OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL
:''See also Osgoode Hall for the downtown Toronto building that originally housed the law school''
'Osgoode Hall Law School of York University', is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889, Osgoode has the largest faculty of common law in Canada and, until 1957, was the only accredited law school in Ontario. The school was at the centre of the debates over the principles of modern legal education in the 1950s. Osgoode Hall Law School provided many of the founding members of the bar in the prairie provinces. Today, the law school offers a top tier Bachelor of Laws program that is accepted for bar admission in every province as well as Massachusetts and New York, three joint degree programs, as well as Canada's largest graduate program in law. Osgoode has not changed its degree to a JD as it is based on the British system but offers a JD degree in conjunction with New York University School of Law.

The law school is home to the Ontario Law Reform Commission as well as the largest law library in the Commonwealth. The law school houses a student clinic (the Community and Legal Aid Services Program), the Innocence Project, and according to the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools, the most extensive range of clinical programs in Canada.
Osgoode Hall Law School is particularly known for it's leading role in the areas of constitutional law, the Charter and human rights, and international law. (Hogg, Slattery, Monahan, Castel)
Some of the world's most important legal scholars teach at Osgoode, including a faculty member who also sits at the University of Oxford as a permanent Chair in Jurisprudence and Professor of Philosophy of Law. The current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and former judge at the Supreme Court of Canada, Louise Arbour taught at and later became the associate dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.
Other world-class leading scholars at Osgoode include ''Michael Mandel'' and ''Sharon Williams'' (Public International Law, International Criminal Law, Private International Law), ''Alan Hutchinson'' (Torts, Public law, Legal Theory), ''Robert S Wai'' (International Trade Regulation), ''Benjamin Geva'' (Commercial and Banking Law), ''Ian MacDougal'' (Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions), ''Jiniyan Li'' (International Taxation Law), ''Kent McNeil'' (Native Law), ''Eric Tucker'' (Labour Law), ''Mary Jane Mossman'' (Feminist Legal Theory, Family Law, Law Reform), ''Gary D Watson'' (Civil Litigation), ''Stepan Wood'' (Environmental Law), ''Brian Slattery'' (Constitutional Law).
The current dean of the law school is Patrick J. Monahan. He succeeds Peter Hogg who is a leading Canadian constitutional expert and the author of ''Constitutional Law of Canada'', the single most-cited book in decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.
For its first seven decades, Osgoode Hall Law School was located at Osgoode Hall at the corner of Queen Street and University Avenue near the University of Toronto. The law school was not affiliated with the University of Toronto since law schools at that time traditionally were not connected with a university. The Law Society of Upper Canada maintained control of professional legal education in Ontario until 1957. In 1969, after a decision by the Ontario Ministry of Education requiring law schools to be affiliated with a university, the Osgoode Hall Law School moved to York University.
The buildings known as "Osgoode Hall" (the earliest dating from 1832) remain the headquarters of the Law Society and house the Ontario Court of Appeal. The structure at Queen and University is still known as Osgoode Hall.
The law school is responsible for numerous firsts in legal education in Canada. Osgoode was the first law school to introduce curricular streams in 2001, giving a student the opportunity to graduate with a concentration in a particular area of law, namely International, Litigation or Tax. Osgoode was the first law school to establish a combined law and business degree. Osgoode was the first law school to establish a combined law and environmental studies degree. Osgoode the first law school to establish a student-staffed community legal services clinic (Parkdale Community Legal Services, in 1972). Osgoode was the first law school to develop innovative intensive programs and clinical teaching programs.
In May 2007, Dean Monahan announced plans for an extensive renovation and extension of Osgoode Hall Law School's current premises. The new building design is about light, space and functionality. It is also about student engagement and bridging the old and the new.
The new building, designed by the renowned architect Jack Diamond, will showcase a spectacular three-story atrium that will serve as the living room or common area for the law school, uniting student space, faculty offices and the library.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2008. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the new structure will be named the Ignat Kaneff Building, in recognition of a $2.5 million dollar contribution to the Building Osgoode Campaign by businessman and developer Ignat Kanneff.
