Osgoode Hall Law School


Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was originally founded by the Law Society of Upper Canada, and named for William Osgoode, an Oxford University graduate and barrister of Lincoln's Inn who was the first to serve as the Chief Justice of Upper Canada. The school signed an agreement of affiliation with York University in 1965 following a decision by the provincial government requiring all law schools to be affiliated with a university.
It was originally located at Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, which also houses the headquarters of the Law Society, and relocated to York University's Keele Campus in 1969.
The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. Osgoode also hosts Professional Development Programs which are located in downtown Toronto at 1 Dundas St. near the original Osgoode Hall building. A variety of LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available. Its alumni include three Canadian Prime Ministers and ten Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, four of whom were Chief Justices.
The current dean of the law school is Mary Condon.

Rankings and reputation

QS world university rankings 2018 places Osgoode Hall Law School in the bracket of 51st to 100th top law schools in the world.
Maclean's magazine has ranked Osgoode second amongst Canadian law schools in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In the 2008 rankings published by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, Osgoode was ranked first in Canada, and was awarded high marks for the quality of its professors, flexible curriculum, and the diversity and relevance of course offerings.

The Original Osgoode Hall Building and the Law School's Current Facilities

For its first eight decades, Osgoode Hall Law School was located at Osgoode Hall at the corner of Queen Street and University Avenue. The structures at Queen and University are still known as Osgoode Hall. They remain the headquarters of the Law Society of Upper Canada and house the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
Currently, the law school is located on the Keele Campus of York University, in the Toronto suburb of North York. In May 2007, Dean Monahan announced plans for an extensive renovation and extension of Osgoode Hall Law School involving a renovation of the existing building, and the addition of an additional wing. The building was designed by architect Jack Diamond with the construction of the renovated building beginning in the summer of 2009. The project had been majorly funded by a $2.5 million gift by Ignat Kaneff, and the building has been renamed in his honor. The law school is referred to by York as its faculty of law. Osgoode's Professional Development offices and classrooms are based at 1 Dundas Street West in Downtown Toronto, overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square.

Student Life

The Legal & Literary Society, Osgoode Hall Law School's official student society, coordinates student activities both on and off campus. The organization also funds over fifty student clubs, as well as the student newspaper, Obiter Dicta.

Notable alumni

Supreme Court of Canada justices