Annual Report 2006-2007 - Osgoode Hall Law School - York ...

INTRODUCTION
The 2006-07 year was one of significant change and progress for Osgoode Hall Law School as we continued to implement the
strategic initiatives set out in the Plan for the Law School 2006-2010: Making a Difference.
Following on the heels of an intensive process of research and reflection about changes in legal education and practice
internationally, the first-year LLB curriculum was overhauled. Incorporating legal ethics and professional responsibility into the
curriculum is one of the central features of this reform, which includes a new course on Ethical Lawyering in a Global
Community. The Law School also introduced a Public Interest Requirement – the first such program in a Canadian law school –
that stresses the importance of an ethic of public service. Every Osgoode student will make a
contribution to public interest work during their law school years by performing a total of 40 hours
of pro bono service.
In addition, the Law School adopted a new Admissions Policy in 2006-07 that addresses its goals of
excellence and equity. This is the first major change in Osgoode’s admissions policy and procedure
since the 1980s and it incorporates best practices in law school admissions from leading law schools
across North America. The new policy combines the existing four categories of admission – Regular,
Special, Access and Mature – into one General category, and also retains an Aboriginal category of
admission into the Law School. Admission decisions will be based on a holistic set of criteria including
undergraduate Grade-Point Average (GPA) and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) as well as other
relevant factors.
In the past year, the Law School continued to increase and strengthen its full-time faculty with the appointments of Assistant
Professors Aaron Dhir and Sara Slinn from the faculties of law at the University of Windsor and Queen’s University respectively.
Professor Gus Van Harten ’99 from the London School of Economics and Professor François Tanguay-Renaud from Oxford
University will also be joining us in 2008. The Law School proudly appointed its first two named Chairs: Professor Cynthia
Williams as the Osler Chair in Business Law for a two-year term and Edward J. Waitzer as the Jarislowsky Dimma Mooney Chair
in Corporate Governance (in conjunction with Schulich School of Business) for a three-year term.
On December 22, 2006, Osgoode signed a gift agreement with developer Ignat Kaneff whose $2.5 million donation to the Law
School helped to launch The Building Osgoode Campaign in 2007. The campaign has a goal of $20 million that will go toward
the renovation and expansion of the School’s building as well as programs and student aid.
As well, the Law School in 2006-07 became home to the new Law Commission of Ontario; signed an agreement with New York
University School of Law for a new LLB/LLM Program (a companion agreement to the LLB/JD Program with NYU); held the third
Raoul Wallenberg International Human Rights Symposium; hosted the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly that deliberated on provincial
electoral reform; and launched www.TheCourt.ca – an online resource for debate and data about the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Law School also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Osgoode Criminal Intensive Program with a reception at the National
Club in November for alumni, current and former faculty, and placement supervisors.
The Osgoode Professional Development program continued to perform strongly in 2006-07, posting a 38 per cent revenue
increase to almost $5 million in revenue, with net return to the Law School of more than $640,000.
All and all, it was another banner year for our faculty, who received great recognition for their work, and our students who won
five major moots and had a first-ever, first-place finish in the National Law School Mediation Tournament in the U.S.
To Osgoode students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, including members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the
Dean’s Advisory Council, I offer my sincere thanks for your outstanding contributions in 2006-07. We can look forward with
optimism and confidence to another great year ahead.
Yours very truly,
Patrick J. Monahan, Dean
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OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL