Osgoode Hall Law School is a law school in Toronto, Ontario. While it was founded by the Law Society of Upper Canada, it now serves as the faculty of law of York University. It is named after William Osgoode, an Oxford University graduate and barrister of Lincoln's Inn who was the first to serve as the Chief Justice of Upper Canada, and then later Lower Canada. Although it can trace its origins to the 1820s, Osgoode Hall Law School was officially established on-site in the Osgoode Hall building, which still houses the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, on Queen Street West in 1889. Following a provincial decision that every law school be affiliated with a university, Osgoode signed an "agreement of affiliation" with York University in 1965 while still operating out of Osgoode Hall. Osgoode has been housed at York University's Keele Campus since 1969 (see section below).
The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. Osgoode also hosts Professional Development Programs (OPD) which are located in downtown Toronto at 1 Dundas St. near the original Osgoode Hall building. A variety of LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available. The current dean of the law school is Lorne Sossin.
Rankings and reputation
Maclean's magazine has ranked Osgoode second amongst Canadian law schools in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In the 2008 rankings published by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, Osgoode was ranked first in Canada, and was awarded high marks for the quality of its professors, flexible curriculum, and the diversity and relevance of course offerings.
The Original Osgoode Hall Building and the Law School's Current Facilities
For its first eight decades, Osgoode Hall Law School was located at Osgoode Hall at the corner of Queen Street and University Avenue. The structures at Queen and University (the earliest dating from 1832) are still known as Osgoode Hall. They remain the headquarters of the Law Society of Upper Canada and house the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
Currently, the law school is located on the Keele Campus of York University, in the Toronto suburb of North York. In May 2007, Dean Monahan announced plans for an extensive renovation and extension of Osgoode Hall Law School involving a renovation of the existing building, and the addition of an additional wing. The building was designed by architect Jack Diamond with the construction of the renovated building beginning in the summer of 2009. The project had been majorly funded by a $2.5 million gift by Ignat Kaneff, and the building has been renamed in his honor. The law school is referred to by York as its faculty of law.
John Robert Cartwright, former Chief JusticePeter Cory, former Puisne Judge and former Chancellor of York UniversitySir Lyman Duff, former Chief JusticeFrank Joseph Hughes, former Puisne JudgeWilfred Judson, former Puisne JudgeAndromache Karakatsanis, current Puisne JudgePatrick Kerwin, former Chief JusticeBora Laskin, former Chief JusticeMalcolm Rowe, current Puisne JudgeWishart Spence, former Puisne JudgeJohn Arnup, Moderator for United Church of Canada, Justice at Ontario Court of AppealGeorge Ethelbert CarterKim Carter, Chief Military Judge of the Canadian ForcesMarcel Crête, jurist and Chief Justice of Quebec(Jack Sydney George) Bud Cullen, Judge at Federal Court of CanadaCharles Dubin, former Chief Justice of OntarioDaniel Dumais (LL.M.), Emeritus Lawyer distinction from Barreau du Quebec, Puisne Judge of Superior Court of QuebecAsher Grunis, President of the Supreme Court of IsraelSydney Harris (judge), activist lawyer and judge, President of the Canadian Jewish CongressBill Hastings, Chief Censor of New Zealand, District Court Judge of New ZealandRussell G. Juriansz, first South Asian appointed to Ontario Court of AppealHarry S. Laforme, Justice at Ontario Court of AppealPatrick LeSage, Chief Justice of Ontario Superior Court of JusticeMalcolm Archibald Macdonald, Chief Justice of British ColumbiaMark MacGuigan, Attorney General of Canada, Justice of the Federal Court of AppealGoldwyn Arthur Martin, QC, Justice at Ontario Court of AppealRoy McMurtry, Chief Justice of Ontario, Attorney General of Ontario, Canadian High Commissioner to the United KingdomJames Chalmers McRuer, Ontario Court of Appeal, Chief Justice at High Court of Justice of OntarioCharles Terrence Murphy, Judge at Ontario Superior Court, President of North Atlantic AssemblyDennis O'Connor, Associate Chief Justice of OntarioJames O'Reilly, Federal Court JudgeCoulter Osborne, arbitrator, Associate Chief Justice of OntarioJohn Richard, NAFTA Adjudicator, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of AppealCharles Stuart, Justice of the Supreme Court of AlbertaMichael Tulloch, Justice at the Ontario Court of AppealKaren M. Weiler, past Judge Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, Justice at Ontario Court of AppealSharon A. Williams, Judge