Welcome from Dean Daleen Millard

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. Almost 100 percent of our graduates are employed throughout BC, Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. Our first class (2014) will celebrate their 10-year anniversary during the upcoming academic year and we are looking forward to marking this milestone with them.

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 incorporating practical legal skills into their teaching and they have developed a practical legal writing resource under the guidance of the assistant dean, Lana Walker, and Michelle Terriss, our law librarian. The TRU Community Legal Clinic contributed high-quality materials to this on-line resource, thereby cementing the integration between knowledge of the law and practical 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.

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 Indigenous content. This includes a mandatory second year course that will answer the 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.

At TRU Law, we place a high premium on oral advocacy. Out Students have opportunities to participate in a range of moot court competitions. Most recently, we have launched a campaign to fundraise for mooting. The Lance Finch Memorial Moot Fund at TRU aims to provide financial support to students who participate in moot court competitions. Students have also created an internal moot court competition to provide yet another opportunity for students to practise their oral advocacy before judges. The Dean’s Cup will henceforth be awarded to the winners of this competition.

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, which is now entering its seventh year of operation.

Our highly diverse students join us from across Canada and from abroad to pursue an excellent legal education. 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 students and community members through clubs.

Our most recent student initiative is the establishment of the TRU Law Review. Founded by Pardeep Birak and Jack Hayhurst, this peer-reviewed, open access review will be published by students under the guidance of Professors Chambers and Fehr.

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