In May 2007, Osgoode Hall Law School officially launched the Building Osgoode Campaign – the largest fundraising campaign in the history of legal education in Ontario - which aims to raise $25 million dollars to finance the renovation of the school's building, and the expansion of it's academic and financial aid programs.
Almost $6 million in early commitments have already been pledged toward the cost of the building renovation, including the above-mentioned $2.5-million gift from businessman and philanthropist Ignat Kaneff. Other important campaign gifts to date include a $1-million contribution from publisher Canada Law Book toward the creation of a rare book room in the law school's library; $750,000 from Toronto-based firm Goodmans LLP for a new student cafeteria and lounge; and $500,000 from Markham developer Rudy Bratty (LLB '57). Osgoode students, faculty and staff have also demonstrated their support for the campaign with donations of $70,000 from the Legal & Literary Society student government and approximately $250,000 from faculty and staff. In addition, York University has pledged substantial support.
The Building Osgoode Campaign is the latest in a series of ambitious initiatives undertaken by the law school. Other recent initiatives include creating two endowed Chairs, revamping the school's admissions policy and first-year curriculum, developing a joint degree with New York University School of Law, and becoming home to the new Law Reform Commission of Ontario.
In 2007, teams from Osgoode Hall Law School won several major mooting competitions in Canada.[1] During this same year they went on to win the Sopinka Cup, to be honored by the American Trial Lawyer's Association for their excellence, and to win all three of the 1st prizes at the US Mediation Tournament.[2]
Osgoode Hall has recently altered its admissions process to a more holistic system, similar to that employed at McGill University Faculty of Law. This process will come into effect for prospective students applying in fall 2008. Holistic admissions processes take into account both Undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores, as well as "other relevant criteria" such as graduate degrees, work experience, and difficulty of prior academic studies.[3] Presently, the law school uses a formula which weighs the LSAT score as one year's GPA thus favoring applicants with several degrees. According to statistics published in the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools by the Law School Admission Council, the median undergraduate GPA of accepted students is 3.8 (85%), and the median LSAT score is 160 (83rd percentile). While it is possible to be admitted with only two years of undergraduate university study, in practice the majority of successful candidates arrive to first year law at Osgoode already possessing one or more degrees. Admission is extremely competitive; according to the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools, 608 offers of admission were made to 2,397 applicants in 2006.
Osgoode Hall Law School offers a joint M.B.A./LL.B. program with the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a combined law and environmental studies degree.
Osgoode Hall Law School also offers the Osgoode/NYU LL.B/J.D. program with New York University School of Law Both schools offer joint-degree programs where students can earn an American J.D. (ABA-Approved) and Canadian LL.B. in four years, spending two years at each institution.[4] Osgoode and NYU have also recently introduced an Osgoode LL.B./NYU LL.M. program, whereby a student can obtain both degrees in just three and a half years instead of the four years it would normally take.[5]
Osgoode is also one of the few law schools to offer the possibility of graduating with both an English Canadian LL.B. and a Quebec LL.L. degree, enabling graduates to practice in the province of Quebec and providing graduates of this program with training in the Civil Law System in addition to common law. This program is offered in conjunction with the law school at the Université de Montréal.
Osgoode is also the home of the largest Graduate Program in Law in Canada. Osgoode also hosts the only Professional Development Program in Canada, whose coures are taught at the satellite campus located at the Osgoode Professional Development Centre at 1 Dundas Street West in downtown Toronto. A variety of LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available.
