Unique partnership begins between U of C and Canada’s first new law faculty in 30 years

Canadian legal history will be made May 31, 2010 when leaders of the University of Calgary’s law school and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, B.C. meet in Calgary to sign a unique partnering agreement to create the country’s first new law faculty in more than three decades.

TRU Dean of Law Chris Axworthy

The first-of-its-kind licensing agreement will provide TRU with an existing common-law curriculum that will enable the new law faculty to begin teaching its first class of about 60 students in the fall of 2011.

The new Faculty of Law, the first in the Province outside of a major centre, will adapt the U of C’s curriculum, making some changes to account for differences in provincial legislation that exist on either side of the Rocky Mountains. It is expected that the U of C law faculty’s focus on natural resources, energy and environmental law are uniquely suited to the academic priorities at TRU. Upon completion of the program, graduates will earn a TRU Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree that recognizes the collaboration with the U of C.

Founding TRU Dean of Law Chris Axworthy said the rare opportunity to build a law faculty from the ground-up will enable Kamloops and other smaller B.C. communities to train and retain lawyers. Axworthy, a former Attorney General of Saskatchewan, also intends to build bonds with First Nations communities and graduate more Aboriginal lawyers.

“Establishing a professional school such as a faculty of law is a significant development for the academic programming for any university,” Axworthy said of TRU.

“Importantly, for Kamloops and the Interior of B.C., is that lawyers remain in the city where they went to law school for the duration of their careers. We hope many of our future graduates will stay in the Kamloops area, helping contribute to the community and providing everyone with critical access to legal services when they need them.”

“There is a growing crisis over the lack of legal representation and access to justice in Canada,” said U of C law school Dean Alastair Lucas. “For the most part, law school graduates are going into direct or indirect corporate roles that will make them good livings and support their communities, but not enough serve the legal needs of individuals, particularly in smaller centres. So getting more law graduates out there is important and we’re in a unique position to help make that happen.”

The TRU Faculty of Law is now actively recruiting new faculty and expects to begin the application process for its first students later this fall.

Alan Harrison, the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) of the University of Calgary and Uli Scheck, Provost & Vice-President Academic Thompson Rivers University sign a unique partnering agreement to create the country’s first new law faculty in more than three decades. The first-of-its-kind licensing agreement will provide TRU with an existing common-law curriculum that will enable the new Faculty of Law to begin teaching its first class of about 60 students in the fall of 2011.