Allard School of Law Milestones

The Judicial Externship Program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law provides the opportunity for Allard students to gain a firsthand understanding of the court system while earning credit towards the completion of their Allard degree. This exciting innovation is unique amongst Canadian Law Schools, and the Court benefits through the research performed by students that would not otherwise be available.

Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Margurite Duckworth donated Ranch in the Fraser Valley by A.Y. Jackson to the Law Library at the Peter A. Allard School of Law in honour of the MBA-LLB Class of 1951.

Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) was one of the founding members of the Group of Seven, a notable collective of Canadian landscape painters active as a group through the 1920s. Many continued to work after the dissolution of the group, including Jackson, who is celebrated as one of Canada's most influential twentieth century artists.

The Class of 1954 celebrated their 60 year reunion over a luncheon at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club in May 2014. Eleven members of the class were in attendance, as well as accompanying guest spouses. The Class of 1954 consisted of a significant number of veterans of the Second World War, many of whom have unfortunately now passed away. The weather was cloudy, but the smiles of the attendees brightened up the atmosphere.

From humble beginnings as a singe course in Japanese Law, first taught in 1980-81, the Centre for Asian Legal Studies has grown and flourished at the Peter A Allard School of Law at UBC in the quarter-century since it's start. The program has expanded over those 25 years from a single course to a program with seven courses in the areas of Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian and Korean legal studies, and some 60 to 80 students enrolled in some area of Asian legal studies each year.

The Centre for Asian Legal Studies emerged from the humblest of beginnings: a single course in Japanese Law taught by Professor Malcolm Smith in 1980. Over the next decade the course offerings expanded, as did the Centre's compliment of faculty.Professor Stephen Salzberg imbued the program with a sense of identity and purpose, as well as practically working to establish protocols for visiting faculty and students. Professor Carl Herbst added a course in Chinese Law, and when Professor Ian Townsend joined the faculty in 1989 he became the Founding Director of the Centre.

The Class of 1956 held their 60 year reunion on Saturday, June 4th, 2016. At the time of graduation, the class numbered 56, an impressive number of which are still living. The occasion was an opportunity to celebrate fond memories of those of the class who had passed, and to enjoy the company of former classmates whose accomplishments are a testament to the quality of the class.

The Business Law Clinic at the Peter A Allard School of Law began in January 2016 as a pilot program within the school's Centre for Business Law. Initial funding for the program was provided by the Franklin Lew Innovation Fund. The program secured additional funding through a generous $100,000 donation in September 2016 by Mr. Robert Pirooz, QC (LLB '89). For the inaugural year he named the clinic in honour of former law school Dean, Professor Mary Anne Bobinski. The Business Law Clinic becomes the 8th clinic operated at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.

In April 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright announced a donation of $250,000 to launch and support the first five years of a new Business Law Student Internship Program. The program expands the experiential learning opportunities at the Peter A Allard School of Law, as it will place upper year Juris Doctor students in business law internships (for credit) with corporate and non-profit organizations across Canada and the world. By combining classroom study and practical experience working in leading organizations, student interns will gain industry insight and business acumen.

Perhaps the most dramatic change within the first fifty years of the law school’s history was the advancement of women as a proportion of both the student body and the faculty at UBC. Although women were formally granted permission to practice law in British Columbia in 1912, discrimination within the legal profession discouraged countless women from entering it, and disadvantaged those few who did.

On May 25th the Class of 2016 became the first to receive degree certificates from the newly renamed Peter A. Allard School of Law. Mr. Allard’s generous $30 million donation in January of 2015 has enabled the law school to build on its reputation for championing human rights and social justice and has brought unprecedented benefits to students and faculty.