Notable alumni of Osgoode Hall Law School include:
'Supreme Court Justices'
★ John Robert Cartwright, former Chief Justice
★ Peter Cory, former Puisne Judge and current Chancellor of York University
★ Frank Joseph Hughes, former Puisne Judge
★ Wilfred Judson, former Puisne Judge
★ Patrick Kerwin, former Chief Justice
★ Bora Laskin, former Chief Justice
★ Wishart Spence, former Puisne Judge
'Other judges'
★ Allen Linden, Federal Court of Appeal judge
★ Roy McMurtry, former Chief Justice of Ontario
★ Dennis O'Connor, Ontario Court of Appeal judge and Associate Chief Justice of Ontario
★ John Richard, current Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal
★ Warren Winkler, current Chief Justice of Ontario
'Others'
★ John Black Aird, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
★ Michael Bryant, Attorney General of Ontario
★ Bernd Christmas, Board of Directors at the CBC
★ Bill Davis, 18th Premier of Ontario
★ George Drew - 14th Premier of Ontario
★ Marlys Edwardh, highly-reputed Canadian constitutional lawyer, worked on the Maher Arar case
★ Ward P.D. Elcock, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
★ Ernie Eves, 23rd Premier of Ontario
★ Jim Flaherty, federal Minister of Finance
★ Herb Gray, former Deputy Prime Minister and Solicitor General of Canada
★ Edward Greenspan, highly-reputed Canadian barrister
★ Barbara Hall, former mayor of Toronto, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission
★ Ron Irwin, former federal cabinet minister, former Ambassador to Ireland
★ Floyd Laughren, former Ontario Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier of Ontario
★ William Ross Macdonald, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
★ Gavin MacKenzie, Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada
★ Susan McGrath, Past President of the Canadian Bar Association
★ James Morton, President of the Ontario Bar Association
★ John Robarts, 17th Premier of Ontario
★ Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications
★ Ian Scott, former Attorney General of Ontario
★ Greg Sorbara, Ontario Minister of Finance
★ Paula Todd, award-winning journalist formerly on TVO and currently host of The Verdict on CTV
★ John Tory, former President and CEO of Rogers Communications, former Campaign Chair for ex Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, current Leader of the Conservative Party of Ontario
★ David Young, former Attorney General of Ontario
★ Peter Van Loan, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
1. It's a triple-crown for Osgoode's mooting teams
2. Osgoode Wins All Three of the First Prizes at U.S. Mediation Tournament
3. Osgoode Adopts New Admissions Policy
4. Osgoode J.D./LL.B. Program
5. Exciting New Opportunity: LLB/LLM - NYU - May 11 Deadline
★ Osgoode Hall Law School
★ The Law Society of Upper Canada
★ ''Obiter Dicta'', Osgoode's student newspaper
'Osgoode Hall Law School of York University', is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889, Osgoode has the largest faculty of common law in Canada and, until 1957, was the only accredited law school in Ontario. The school was at the centre of the debates over the principles of modern legal education in the 1950s. Osgoode Hall Law School provided many of the founding members of the bar in the prairie provinces. Today, the law school offers a top tier Bachelor of Laws program that is accepted for bar admission in every province as well as Massachusetts and New York, three joint degree programs, as well as Canada's largest graduate program in law. Osgoode has not changed its degree to a JD as it is based on the British system but offers a JD degree in conjunction with New York University School of Law.
Osgoode Hall Law School has the largest law library in the Commonwealth.
The law school is home to the Ontario Law Reform Commission as well as the largest law library in the Commonwealth. The law school houses a student clinic (the Community and Legal Aid Services Program), the Innocence Project, and according to the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools, the most extensive range of clinical programs in Canada.
Osgoode Hall Law School is particularly known for it's leading role in the areas of constitutional law, the Charter and human rights, and international law. (Hogg, Slattery, Monahan, Castel)
Some of the world's most important legal scholars teach at Osgoode, including a faculty member who also sits at the University of Oxford as a permanent Chair in Jurisprudence and Professor of Philosophy of Law. The current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and former judge at the Supreme Court of Canada, Louise Arbour taught at and later became the associate dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.
Other world-class leading scholars at Osgoode include ''Michael Mandel'' and ''Sharon Williams'' (Public International Law, International Criminal Law, Private International Law), ''Alan Hutchinson'' (Torts, Public law, Legal Theory), ''Robert S Wai'' (International Trade Regulation), ''Benjamin Geva'' (Commercial and Banking Law), ''Ian MacDougal'' (Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions), ''Jiniyan Li'' (International Taxation Law), ''Kent McNeil'' (Native Law), ''Eric Tucker'' (Labour Law), ''Mary Jane Mossman'' (Feminist Legal Theory, Family Law, Law Reform), ''Gary D Watson'' (Civil Litigation), ''Stepan Wood'' (Environmental Law), ''Brian Slattery'' (Constitutional Law).
