Lakehead University Faculty of Law

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is the professional school of law of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

History

Lakehead University's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law officially opened in September 2013. Its founding dean was Lee Stuesser.^[1] It is Canada's newest law school and is the first Canadian law program to integrate licensing into its curriculum; its graduates will be qualified to practice law without requiring an articling process. Lakehead Law is unique in its approach to create street ready legal practitioners, and its leadership has stated that law schools in Canada have to do "better" in breaking down the division between law school graduate and useful working lawyer.^[2] The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is one of only two law schools in Canada that has a mandatory, full year course in Aboriginal Law, as recommended by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2015.^[3] In 2015, Lee Stuesser left the faculty as Founding Dean,^[4] and was replaced by interim Dean Lisa Phillips of Osgoode Hall, while a permanent replacement Dean is sought.^[5] On January 12th, 2016, the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law announced Angelique EagleWoman as Dean of Law. ^[6]

Building

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is housed in Thunder Bay's historic Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, built in 1909.

Admissions

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is one of only a few Canadian law schools, in addition to Windsor Law and Thompson Rivers Law School, that does not publish a profile on the entering class. The school chooses not to publish the average or median LSAT score or GPA (Grade Point Average) for the entering class.^{[7] [8]}

On November 21, 2013, the Convocation of the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) made an historic announcement that Lakehead University was successful in its innovative application to proceed with an Integrated Practice Curriculum (IPC) model of legal education. Students enrolled in the three year JD program at Lakehead will complete integrated practice training and do placements within their three year degree. Upon completion of their JD degree Lakehead graduates will not need to article or complete any other course of study. ^[9]

Law Journal

In December 2015, the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law published its inaugural issue of the Lakehead Law Journal (LLJ), featuring articles by Hadley Friedland and Val Napoleon, as well as Canadian constitutional law scholar Peter W. Hogg, co-written by Daniel Styler.^[10]

The Lakehead Law Journal is a refereed open access journal that publishes articles, case comments, book reviews, and book notes on legal issues in Canada. It is run by both Bora Laskin Faculty of Law students, as well as co-edited by Professors Karen Drake ^[11] and Dr. Mariette Brennan ^[12] as co-Editors in Chief, and focusses particularly on Aboriginal legal issues, rural, northern, and small firm practice, as well as natural resources and environmental law.

References

External links

• Lakehead University Faculty of Law