LibGuides: History of Dalhousie University: Law

Key Facts

Established in 1883
First university law school established in the common-law provinces of Canada
During the Faculty's first years, tuition was approximately $30, and the cost of books was around $20
By 1936, Dalhousie Law School graduates sat on the bench of all but three Provincial Supreme Courts
New James Dunn Law Library built in 1985 after a fire destroyed the previous fifth floor library
Existed in a variety of buildings, including temporary housing on the ground floor of a high school (1883), the Halliburton House (1885), the Forrest building (1887), the Law Building (currently the University Club) (1951), and its current location at the Weldon Law Building (1966)
Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, started in 1970 as a summer project by the Halifax Neighbourhood Centre, is the oldest clinical law program in Canada
The Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq Initiative (IBMI) program was established in 1989

Deans of the Faculty of Law

Richard Chapman Weldon
Richard Chapman Weldon was the Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1883-1914
Donald Alexander MacRae
Donald Alexander MacRae was the Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1914–1924
John Erskine Read
John Erskine Read was the Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1924–1929
Sidney E. Smith
Sidney E. Smith was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1929–1934
Vincent C. MacDonald
Vincent C. MacDonald was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1934–1950
Horace E. Read
Horace E. Read was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1950–1964
W. Andrew MacKay
W. Andrew MacKay was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1964–1969
Robert T. Donald
Robert T. Donald was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1969–1971
Ronald St. John Macdonald
Ronald St. John Macdonald was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1972–1979
William H. Charles
William H. Charles was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1979–1985
Innis M. Christie
Innis M. Christie was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1985–1991
Philip Girard
Philip Girard was acting Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1991–1993
Joseph A. Ghiz
Joseph A. Ghiz was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1993–1995
Dawn Russell
Dawn Russell was acting Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1995–1996, and Dean from 1996–2005
Phillip Saunders
Phillip Saunders was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2005–2010
Kimberley Brooks
Kimberley Brooks was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2010–2015
Camille Cameron
Camille Cameron has been Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2015 to present.

Key People

Bertha Wilson
Bertha Wilson, who graduated from Dalhousie's Faculty of Law and was called to the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1957, later became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada
Frances Fish
Frances Fish became the first woman to graduate from Dalhousie Law School in 1918, and later the first woman to be admitted to the Barristers’ Society of Nova Scotia
George Nicholls
George Nicholls was a professor in the Faculty of Law who assisted in the creation of the Dalhousie Law Journal, which was first published in September 1973
Sir James Dunn
Sir James Dunn established two professorships in the Faculty of Law. The Sir James Dunn Law Library was established in his name after his death.
James Robinson Johnston
James Robinson Johnston earned his law degree from Dalhousie in 1898, becoming Dalhousie's first black graduate
Lady Beaverbrook
Lady Beaverbrook (Marcia Anastasia Christoforides), widow of Sir James Dunn, established the Sir James Dunn Law Library in the Weldon Building, as well as establishing seven Sir James Dunn law scholarships. She donated $2 million to restore the law school and its library holdings after the 1985 fire, and was said to be the "Guardian Angel of Dalhousie" by former chancellor CD Howe
Sir Seymour Schulich
Sir Seymour Schulich donated $20 million to Dalhousie's Faculty of Law in 2009 to fund 40 new annual scholarships. This was the largest gift of its kind ever made to a Canadian law school, and the school was renamed the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University
Richard Bedford (R.B.) Bennett
Richard Bedford (R.B.) Bennett graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1893, and became the Prime Minister of Canada in 1930
Sheila Wildeman
Sheila Wildeman won the Dalhousie Student Union's first award for teaching excellence in 2006 for Law