Welcome To ROBSON HALL Table of Contents Robson Hall Law 3 Message from the Dean 9 Bachelor of Laws - LL.B. 10 Master of Laws - LL.M. 14 Faculty 16 Law School Programs, Organizations & Publications 18 Social Activities, Sports & Student Groups 21 The University of Manitoba 24 The City of Winnipeg 25 Admissions 26 Finanical Aid, Scholarships & Awards 29 Academic Support & Career Development 31 Tuition 31 Contact Information 32 ROBSON HALL FACULTY OF LAW I 3 Graduates of Robson Hall have “ gone on to distinguished careers The Faculty of Law at the University in practice, on the bench, in business, in policy work and in a of Manitoba has a long established vast range of other careers where and outstanding reputation for their rigorous education has enhanced their ability to perform producing excellent lawyers and well at the highest levels. As our Alumni have proven, a future that rounded graduates. starts at Robson Hall Faculty of Law can lead to ground breaking ” legal work anywhere in the world. ROBSON HALL FACULTY OF LAW I 4 Robson Hall Faculty of Law There are many reasons to choose the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. Robson Hall offers Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. The LL.B. degree is balanced between doctrinal, perspective and skills based learning to prepare our graduates for the future. The LL.M. degree is a thesis-based program that permits students to develop an in-depth, critical understanding of a particular area of law. LL.M. students may pursue legal research on any topic and from any perspective that interests them. As the only law school in the province, the Faculty is known for its sense of community between students, faculty, alumni and the broader profession. Classes with a small professor to student ratio and our own dedicated building add to this sense of community. In addition, our Law School is on the cutting edge of legal and social challenges for the twenty-first century. We offer a focus on Aboriginal Legal Issues, Business Law, and Human Rights. These three areas of teaching and research are particularly germane to the legal issues facing Manitoba, Canada, and the international community. ROBSON HALL FACULTY OF LAW I 5 Aboriginal Law Manitoba, along with Saskatchewan, has the highest proportion of Course Highlight: Indian Residential Schools and the Truth and Aboriginal peoples among its population. In 2001, roughly 14% of the Reconciliation Commission of Canada (IRS/TRC) population of Manitoba was of Aboriginal descent and Statistics Canada This course explores the fundamental objective of the modern law of projections suggest that by 2017 closer to 20% of the population will Aboriginal and treaty rights, the reconciliation of Aboriginal peoples identify as Aboriginal. The needs of Aboriginal communities within urban and non-Aboriginal peoples and their respective claims, interests and centres and on reserves, as well as their considerable interactions with ambitions. The management of these relationships takes place in the non-Aboriginal communities, suggest the possibility of significant legal shadow of a long history of grievances and misunderstanding. issues to be addressed. Students in the IRS/TRC course will examine rights violations through the As the only law school in the province, Robson Hall is well situated to perspectives of Aboriginal peoples in the context of Indian Residential educate our students and the greater community about the capacities, School, consider the ongoing impacts of these violations, and study both rights and needs of Aboriginal communities and to train lawyers ready traditional and novel ways to repair the relationship between Aboriginal to serve the province and Canada as we move towards just relations with communities and settler societies. Aboriginal peoples. The Faculty has been a leader in the country with its Aboriginal peoples access program. We offer excellent courses related to Aboriginal issues and have more planned for coming years. In addition, the Manitoba Aboriginal Law Students Association, (MALSA) organizes events and student activities, including the Indigenous Bar Association Conference and the Aboriginal Moot (Kawaskimhon Moot) on a annual basis. The Association presents an Aboriginal Speakers Series, where members of the legal community come to speak on specific topics. The organization has an open door policy and encourages all law students, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students to become members of the Association for support, to learn, or to participate in its regular meetings, events and activities. Robson Hall Alum, the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair. Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Manitoba’s 1st Aboriginal Judge. Aboriginal Law Courses: • Aboriginal Peoples and Land Claims DID YOU KNOW? • Aboriginal Peoples and the Law • Administrative Law () • Advanced Public Law The Faculty has been an engaged local partner of the • Clinical Legal Help Center Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s first national event, • Canadian Legal History • Constitutional Law organizing an interdisciplinary conference. Twenty-five law • Criminal Law and Procedure student volunteers were on hand for the duration of the • Indian Residential Schools & the Truth & Reconciliation Commission event to provide legal information and help to anyone who of Canada wanted to learn more about Aboriginal law. • The Kawaskimhon Aboriginal Moot ROBSON HALL FACULTY OF LAW I 6 Business Law Private businesses largely drive the Prairie economy and that of the be a business lawyer in Manitoba, and nationally. country. While other law schools focus their business education on Course Highlight: Business Transactions: “Art of the Deal” publicly-traded corporations and multibillion dollar deals, Robson Hall’s This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach and involves practical focus is on the issues faced by the majority of business organizations and exercises. It introduces students to matters typically faced by solicitors their particular needs. throughout the life cycle of a private enterprise. Students conduct Anchored by the Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law, interviews, negotiate, counsel, and draft business correspondence. the Asper Chair in International Business and Trade Law and the L. Kerry The Course extends the students’ understanding of counsel’s role Vickar Small Business Law Clinic, the Faculty offers interested students the amongst other professionals who may be called upon to advise clients opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary expertise that prepares them on business issues to advise clients on the various needs of their business enterprise. related to accounting, In the clinic, students work with not-for-profit organizations. The skills finance and valuation. they develop will translate well into private practice while also nurturing Emphasis is placed a strong sense of corporate citizenship. on transactional matters and questions The Business Law Group, a student club, organizes regular guest speakers, of professional a Virtual Stock Exchange competition, and various social activities. Their responsibility and goals are to increase interaction between students and practitioners in ethics. the legal community and enhance the understanding of what it means to Business Law Courses: DID YOU KNOW? • American Bar Association Moot • Corporations II • Labour-Management Relations • Agency • Corporate Securities Moot • Municipal and Planning Law • Business Transactions: Art of the Deal • Debtors’ and Creditors’ Rights • Philanthropy and the Law • Canadian National Mediation Advocacy Competition • Employment Law • Real Estate Transactions (CNMAC) • Estate & Trusts Tax • Sales and Consumer Law • Commercial Law • Insurance Law • Securities • Conflict of Laws • International Business Law • Taxation Law and Policy • Copyright Law • International Law • Trademarks and Patents • Corporate Tax • International Trade Law • Trusts • Corporations I • Internet & E-Commerce Law ROBSON HALL FACULTY OF LAW I 7 Human Rights Law Canada is considered a leader in the global ‘rights revolution,’ particularly in the years since the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Both the University of Manitoba and the Faculty of Law have identified the teaching and research of human rights as a key area of focus. Many faculty members at the Faculty of Law have a solid reputation for their human rights work including discrimination based on gender, disability, age, Aboriginal status, race, economic condition, sexual orientation and status as an immigrant, refugee or prisoner. Winnipeg has a long history of social justice and human rights advocacy (from the Winnipeg General Strike to the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry) and is now home to the Canadian Human Rights Museum (CMHR) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC); The University of Manitoba recognizes human rights as a priority area of focus. With leadership from the Faculty of Law, new initiatives include: • The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) • The Canadian Journal of Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights Research will enhance research capabilities, create richer training opportunities for students and facilitate public debate among related disciplines across the University. The Canadian Journal of Human Rights, the first and only academic journal of its kind in Canada, will be a national and international forum for scholars to share and debate ideas. It is the only journal in Canada dealing with human