Dean's Welcome

Erika_Deans_welcome2.pngWelcome to Western Law

Western Law has a long, proud tradition of producing great leaders in many fields, while maintaining a unique sense of community that lasts long after graduation. I hope that you will become part of that community.

Our JD program is known for its rigorous curriculum, its wide range of clinical and mooting opportunities, its international and interdisciplinary perspectives, and its unparalleled student experience. Our signature small group program provides first-year students the opportunity to engage with their professors and classmates in a comfortable setting; to receive regular, individualized feedback on their legal research, writing, and advocacy; and to make supportive and lasting friendships.

Western Law is proud to be the pre-eminent law school in Canada focusing on business law in the global environment. We provide a great depth of course offerings and co-curricular opportunities in business law, including intensive courses and speakers’ series that allow our students to interact with world-renowned scholars and pre-eminent practitioners. We have a strong relationship with the leading Ivey Business School, and we are building innovative programs in the fields of corporate insolvency and restructuring, financial economics, and sustainable development in the extractive sectors.

Our faculty engage in research that has an impact not just on other scholars, but also on domestic and international policy, business, health, government, and civil litigation. We have strong interdisciplinary ties to other departments at Western, including philosophy, health studies, history, earth sciences, information and media studies, and political science.

Western Law also has an innovative and dynamic graduate program, and we welcome students with both law and non-law backgrounds. In fact, our Master of Studies in Law and our Graduate Diploma in Mining Law, Finance, and Sustainability are specifically designed to educate non-law students in the legal frameworks that underlie other business and social endeavours.

As Ontario’s second-smallest law school, Western Law is known for its collegial atmosphere and its inclusive student experience. As a graduate of Western Law, I can personally attest to the benefits of our tight-knit community for graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, and the many visiting scholars and practitioners that we welcome here every year.

Erika Chamberlain
Dean of Law