THE ADVOCATE 243
VOL. 79 PART 2 MARCH 2021
PETER A. ALLARD
SCHOOL OF LAW
FACULTY NEWS
By Janine Benedet, Q.C.*
LOOKING BACK ON A MEMORABLE 75TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
The end of 2020 marks the end of a significant milestone year for the Peter
A. Allard School of Law. In 2020, we recognized the 75th anniversary of the
law school with a number of initiatives. We celebrated 75 years of innovative
and inspiring research and teaching, and 75 years of outstanding graduates
who have gone on to change the world with their leadership in the
legal profession and other realms. It was a year of reflection on all we have
to be proud of and excitement about what more we will do with the next 75
years and beyond.
We could not have foreseen that 2020 would be a landmark year of another
kind. Beginning in March, the COVID-19 outbreak impacted almost every
activity at the law school. Students, faculty and staff at Allard Law moved
mountains to continue their learning, teaching and work in the new physically
distanced reality. Provincial health guidelines on in-person activities
and outright bans on larger gatherings meant that some of our 75th anniversary
events, like our Gala Dinner and Awards Evening, simply could not happen
as we originally planned. Despite this challenge, we still managed to
mark the occasion with some special programming for our community.
In January, we kicked off our anniversary year with an alumni reception
in Hong Kong for about 30 members of our regional alumni community,
which was a joyous event. We also successfully delivered the first three of
our 75th anniversary lectures in person between January and March. First,
it was a privilege to welcome the Honourable Malcolm Rowe, who gave the
Walter S. Owen Lecture. His topic was “The Virtue of Judicial Restraint”.
Next, we were delighted to host the Honourable Lynn Smith, Q.C., who gave
* Janine Benedet, Q.C., is the dean pro tem and a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.