Led by Chief Justice Michael Tulloch, the visit provided students with a rare opportunity to engage directly with members of the judiciary. The judges’ insights spanned multiple areas of the law, providing students with a first-hand understanding of how legal issues are navigated within the courts.
The day began with a plenary session, where Chief Justice Tulloch emphasized the importance of outreach for the Court of Appeal, and delivered an inspiring address on the evolving role of legal education.
“Law schools are incubators of legal thought and innovation. These conversations help shape, not only the future of legal education, but also the broader trajectory of law in Ontario.”
The Honourable Michael H. Tulloch
— Chief Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal
"We must work together to ensure that the education provided reflects both the evolving nature of law and the lived realities of the communities we serve,” said Chief Justice Tulloch.
In her plenary remarks, Dean Kristen Boon highlighted the changes in legal education and how the Faculty is preparing law students for the future legal landscape. “At uOttawa we have shifted away from the traditional Langdellian model,” she said.
“Today, our law professors use case analysis, problem-based learning, early training in Alternative Dispute Resolution, and land-based learning.”
Kristen Boon
— The Susan & Perry Dellelce Dean, Common Law Section
“In addition, we employ an experiential learning approach in which students integrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have been developing in disaggregated ways across their courses and other activities,” added Dean Kristen Boon. “The goal of experiential learning is to weave together the essential strands of professional competence while providing opportunities for structured reflection in practical situations.”
Following the plenary session, the visiting judges divided into breakout groups, each focusing on a specific area of law. Led by three or four judges, the breakout sessions covered a wide range of topics, including Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Oral and Written Advocacy, Family Law, Criminal Law, and Clerking at the Court of Appeal. This format allowed students to delve deeper into specialized areas, ask pressing questions, and understand how legal principles are applied in practice.
In a later session, chaired by Justice Bradley Miller, Professors Vanessa MacDonnell, Wolfgang Alschner and Amy Salyzyn shared their insights on how data science is being applied to study courts, drawing from their new book entitled Decoding the Court: Legal Data Insights from the Supreme Court of Canada. “This visit provided us with a rare opportunity to discuss the impact of big data on the study of judges and courts with appeal court judges who now find themselves the subject of such studies,” said Professor MacDonnell.
“One thing I took away from the conversation was that judges are interested in how these tools might help identify access to justice and other systemic challenges in the justice system.”
Vanessa MacDonnell
— Associate Professor and Co-Director, uOttawa Public Law Centre
The judges also visited the Brian Dickson Room in the Faculty’s library and the Ian Scott Courtroom, where the Court of Appeal may hold future sittings.
Tyler Li, a 2nd year student and the Canada Chief of Staff for JURIST, attended the plenary session and shared his thoughts:
“Opportunities like this are crucial because law is more than an academic pursuit or theoretical understanding; it's about connecting with our institutions, which form the backdrop to our careers.”
Tyler Li
— 2L student and Canada Chief of Staff for JURIST
Li added that, “as law students, it's important to establish these connections early, so we can build our careers on a strong foundation as we grow into legal practitioners."
We look forward to continuing these vital conversations with the judiciary, further enriching the educational experience for our students and shaping the future of law in Ontario.