Looking forward and looking back: 72 years of the Law Review

From left: Prof. Simon Stern, Ljiljana Stanic, the Honourable Justice Kathryn N. Feldman, Adrienne Ho

By Adrienne Ho & Ljiljana Stanić

Editors and alumni of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review, along with staff, faculty, and contributors, recently celebrated the journal’s 72^nd year and the launch of volumes 69, 70, and 71. Established in 1942, the Law Review grew from a record of student life to a professional, academic publication with an international distribution reaching countries as far away as New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.

The cocktail reception, held at the Hart House Debates Room, featured the Honourable Justice Kathryn N. Feldman as the keynote speaker. Justice Feldman served as co-editor-in-chief of Volume 31 of the Law Review in 1973. Fondly recalling her own memories on the Law Review editorial board, Justice Feldman also reaffirmed the value of law reviews to current legal education and practice.

Drawing on her own experience as a judge, Justice Feldman said when facing challenging cases in uncertain areas of law, “it is enormously helpful to get the perspective of thoughtful, bright students who approach the law with fresh eyes.” She also mentioned being struck by the relevance and timeliness of recent articles, which discuss end-of-life decisions, Senate reform, and wrongful birth claims—issues considered by Canadian courts of inherent jurisdiction in the past months or are presently under consideration.  

Justice Feldman also said the idea that law review articles “are exercises in navel-gazing with no real-world utility is – at least when it comes to your publication – simply wrong.” She noted that the Law Review had been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada more than 30 times in such seminal cases as Seaboyer, Van Der Peet, Starr, Dunmore, and Kapp.

If you or your institution would be interested in subscribing to the Law Review, please contact Judy Caldwell at Carswell (Thomson Reuters). For all other inquiries, please contact law.review@utoronto.ca.