2012 Osgoode Forum

Legal Practice and Legal Theory Discourse: Critical Views of Education and
Research

 

Keynote Panelists – Legal Education:
Laurie H. Pawlitza (Law Society of Upper Canada Treasurer)

Thomas Conway (Law Society of Upper Canada)

Dean Lorne Sossin (Osgoode Hall Law School)

Dean Camille Cameron (Windsor Law School)

Professor Angela Swan (Aird & Berlis LLP)

Keynote Panelists – How do we bring Justice?:

Professor Trevor Farrow (Osgoode Hall Law School)

Mr. Ryan Peck (Executive director, HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario)

Prof. Jonathan Rudin (Program Director of Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto )

Prof. Ed Waitzer (Stikeman Elliott LLP)

 

The discourse between legal practice and legal theory is fundamental to the understanding of law and its role in society. Two areas in which this discourse has gained profound importance are legal education and legal research.

This year’s conference will focus on a number of important issues related to: the appropriate balance, if any, between theory and practice in legal education; the applicability of legal theory to the practice of law and vice versa; and, the function of legal theory as a legitimizing mechanism through which legal practice emerges.

This conference will also address questions of power and control in relation to legal education and legal research. Some of the central questions for discussion include: how should law schools educate lawyers and who should make that decision?  How will the standardization of legal education influence the direction of legal research?  More importantly, how will this type of uniformity affect the roles and responsibilities of legal educators?

We welcome papers in any area of law including: alternative dispute resolution, transnational law, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, commercial, banking and financial law, criminal law, corporate law, environmental law, constitutional law, aboriginal law, immigration & refugee law, family law, health law, tax law and intellectual property law. Papers with an interdisciplinary focus are also encouraged.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Proposals should include the title of the paper, an abstract of approximately 250 words and 5 keywords or phrases that best describes your paper.  Please also include your full institutional
affiliation and email address.

Abstracts should be submitted no later than February 29, 2012, by email to: GLSA@osgoode.yorku.ca.  Successful applicants will be notified as early as March 1, 2012.

Location and Date:
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. May 26-27, 2012.

Conference Website:  http://glsa.osgoode.yorku.ca/

Affiliation: Osgoode’s GLSA is a graduate student organization, which includes all graduate students in the research stream of the Osgoode Hall Law School LL.M. and Ph.D. programs.