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| Jade Buchanan is the Law Student Society president.聽Recent聽alumni will have the option of exchanging their LLB degree for the new JD.聽聽(Bruce Bottomley Photo) |
Dalhousie鈥檚 law degree is set to go by a new name starting next year.
On Monday, January 24, University Senate approved the change of Dalhousie鈥檚 law degree from a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) to a Juris Doctor (JD). The shift in designation will have no effect on the curriculum of the program itself; it鈥檚 a change designed to better represent the program鈥檚 status as a second degree for most students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an overstatement to say that this is a trend that鈥檚 sweeping the nation,鈥� says Kim Brooks, dean of the Schulich School of Law, noting that 11 other Canadian common law programs have made the switch in the past decade. The main reason is that the JD is seen as having more international credibility, especially in countries that offer LLB programs accepting students straight from high school.
鈥淭he practice of law, and the legal profession more broadly, has become increasingly international in its orientation,鈥� she explains. 鈥淔or many Canadian students, it means that their career path may take them through Canada, the U.S., Australia and the U.K. with some regularity, and maybe some other countries with less regularity. And our graduates have reported that in their travels the JD is just a much more familiar degree designation internationally. It saves them a layer of explanations and documentation.鈥�
Change for next academic year
鈥淸Our goal is] to not have any of our students negatively affected by confusion over the degree,鈥� says Jade Buchanan, president of the Law Student鈥檚 Society (LSS). 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want them to be left behind, and we don鈥檛 want students considering law to be confused either. We need to communicate to them that we鈥檙e one of the top law schools in Canada.鈥�
Once it鈥檚 been reviewed by the Board of Governors and the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, the change will come into effect next academic year. Current students鈥攖hose in the graduating classes of 2012 and 2013鈥攚ill have the option to choose between the LLB and the JD, but all subsequent classes will graduate with the JD designation. Alumni (including this year鈥檚 graduating class) will have the option of exchanging their LLB for a JD degree if they wish, a choice that Mr. Buchanan feels will resonate with newer alumni in particular.
This is not the first time this issue has come up for debate; students attempted to convince the law school to make the switch back in 1969. Like that unsuccessful attempt, this new movement for change was also student-led, sparked by an LSS plebiscite in 2009 that saw almost 80 per cent of law students support the JD, with a 65 per cent turnout. Since then, three classes of LSS leadership have worked with the administration to bring the change through faculty council and now through Senate.
'Credit is owed to the students'
鈥淭hey did the hard work of persuading the faculty that it was worth a change,鈥� says Prof. Brooks. It鈥檚 a little odd that at the end of the day it鈥檚 the Dean that has to take it to Senate, given that fact...but really, the credit is owed to the students.鈥�
鈥淭he nice thing about this process is that it鈥檚 a considered one,鈥� she continues, noting that the time it鈥檚 taken to move the decision through faculty council and Senate has helped ensure its thoroughness. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one that current students in particular are very enthusiastic about, along with many of our alumni.鈥� Though she recognizes that some alumni with an attachment to the LLB may be disappointed by the decision, she says that the majority of alumni engaged in the lengthy consultation process support the change.
鈥淲e have a lot of momentum right now because of the Schulich gift and our new dean,鈥� says Mr. Buchanan. 鈥淭he change to a JD means that momentum can continue, and we can continue to be recognized at one of the most desirable law schools in Canada.鈥