ad litem at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaWarren Winkler, Chief Justice of OntarioWilly Mutunga, former Chief Justice of KenyaSir John A. MacdonaldWilliam Lyon Mackenzie KingArthur MeighenBill Davis, 18th Premier of OntarioGeorge Drew, 14th Premier of OntarioErnie Eves, 23rd Premier of OntarioHoward Ferguson, 9th Premier of OntarioLeslie Frost, 16th Premier of OntarioWilliam Howard Hearst, 7th Premier of OntarioRachel Notley, 17th Premier of AlbertaJohn Robarts, 17th Premier of OntarioJohn Black Aird, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canadian Senator and founding partner of Aird & Berlis LLPLincoln Alexander, 24th Lieutenant Governor of OntarioDaniel J. Arbess, member of Council on Foreign RelationsOliver Mowat Biggar, co-founder of Smart & Biggar, first Chief Electoral Officer of CanadaLeonard Braithwaite, member of Ontario ParliamentLionel Chevrier, Attorney General of Canada, President of Privy Council of Canada, High Commissioner to the UKWard Elcock, Director of Canadian Security Intelligence ServiceGordon Fairweather, Attorney General of New Brunswick, first Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights CommissionJim Flaherty, Minister of Finance of CanadaHugh Guthrie, Attorney General of Canada, Minister of National DefenceRoss Hornby, Canadian ambassador to the European UnionRon Irwin, former Ambassador to IrelandJames Kelleher, Solicitor General of Canada, Member of the Canadian SenateJudy LaMarsh, Secretary of State for Canada, broadcasterAllan Leal, President of the Empire Club of Canada, Rhodes ScholarSir James Alexander Lougheed, Calgary businessman and Government Leader in the Canadian SenateAlexander Malcolm Manson, Attorney General of British Columbia, JudgeJohn Matheson, M.P., Justice of Ontario, helped develop Canada's flag and the Order of CanadaJohn Pallett, Chief Gov't Whip, leader of Canadian delegation to NATOLawrence Pennell, Solicitor General of CanadaLionel Perez (politician), Montreal city councilor and member of Union MontrealRichard Rohmer, aviator, Air Force General, lawyer, author, Honorary Advisor to Chief of Defense StaffDianne Saxe, environmental lawyer and scholar, Environmental Commissioner of OntarioIan Scott, constitutional lawyer, Attorney General of OntarioSinclair Stevens, banker, President of the Treasury BoardGeorge Stanley White, former Speaker of the Canadian SenateJohn Tory, 65th and current Mayor of Toronto, Former President and CEO of Rogers Media Inc., Former Chairman of the CFLJames Worrall, Chair of IOC Commission on The Olympic Charter, President of the Canadian Olympic CommitteeMarlys Edwardh, civil rightsFraser Elliott, founder of Stikeman Elliott, President of the Art Gallery of OntarioAustin Cooper (lawyer), criminal lawyer, defended Keith Richards in TorontoEdwin A. Goodman, founding partner of GoodmansEdward Greenspan, criminal lawyerJeffry House, refugee law, war resistersJohn Rosen, criminal lawyerLaura Safran, corporate lawyer, partner (business rank) at Calgary office of DLA PiperM. David Lepofsky, disability and human rights lawyer Marie Henein, criminal lawyer, defended Jian Ghomeshi Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty, president of the Canadian Pacific RailwayMarshall A. Cohen, Director at Barrick Gold Corporation & Toronto-Dominion Bank, member Trilateral Commission Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesCharles Peter McColough, CEO and Chairman of Xerox Corporation, member of Council on Foreign RelationsJagoda Pike, former publisher of the Toronto StarArthur Richard Andrew Scace, Chairman of Bank of Nova Scotia, director of Canadian Opera CompanyKathleen Taylor, Chair of Royal Bank of CanadaJohn S. D. Tory, founder of Torys and Director of A.V. Roe CanadaMorley Callaghan, novelistMurray Cohl, co-founder of the Toronto International Film FestivalPhilip Fleishman, writer, producer, Peabody nomineeDaniel Iron, film and TV producerTom MacInnes, poetJerry Levitan, Oscar nomineeAaron Schwartz (Canadian actor)Robert Elgie, Ontario Minister of Labour, became a neurosurgeon after becoming a lawyerPayam Akhavan, international human rightsConstance Backhouse, legal scholar and historian, President of the American Society of Legal HistoryDeborah Coyne, constitutional law and international relationsGiuseppina d'Agostino, intellectual propertyMichael Geist, internet and privacy lawJames C. Hathaway, international refugee lawColleen Hanycz, principal of Brescia University College from 2008-2015, current university president of La Salle UniversityMichael Mandel, law professor, international criminal lawLyal S. Sunga, international humanitarian lawPaul C. Weiler, Emeritus Professor of Law, Harvard Law SchoolJean-Gabriel Castel, private international law, decorated member of French ResistancePeter Hogg, Canadian constitutional law, authored most-cited book at Supreme Court of CanadaDavid Vaver, intellectual property law, also Emeritus Professor at Oxford University
