Celebrating 50 Years of McLarenites: The Reunion
October 07, 2026
McLarenite (noun)
1. singular A term for a Western Law student hired by Professor Richard McLaren as a researcher.
2. plural The collection of nearly 200 current and former Western Law students all of whom served as Professor McLaren’s researchers.
On June 18, almost 100 McLarenites gathered at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to celebrate Professor Richard McLaren and 50 years of McLarenites.
How it happened is something in itself. A few former research students started talking about a reunion and before we knew it, those casual conversations became a groundswell of grassroots affection and gratitude. The result was a spectacular evening, with people traveling from the United States, China and across Canada to be there. Fifty years of relationships – old colleagues catching up and new connections forming – created an incredible energy. Dean Mohamed Khimji’s attendance added a full-circle feeling to the event, bridging past and present. “The boys” – Professor McLaren’s sons, Zach, Josh and Morgan – were there, warmly greeting the McLarenites they grew up with. Now grown men with children of their own, their presence reminded everyone how their father’s influence extended well beyond the classroom and how he welcomed so many of us into their family.
The organizing committee, led by Barbara Dirks (1998), brought together voices from every decade of the last 50 years. From the very first student hired in 1976 to the most recent in 2026, all decades were overwhelmingly represented. Corporate sponsors – Davies, Thornton Grout Finnigan, TYR, Western Law, Torys, Goodmans, Gowlings & Bennett Jones – and individual McLarenites made the night possible. In a memorable touch, the committee created a book containing more than 60 personal reflections – stories, thank-yous, and photos from McLarenites across the years.
Those stories reflect a remarkably consistent man: a professor who demands the best, who throws his students in the deep end to figure things out with creativity and independent thought, and who is always there to believe in you. Those lessons shaped every one of us – the lawyers, judges, firm leaders, in-house counsel, entrepreneurs, professors, and people who have taken delightfully unconventional career paths. In our own ways, all of us took a page from a mentor who led by example, regularly wading into new legal territories and making them his own. He modelled what a legal education could become in practice: a launchpad for almost anything.
When Professor McLaren started hiring research students, Western Law was only 17 years old. Fifty years on, the ripple effect he created as a teacher is tangible. With almost 200 McLarenites carrying forward the values of excellence and curiosity he espoused, those qualities now flow into courtrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, and startups across Canada and around the world. The McLarenites are living proof of what happens when one professor believes in his students not only as researchers, but as future leaders.
The reunion carried over into a fabulous after party which went until the wee hours of the morning, with Professor McLaren still standing strong – as he always is – chatting away, taking advantage of every minute, connecting with each and every one of us, and reminding us that working hard and playing hard is the only way to live.
Thank you, Rich.
