Faculty of Law
About the Faculty
UBC Law offers outstanding faculty engaged in many of the important national and international questions of law and policy, a terrific student body drawn from legal cultures around the world, a broad array of courses and, for those in research-based programs, exceptional guidance towards producing a significant contribution to their chosen fields.
UBC Law at Allard Hall is one of the world’s leading centres for legal education and research. Its faculty members engage in research with national and global reach and provide students with some of the most extensive and innovative curricular opportunities of any Canadian law school. The school has strengths in many fields, including business law, environmental and natural resources law, Aboriginal legal issues, feminist legal studies and Asian legal studies. Graduates have gone on to leadership positions in a broad range of spheres, from the legal profession, to government, public interest organizations, business and academia and have made significant impact on some of today’s most pressing issues around the world.
UBC Law's more than 10,000 alumni include:
- Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada
- Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia and former Canadian Minister of Health, currently serving as MP for Vancouver South
- Mike Harcourt, former Premier of British Columbia
- Lance Finch, Chief Justice of British Columbia
- Frank Iacobucci, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
- Wally Oppal, former BC Supreme Court Judge
- Steven L. Point, B.C. Lieutenant-Governor
- Kim Baird, chief of Tsawwassen First Nation
- Alfred Scow, first Aboriginal lawyer called to the B.C. bar
Research
UBC’s new law building was opened in September 2011 and is the first purpose-built, all-new law building for a Canadian law school in 30 years.
The four-storey, 141,000 square-foot building and $56-million facility includes flexible, modern teaching spaces, a replica courtroom and dedicated spaces for the faculty’s nearly 650 students, 45 full-time faculty, plus alumni and guests. Classroom video displays and webcasting technology will connect UBC students with law schools and communities globally. A three-storey multipurpose forum with floor-to-ceiling windows converts from a social area to an auditorium for special events and lectures. The new, state-of-the-art UBC Law Library serves as an academic hub for students and the legal community.
With powerful learning and sustainability features, Allard Hall - named after donor and alumnus Peter A. Allard - will advance legal research and education in Canada, expand the UBC Faculty of Law’s presence in the community and honour its ties to B.C. First Nations.
