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Degrees Offered by the University of Manitoba
Historical Sketch of Legal Education in Manitoba Manitoba's first lawyers came to the province as fully qualified members of the legal profession. They were admitted to practice straightaway upon proving their qualifications. The study of law in Manitoba in its earliest form consisted of five years of apprenticeship (three in the case of university graduates) under articles of clerkship to a practising lawyer. At the end of the period of articles, each student had to pass an examination prescribed by the Bar Society. The University of Manitoba first became involved in legal education in 1885 when it established a three-year course of studies leading to the LL.B. degree. This course did not include instruction; it simply prescribed a reading program, with three annual examinations, which articled law students couId follow concurrently with the course prescribed by the Law Society. For the next quarter century roughly, the pattern of legal education in Manitoba changed very little. Small alterations were made from time to time, but the basic method of education continued to be apprenticeship supplemented by private study. In the years 1911-12 the Law Society was prompted by the Law Students Association to provide a short series of lectures. In 1913, H. A. Robson, then Manitoba's Public Utilities Commissioner and a former judge of the Court of King's Bench, organized a considerably improved course of lectures and began to lay the plans for the establishment in the following year of a permanent law school modeled after the Osgoode Hall Law School of the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Manitoba Law School was jointly sponsored by The University of Manitoba and the Law Society of Manitoba; both bodies took part in the planning from the beginning. In the summer of 1914 they entered into an agreement, subsequently endorsed by legislation, which provided for the creation of the School, offering a three-year course consisting of lectures and apprenticeship leading to both an LL.B. degree and a call to the Bar and admission to practice. Expenses of the School were shared equally by the two parent bodies, and its operations were supervised by a jointly appointed Board of Trustees. This arrangement between The University of Manitoba and the Law Society of Manitoba continued until 1966 when the Law School became the Faculty of Law of The University of Manitoba. For most of its fifty-two years of existence the Manitoba Law School was an individualistic institution. In its early years it was an undisputed leader on this continent; it was a pacesetter in raising the pre-law qualifications to the present common requirement of at least two years university study, in adopting the three-year course of full-time study recommended by the Canadian Bar Association, and in reestablishing, after an unsuccessful trial period of the three-year course of full-time study, the combined lecture and apprenticeship program on an expanded four-year basis. Interestingly, when the Law School expanded its course of study to four years in 1927, it was still operating on a full-time study system. In its later years the Law School continued to operate on a combined lecture and apprenticeship system, until it was the only such law school in Canada, while law schools in other jurisdictions reconverted to a three-year course of full-time study. There is no dearth of written comment in praise, justification, and criticism of the School, particularly in connection with its later years when it resisted the general trend in other jurisdictions to reconvert to the three-year, full-time course of study. In 1962 a series of events commenced which led to the adoption by the Law Society of Manitoba and The University of Manitoba and their Board of Trustees of the Manitoba Law School of a scheme whereby the Law School would reconvert to a three-year course of full-time study and whereby the Manitoba Law School would be phased out of existence by the summer of 1966, its place to be taken by a faculty of law of The University of Manitoba. The Faculty of Law presently offers programs of study leading to two degrees, the LL.B. and the LL.M. The latter degree program was brought into existence in 1949 by the Manitoba Law School; it was substantially revamped by the Faculty of Law in 1968. There are truly countless Manitobans who have contributed to legal education in Manitoba over the years. Two names stand out, namely H. A. Robson and E. K. Williams. These men were the only two chairmen of the Board of Trustees of the Manitoba Law School, and their contribution has been suitably enshrined in the names of the new building housing the Faculty of Law and of the Faculty's new library.
Legal education in Canada is divided into two phases: the academic study of law at one of the university law schools and practical training under the auspices of a provincial law society for those who wish to be admitted to practice and called to a Bar. As there is a reciprocal recognition of university law degrees between the common law provinces (all provinces except Quebec), the academic study can be taken in any one of these provinces. A sound education in law provides a good foundation for a great variety of careers. In the past most law graduates have entered the private practice of law to concentrate on various types of legal work: real estate transactions, commercial contracts, company law, famiIy law, taxation, etc. Contrary to popular belief only a few lawyers concentrate on court work and only a few of them specialize in criminal cases. While the tendency to specialize in the practice of law is becoming more prevalent, most lawyers continue to be general practitioners prepared to perform most types of legal work according to the needs of their clients. Besides the private practice of law, some law graduates join the legal departments which many corporations find it expedient to maintain; others enter the employ of various government departments to serve in a variety of capacities. A few utilize their study of law in pursuit of nonlegal vocations, such as business, journalism, social work, law enforcement, etc. At The University of Manitoba consideration is given to the fact that while most students take law to become practising lawyers, some are taking law as an additional discipline to enhance their opportunities in fields other than the practice of law; thus, while the emphasis is on the academic study of substantive law, the study is carried on in a practical context. In addition to lectures and seminars, students are given an opportunity to develop, under supervision, some of the research, writing, and forensic skills which will prove useful in the practice of law. In first year, students are acquainted with the various resource materials available in a law library, and they follow a program designed to develop legal research and writing techniques. In second and third years, students participate in moot courts, fictitious trials and appeals, which provide practice in research, examination of witnesses, and courtroom argument.
Upon graduation from the LL.B. program, all graduates who wish to be admitted to practice and called to the Bar must apply to the provincial law society of the province in which they wish to practise. Most, if not all, of the law societies require applicants to complete satisfactorily a bar admission course usually comprising a period of articles of clerkship and possibly, in addition, seminars and courses. It should be noted that although an LL.B. degree qualifies graduates to apply for a licence to practise, it does not entitle them to such a licence, the granting of which is entirely within the purview of the law societies. The Law Society must be satisfied as to the good character and repute of its applicants, as well as their academic competence and qualifications. Inquiries with regard to the Province of Manitoba should be made to the Secretary of the Law Society or the Director of Education of the Law Society of Manitoba, 201-219 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg.
Photo: Another Manitoba win in the Western Canada Moot Trial Competition (which we have won in 13 out of 31 competitions)
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Photo: The skyscrapers at the famous Winnipeg intersection, Portage and Main.
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The Faculty
of Law is justifiably proud of its advocacy program, which progressively
builds upon skills learned in each year of law school. In first year,
all students prepare and present an oral motion. In second year all
students prepare and present a trial and then take the matter on to
appeal. In the appeal the students must write an appeal factum and then
present oral argument before a panel consisting of a lawyer, articling
student and third year student. In third year we build upon these skills
through a number of optional courses, which include advanced advocacy
and the intensive courses in administrative law, family law or criminal
law.