The current dean of the law school is Patrick J. Monahan. He succeeds Peter Hogg who is a leading Canadian constitutional expert and the author of ''Constitutional Law of Canada'', the single most-cited book in decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.
| Contents |
| History |
| The New Osgoode Building |
| The Building Osgoode Campaign |
| Academics |
| Admissions |
| Joint degrees |
| Graduate programs |
| Alumni |
| References |
| External links |
History
For its first seven decades, Osgoode Hall Law School was located at Osgoode Hall at the corner of Queen Street and University Avenue near the University of Toronto. The law school was not affiliated with the University of Toronto since law schools at that time traditionally were not connected with a university. The Law Society of Upper Canada maintained control of professional legal education in Ontario until 1957. In 1969, after a decision by the Ontario Ministry of Education requiring law schools to be affiliated with a university, the Osgoode Hall Law School moved to York University.
The buildings known as "Osgoode Hall" (the earliest dating from 1832) remain the headquarters of the Law Society and house the Ontario Court of Appeal. The structure at Queen and University is still known as Osgoode Hall.
The law school is responsible for numerous firsts in legal education in Canada. Osgoode was the first law school to introduce curricular streams in 2001, giving a student the opportunity to graduate with a concentration in a particular area of law, namely International, Litigation or Tax. Osgoode was the first law school to establish a combined law and business degree. Osgoode was the first law school to establish a combined law and environmental studies degree. Osgoode the first law school to establish a student-staffed community legal services clinic (Parkdale Community Legal Services, in 1972). Osgoode was the first law school to develop innovative intensive programs and clinical teaching programs.
The New Osgoode Building
In May 2007, Dean Monahan announced plans for an extensive renovation and extension of Osgoode Hall Law School's current premises. The new building design is about light, space and functionality. It is also about student engagement and bridging the old and the new.
The new building, designed by the renowned architect Jack Diamond, will showcase a spectacular three-story atrium that will serve as the living room or common area for the law school, uniting student space, faculty offices and the library.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2008. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the new structure will be named the Ignat Kaneff Building, in recognition of a $2.5 million dollar contribution to the Building Osgoode Campaign by businessman and developer Ignat Kanneff.
The Building Osgoode Campaign
In May 2007, Osgoode Hall Law School officially launched the Building Osgoode Campaign – the largest fundraising campaign in the history of legal education in Ontario - which aims to raise $25 million dollars to finance the renovation of the school's building, and the expansion of it's academic and financial aid programs.
Almost $6 million in early commitments have already been pledged toward the cost of the building renovation, including the above-mentioned $2.5-million gift from businessman and philanthropist Ignat Kaneff. Other important campaign gifts to date include a $1-million contribution from publisher Canada Law Book toward the creation of a rare book room in the law school's library; $750,000 from Toronto-based firm Goodmans LLP for a new student cafeteria and lounge; and $500,000 from Markham developer Rudy Bratty (LLB '57). Osgoode students, faculty and staff have also demonstrated their support for the campaign with donations of $70,000 from the Legal & Literary Society student government and approximately $250,000 from faculty and staff. In addition, York University has pledged substantial support.
The Building Osgoode Campaign is the latest in a series of ambitious initiatives undertaken by the law school. Other recent initiatives include creating two endowed Chairs, revamping the school's admissions policy and first-year curriculum, developing a joint degree with New York University School of Law, and becoming home to the new Law Reform Commission of Ontario.
Academics
In 2007, teams from Osgoode Hall Law School won several major mooting competitions in Canada.[1] During this same year they went on to win the Sopinka Cup, to be honored by the American Trial Lawyer's Association for their excellence, and to win all three of the 1st prizes at the US Mediation Tournament.[2]
Admissions
Osgoode Hall has recently altered its admissions process to a more holistic system, similar to that employed at McGill University Faculty of Law. This process will come into effect for prospective students applying in fall 2008. Holistic admissions processes take into account both Undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores, as well as "other relevant criteria" such as graduate degrees, work experience, and difficulty of prior academic studies.[3] Presently, the law school uses a formula which weighs the LSAT score as one year's GPA thus favoring applicants with several degrees. According to statistics published in the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools by the Law School Admission Council, the median undergraduate GPA of accepted students is 3.8 (85%), and the median LSAT score is 160 (83rd percentile). While it is possible to be admitted with only two years of undergraduate university study, in practice the majority of successful candidates arrive to first year law at Osgoode already possessing one or more degrees. Admission is extremely competitive; according to the Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools, 608 offers of admission were made to 2,397 applicants in 2006.
