Welcome from Dean Daleen Millard

Let me extend to you a very warm welcome to the Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University. The first law students arrived in September of 2011 and after a decade, we can proudly state that our students have been readily embraced by the legal profession with almost 100 percent of our graduates employed throughout BC, Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere in Canada.

Our faculty members are renowned, having studied and practised law around the world as well as in Canada, bringing with them a remarkable breadth and depth of academic and legal practice experience. They are pioneers in building the best legal education program possible. We have most recently embarked on curriculum reform to ensure that or program continues to provide a top-quality legal education that explores contemporary legal and social issues. In addition, we emphasize ethical considerations while developing practical legal skills. Our full-time professors are joined by exceptionally talented lawyers and judges serving as sessional lecturers, thereby augmenting our range of course offerings and enhancing the skills that our law students acquire, as well as through our Judge in Residence.

Our curriculum has been expanding to include a range of particularly unique and progressive aspects. While information is available describing all of our courses in greater detail, our first-year and upper year courses include distinct consideration of relevant Aboriginal legal issues arising within those subjects. Once implemented, our curriculum will include a mandatory second year course that will answer the Indian Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call for Action #28. This call is directed at all Canadian law schools and we are proud to have developed quality learning materials in collaboration with local Indigenous communities. The statement adopted by our Faculty Council on July 9, 2015 can be read here.

Other exciting aspects of our curriculum include Community Lawyering, which focuses on the practical skills of client interviewing, strategic litigation, legal research and ethical issues. This subject is a co-requisite to involvement in our Community Legal Clinic. Other offerings include Lawyering in the 21st Century, which examines the dramatic changes that are occurring in the nature of the legal profession in recent years and explores what the future for lawyers will be and Corporate Governance, which considers cutting edge issues regarding shareholder democracy, the role of institutional investors, fiduciary obligations of directors and senior managers and increasing use of private litigation to challenge corporate control. You will find many others among our course offerings.

Our highly diverse students join us from across Canada and from abroad to pursue an excellent legal education. They have the opportunity to make lifelong friends and those friendships sustain them when they enter the legal profession. The students at TRU Law from the very beginning have created a family environment of mutual support and collaboration and we believe it is unique among law schools. Our students meet, interact with, and get to know lawyers and judges from across the region and beyond while attending a vibrant and growing Faculty of Law, university and community. Our students established the Society of Law Students (SLS) not only as its representative body for participating actively in decision-making through our Faculty Council and Committees, but also to engage in many academic and athletic initiatives, particularly through a large array of clubs, along with community service and fundraising for local charities. Learn more through the Obiter newsletter.

Our campus is located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada where it offers a unique and visually stunning topographical setting in BC’s Interior region overlooking the beautiful North and South Thompson Rivers and the mountains. Attending the Faculty of Law at TRU means living in a friendly and progressive community with access to world-class amenities — skiing, golf, lakes and mountains are all within easy reach. Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle are all an easy drive away, and the Okanagan and Shuswap lakes, with their excellent wineries, scenery, and amenities are at your doorstep. Kamloops is one of Canada’s warmest and sunniest cities. Sun Peaks, Canada’s second largest ski resort, as well as 13 exceptional golf courses, are less than one hour drive away. Our city is known as the Tournament Capital of Canada as well as one of the friendliest in the country.

We invite you to explore our website to learn about our many cutting edge research projects, diverse course offerings, frequent guests, winning moot teams, the Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law and much more. Better yet, talk to our students and alumni, as they are our best ambassadors and will readily share their experiences here. You are also most welcome to visit us on our beautiful campus any time you are in Kamloops, BC or contact us by phone or email. We embrace diversity and are on track to become one of Canada’s best law schools.

Daleen Millard
Dean, Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law