by Alex Dimson (from the March Issue of Nexus, Western Law’s Student Newspaper)

Even as Lakehead University’s application to open a new law school seems likely to be approved, a similar bid by Wilfred Laurier University remains in limbo.

Laurier’s plan, which was submitted in June 2007, has been officially placed on hold while the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) and its national counterpart, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, reforms the accreditation criteria for law schools.

The existing criteria was developed in 1959 and revised in 1969 and does not reflect modern day requirements for legal education. For instance, under the current criteria a law school need only have three professors, including the Dean.

Laurier’s proposal is to open a new law school with a class size of 75 students and would have a focus on developing practical legal skills. It would also have the first co-op program for law students in Ontario.

Laurier’s bid is not as far along as Lakehead’s and the university has not yet submitted detailed curriculum information to the LSUC. Still, the plan has already drawn the support of significant heavyweights in the Waterloo region, including Research In Motion (RIM) founder Jim Balsille, who has suggested that the law school be integrated into his new centre for international governance.

Despite this, it remains highly uncertain whether the bid will ever be approved. It is also unknown whether Laurier will be able to meet the LSUC’s new accreditation requirements but the possibility of several new law schools in Ontario has touched off a serious debate among lawyers at a time when an increasing numbers of students are seeking articling positions.

Western Law Dean Ian Holloway told Nexus that he believes there is significant concern among lawyers about the creation of more law schools.

“We can’t forget as well that there is a sizable portion of the membership of the law society that, rather than starting new law schools, would like to shut one down. There are many lawyers that think we are churning out too many graduates. So I’m not sure that the rank-and-file would be in favour of any new law schools,” he said.

Still, Laurier President Max Blouw told Nexus that he feels that his school will fill a niche in the legal market.

“There is a need for lawyers in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and beyond… I don’t think the demographic for lawyers is different than the demographic of any other group in the country. There are huge numbers going to be at retirement age and are going to be dropping out of the system,” he said.

The likelihood that a new law school at Lakehead will be approved, bringing an additional 50 lawyers into Ontario annually, casts further doubt that the Laurier plan will be approved by the LSUC’s governing body.

On the other hand, the increasing demand among universities for law schools, and the high tuition that they bring, could also cause the LSUC to throw up its hands and abandon efforts to ensure that there are sufficient articling positions for law graduates and permit several new law schools to open.

If that happens law school could change from a place where nearly every student secures an articling position to a place more akin to a general undergraduate program, where the awarding of a law degree does not mean that a graduate will ever get a law job.

The current LSUC task force is considering the possibility of removing articling, though it has indicated that it currently favours maintaining it in some form.

Updates

Jordan Furlong adds his commentary at Law21.