Joint degrees
Osgoode Hall Law School offers a joint M.B.A./LL.B. program with the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a combined law and environmental studies degree.
Osgoode Hall Law School also offers the Osgoode/NYU LL.B/J.D. program with New York University School of Law Both schools offer joint-degree programs where students can earn an American J.D. (ABA-Approved) and Canadian LL.B. in four years, spending two years at each institution.[4] Osgoode and NYU have also recently introduced an Osgoode LL.B./NYU LL.M. program, whereby a student can obtain both degrees in just three and a half years instead of the four years it would normally take.[5]
Osgoode is also one of the few law schools to offer the possibility of graduating with both an English Canadian LL.B. and a Quebec LL.L. degree, enabling graduates to practice in the province of Quebec and providing graduates of this program with training in the Civil Law System in addition to common law. This program is offered in conjunction with the law school at the Université de Montréal.
Graduate programs
Osgoode is also the home of the largest Graduate Program in Law in Canada. Osgoode also hosts the only Professional Development Program in Canada, whose coures are taught at the satellite campus located at the Osgoode Professional Development Centre at 1 Dundas Street West in downtown Toronto. A variety of LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available.
Alumni
Notable alumni of Osgoode Hall Law School include:
'Supreme Court Justices'
★ John Robert Cartwright, former Chief Justice
★ Peter Cory, former Puisne Judge and current Chancellor of York University
★ Frank Joseph Hughes, former Puisne Judge
★ Wilfred Judson, former Puisne Judge
★ Patrick Kerwin, former Chief Justice
★ Bora Laskin, former Chief Justice
★ Wishart Spence, former Puisne Judge
'Other judges'
★ Allen Linden, Federal Court of Appeal judge
★ Roy McMurtry, former Chief Justice of Ontario
★ Dennis O'Connor, Ontario Court of Appeal judge and Associate Chief Justice of Ontario
★ John Richard, current Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal
★ Warren Winkler, current Chief Justice of Ontario
'Others'
★ John Black Aird, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
★ Michael Bryant, Attorney General of Ontario
★ Bernd Christmas, Board of Directors at the CBC
★ Bill Davis, 18th Premier of Ontario
★ George Drew - 14th Premier of Ontario
★ Marlys Edwardh, highly-reputed Canadian constitutional lawyer, worked on the Maher Arar case
★ Ward P.D. Elcock, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
★ Ernie Eves, 23rd Premier of Ontario
★ Jim Flaherty, federal Minister of Finance
★ Herb Gray, former Deputy Prime Minister and Solicitor General of Canada
★ Edward Greenspan, highly-reputed Canadian barrister
★ Barbara Hall, former mayor of Toronto, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission
★ Ron Irwin, former federal cabinet minister, former Ambassador to Ireland
★ Floyd Laughren, former Ontario Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier of Ontario
★ William Ross Macdonald, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
★ Gavin MacKenzie, Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada
★ Susan McGrath, Past President of the Canadian Bar Association
★ James Morton, President of the Ontario Bar Association
★ John Robarts, 17th Premier of Ontario
★ Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications
★ Ian Scott, former Attorney General of Ontario
★ Greg Sorbara, Ontario Minister of Finance
★ Paula Todd, award-winning journalist formerly on TVO and currently host of The Verdict on CTV
★ John Tory, former President and CEO of Rogers Communications, former Campaign Chair for ex Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, current Leader of the Conservative Party of Ontario
★ David Young, former Attorney General of Ontario
★ Peter Van Loan, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
References
1. It's a triple-crown for Osgoode's mooting teams
2. Osgoode Wins All Three of the First Prizes at U.S. Mediation Tournament
3. Osgoode Adopts New Admissions Policy
4. Osgoode J.D./LL.B. Program
5. Exciting New Opportunity: LLB/LLM - NYU - May 11 Deadline
External links
★ Osgoode Hall Law School
★ The Law Society of Upper Canada
★ ''Obiter Dicta'', Osgoode's student newspaper
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