2024

Read 75 years,75 stories: Celebrating 75 years of modern legal education, one conversation at time (PDF)

U of T Law, in association with Torys LLP, hosted an intimate evening with University Professor Emeritus Michael J. Trebilcock.

William Kovacic, a distinguished American legal scholar and former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, joined Trebilcock for the event. As Canada confronted a new economic reality due to U.S. tariffs, Trebilcock shared insights from over 50 years of scholarship in competition law and its impact on Canadian policy and beyond.

How have the law and legal education evolved over time? Why has the rigorous study of law prevailed for seventy-five years? Where do we go from here?

Celebrating 75 years of modern legal education, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law's conference, which took place on March 27 & 28, looked forward by looking back.

Present-day faculty members reflect on pivotal contributions to academic and legal development by U of T Law scholars over the last seven decades.

A first-of-its-kind gift made by Terry Burgoyne (LLB 1981), a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, will endow new academic awards recognizing student achievement in U of T’s juris doctor (JD) program.  

The Burgoyne Award of Excellence will be the faculty’s largest recognition program, awarded to JD students across all three years, as nominated by their professors for scholarly excellence. Up to twenty inaugural awardees, each receiving a $1,000 prize, will be named later this academic year.  

Mayo Moran, a leader in advancing justice and equality at local and global levels, has been named the inaugural Irving and Rosalie Abella Chair in Justice and Equality at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. Moran, an expert in private and public law, has chaired committees and legislative reviews of profound national importance and advanced changes to the law.

For 75+ years, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law has understood that law is more than a profession—it has a deep and broad impact, shaping everything we do. The law can help keep us safe, support innovation, combat systemic racism, contribute to economic prosperity, strengthen democracy and protect the most vulnerable. This understanding is why we focus on preparing students to become world-class lawyers and some of Canada’s most impactful leaders in every field and profession.

The 75th Anniversary year kicked off with a Law Follies inspired gala show, held at the Isabel Bader Theatre on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

Professor Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto and University Professor Jutta Brunnée, Dean of the Faculty of Law (photo by Alice Xue Photography). 

Robert Sharpe was a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 1999 to 2020 and is currently Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at the Faculty of Law. He graduated with the degrees of BA (University of Western Ontario, 1966), LLB (University of Toronto, 1970) and DPhil (Oxford University, 1974). He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1974 and practised with MacKinnon McTaggart (later McTaggart Potts) in the area of civil litigation.

by Nina Haikara, Communications Strategist, Faculty of Law

How have the law and legal education evolved over time? Where do we go from here?

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law took pause to reflect during its two-day biennial conference, March 27 and 28.