The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest law school in Canada. 180 candidates are admitted for any given academic year. For the year 2021 class, the acceptance rate was 10%.
Notable alumni include Prime Ministers John Abbott and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, thirteen Justices of the Supreme Court (Including the most recent appointments, Mahmud Jamal and Nicholas Kasirer), as well as Members of Parliament. Marc Miller, a member of the current Cabinet of Canada, is a graduate from the Faculty.
Academics
Bachelor of Civil Law and Juris Doctor program
The McGill Faculty of Law offers a unique combined Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and Juris Doctor (JD) program. The BCL/JD program emphasizes a transsystemic and polyjural approach that integrates common law and civil law, sometimes within a single class. More recently, the Faculty has incorporated Indigenous law into its curriculum in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations for Canadian law schools.
In 2016, the Faculty reviewed its curriculum and added Integration Week: an introductory week of group work and lectures for first-year students. They also added two Focus Weeks—one in fall and one in winter—that allow students to take intensive one-week courses. In winter 2023, the first student seminar on Abolitionist practices and Transformative Justice was launched.
The duration of BCL/JD program is somewhat flexible: the program can be completed in 3, 3.5, or 4 years. Students who opt for a minor, major, or honours program generally require 4 years to complete their degree. Majors are offered in International Human Rights and Development and in Commercial Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.
The Faculty of Law, in collaboration with the Desautels Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Art's School of Social Work, offers joint programs that combine the BCL/JD program with either a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a Master of Social Work (MSW). A joint program takes 4 to 5 years to complete.
The Faculty of Law's Admissions Office has an acceptance rate of 10.1%.
Master of Laws (LLM) The Faculty offers four LLM programs for students: one general LLM program, and three specialized LLM programs in Air and Space Law, Environment, and Bioethics. Except for the LLM Bioethics program, all programs have thesis and non-thesis options. The non-thesis Master's of Law option prioritizes course work and can be completed in twelve months. The thesis option prioritizes research; it can be completed in sixteen to twenty-four months. Student in the LLM Bioethics program write a thesis.
Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) The Faculty offers three DCL programs in General Law, Comparative Law, and Air and Space Law. Students generally complete the DCL program in 3 to 4 years.
Graduate Certificates
The Faculty offers graduate certificates in Comparative Law and in Air and Space Law. Graduate certificates are awarded upon completing a set number of credits. Certificates are based on coursework, and no thesis is required.
History
The Faculty of Law was officially created in 1853, after a petition signed by young men studying law in Montreal was made to McGill in 1848. With the incoming class of 1969, the Faculty added a stand-alone common law degree, suitable to the practice of law in other Canadian provinces, which could be taken individually or jointly with the traditional Civil Law curriculum. The joint degree was then referred to as the National Programme, and taught common law and civil law in separate courses, but combined their study in a year-long introductory "Foundations" course and in some upper-year seminars. In 1951, McGill inaugurated its first post-graduate law program with the creation of its Institute of Air & Space Law. The institute was founded by John Cobb Cooper, who had served as a senior official in Pan American World Airways, and the International Air Transport Association. Canada's only United Nations organ, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is also headquartered in Montreal.