Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4 s t u d e n t s F a l l 2 0 1 4 25 who introduced the case method, revo- lutionizing the teaching of law more than a century ago. Over the past 15 years, numerous journal articles have enquired whether McGill's program is the next frontier in legal education. Eu- ropeans have pointed to it as a model for teaching law in a supranational con- tinent, while Americans look to it as a possible way to train students for a glo- balized legal marketplace. So what exactly constitutes this paradigm-shi ing curriculum? At its essence, transsystemic law attempts to teach students about the law not from the perspective of any one specifi c ju- risdiction, but from the perspective of many. While it sounds like a simple proposition, McGill remains the only law school in the world that imbues this principle into the fabric of its curricu- lum. Practically, this means McGill stu- dents graduate with both common and civil law degrees. But if you believe the scholars, the consequences for legal ed- ucation are much more profound. Mc- Gill has certainly become the darling of the global legal academy. But will it serve as a beacon among the increas- ingly stormy waters of legal education like Harvard did a century ago? e McGill Programme has its roots in the 1920s, when for four years the university off ered a combined civil and common law program. e initiative was quickly killed by a number of fac- tors, including a hostile anglophone bar that feared McGill graduates would leave to practise in common law juris- dictions and weaken their grip on Que- bec's legal profession. It wasn't until the 1960s, when de- bates about higher education were rock- ing universities throughout the Western world, that McGill once again looked to re-evaluate its curriculum. More than most law faculties, McGill faced even greater existential questions. e Quiet Revolution was sweeping through the streets of Montreal, making it uncom- fortable for an institution, that to many, represented anglo privilege among an increasingly assertive francophone population. To combat its isolation, in 1968, the same year René Lévesque formed the Parti Québécois, McGill unveiled the National Programme. It allowed stu- dents to receive two degrees in common and civil law if they chose. is permit- ted graduates to practise in whatever jurisdiction they chose instead of limit- ing them to Quebec. e courses were taught sequentially, so a student would learn about the second fi eld of law in upper-year courses that were dedicated specifi cally to either civil or common law. It took time to evolve. At fi rst, most students chose only to gain one of the degrees, but over the years, more and more opted for both a common and civil law education. However, over the decades, National Programme fatigue set in, and in 1995, McGill's law school once again set out on a thorough exami- nation of the curriculum. e process, led by Stephen Toope, then-dean of the faculty, and a previ- ous dean, Roderick Macdonald, took four years of intensive work. "It is not a betrayal of confi dences, nor is it an overstatement, to say these eff orts se- verely taxed the patience of many in the teaching faculty, the student body and the administration," wrote Yves-Marie Morissette, now a judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal, in the Journal of Legal Education. In 1999, McGill unveiled its new curriculum. Many words were used to describe its innovative new curriculum; transsysytemic and polyjural top the list. But the offi cial name was the Mc- Gill Programme. e McGill Programme was similar to the National Programme in students earned both civil and common law de- grees. It diff ered from its predecessor at a fundamental level, however. Whereas the National Programme taught com- mon and civil law courses in silos, the transsystemic curriculum integrated both legal traditions into classes from fi rst year. Professors were not limited to Canadian common and civil law, but were instead encouraged to bring in perspectives from legal traditions around the world. e end result was an entirely new standard for legal education — instead of studying the laws of any one particular jurisdiction, the McGill Pro- gramme was a study of law in its many permutations. F i een years later, the McGill Pro- gramme is here to stay. e univer- sity has become a destination for scholars and instructors interested in legal issues that transect diff erent legal jurisdictions and traditions. According to dean Daniel Jutras, a number of stu- dents who apply to McGill don't apply to any other universities. " ey recog- nize that there's something very distinc- tive happening here," he says. McGill's system has been hailed by many as a model for what legal edu- cation should look like in a globalized world, with "transsystemia" becoming a buzzword in legal education circles. While a number of schools off er dual common and civil law degrees, no other university has fully embraced McGill's radical vision. If the McGill Programme is the future of legal education, the next "Langdellian moment," why haven't the world's law schools been lining up to follow in McGill's footsteps? One of the factors is the immense amount of work such a transition re- quires. To start with, professors must get rid of the way they traditionally teach classes. "If you're teaching, as I am, a course in civil procedure at an institution that focuses on Canadian [Students] recognize that there's something very distinctive happening here. McGill law dean Daniel Jutras * who introduced the case method, revo- * who introduced the case method, revo- lutionizing the teaching of law more * lutionizing the teaching of law more than a century ago. Over the past 15 * than a century ago. Over the past 15 years, numerous journal articles have * years, numerous journal articles have enquired whether McGill's program is * enquired whether McGill's program is

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