006 received a Scotiabank-AUCC Award for Excellence in Internationalization.
The Faculty of Law, through the Institute of Air and Space Law, publishes annually the since 1976 the first and only bilingual publication in the field of air and space law, the Annals of Air and Space Law. Other bilingual publications of the Faculty of Law include the McGill Law Journal and the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law.

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 clerkship applications, it also consistently places graduates at the ICJ, and has a better placement record than any other Canadian law school.
Its flagship law review, the McGill Law Journal, 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 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 35 law schools globally on multiple ranking systems. It was recently ranked the 22nd best law school worldwide in the 2019 QS World Ranking.

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

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.

Justices of the Supreme Court