Faculty of Law

Dean Flanagan teaching in new seminar room with videoconferencing technology

Queen’s Faculty of Law is renowned for its distinctive combination of academic excellence and community engagement. It is the school of choice for students seeking a first-class legal education in a community setting with a rich array of international, interdisciplinary and "hands-on" learning opportunities. Queen’s Law’s nationally and internationally recognized faculty members and vibrant student body have always made learning a true collaboration. The law school experience here is not only challenging and stimulating, but also personal and collegial. Our alumni have gone on to become leading legal professionals around the world and, due to their special connection to the Faculty, they have remained famously devoted to the school.

Faculty of Law Goal: $10,000,000

Highlighted Priorities

–Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace - $1,000,000

Understanding, interpreting and implementing labour and employment law is a complex but critical component of the business community’s needs. The first of its kind in Canada, the Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace (CLCW) opened in November 2010. The Centre is already becoming the intellectual home for the Canadian labour- and employment-law community. Focusing on research, curriculum development, teaching, and outreach, the CLCW is training the next generation of leading labour and employment law practitioners, researchers, teachers and scholars. It is also identifying emerging trends and acting as a conduit for knowledge exchange among business, law practitioners, researchers, students and faculty.

–Hands-On Learning Fund/Queen’s Business Law Clinic - $750,000

There is no better way to apply what is being learned in the classroom than to work in a real-life setting under the close supervision of expert practitioners. Some law schools, though, have been content to send graduates into their new profession without requiring hands-on learning. At Queen’s, we believe providing our students with a clinical experience is part of our mission.

The Hands-On Learning Fund will support our extensive clinical programs, including Legal Aid, the Business Law Clinic, the Elder Law Clinic, the Correctional Law Project and Pro Bono Students Canada.

–Queen’s Law International Fund - $250,000

An international perspective is an asset in the practise of law, even for those who are not pursuing employment in other countries or in the field of international law. Understanding how different jurisdictions and cultures apply familiar concepts, exploring the complexity of legal principles applied beyond borders, and the experience of living and studying in a different setting or language are all valuable for our students.

The Queen’s Law International Fund allows the Dean to respond to the program’s highest priority needs, and to seize opportunities as they arise. The Fund supports scholarships and awards that help our students attend our international law program at Herstmonceux Castle in England and participate in international exchanges, The Fund also supports international public-interest summer internships, visits by international speakers, and new international initiatives.

–Chairs and Professorships - $5,000,000

  • Workplace Law
  • Business Law
  • Private Law
  • Public Law

Recruiting the best faculty is key to being among Canada’s leading law schools. Not only do we have to compete with our fellow academic institutions, but we must be able attract stellar minds out of law practise and business as well.

Creating a series of endowed Chairs and Professorships in areas such as Workplace Law, Business Law, Private Law and Public Law, will build a strong, multi-faceted group of senior law scholars as the core on which to build our program.

–Macdonald Hall Renovations - $500,000

Regular upgrades to Macdonald Hall’s facilities and to our state-of-the-art teaching and learning resources enhance the student experience and help us provide the best possible education for the next generation of legal professionals.

–Student Support - $3,000,000

Scholarships to support academic excellence provide help for students with financial need. With law school tuition now more than $15,000 per year, financial aid is more important than ever. With our strong commitment to financial aid, we are proud to be able to say that no qualified student is unable to attend Queen’s Law because of financial need. But to maintain this commitment in a world of ever rising tuition fees, we rely on donor support. Scholarships allow us to maintain a competitive edge by continuing to attract the best and brightest to Queen’s Law.

–Queen’s Law School Fund (unrestricted) - $1,700,000

Unrestricted funds are essential so that the faculty can address urgent needs and take advantage of emerging opportunities. The fund will be used to attract internationally-recognized visitors and scholars, allow students to participate in national and international mooting competitions, support student internships in public-sector and non-profit organizations, encourage student exchanges and collaborative partnerships with other law schools, and fund conferences and symposia held at Queen’s.