This workshop series (part of the Faculty of Law Colloquium) brings leading legal and political philosophers from around the world to present their work in progress to the Faculty, providing a forum for both faculty and students to discuss central topics in legal theory. The workshop is committed to a generous and pluralistic view of theory.
Some of our speakers have presented work on general philosophical questions about the law, such as questions about the nature of law and legal authority or the legitimacy of judicial review. Other speakers have presented on issues of philosophical interest that arise within quite specific areas of the law, such as questions about criminal responsibility, about the proper interpretation of constitutional rights, or about the purpose of tort law.
Past Workshop participants have included: Stephen Darwall, John Goldberg, Deborah Hellman, Thomas Hill, Frances Kamm, Will Kymlicka, Stephen Perry, Jerry Postema, Scott Shapiro, and Wil Waluchow, among others.
The Legal Theory Workshop is not open to the general public. We welcome individuals affiliated with the Faculty of Law and closely related departments, including political science, philosophy, criminology, history and the Centre for Ethics. All other individuals interested in attending must seek prior approval from the organizers of the workshop.
See past workshops
Faculty of Law Colloquium
Winter/Spring Term 2025
12:30pm – 2:00pm
Location: Falconer Hall, 84 Queen’s Park, Michael J. Trebilcock Solarium (FA2)
Date / Time | Workshop | Speaker and Topic |
Jan. 9 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law/Legal Theory | Elizabeth Anker – Cornell Law School Left Crit Theory goes to Washington: The Anti-Liberal Ideology of the Roberts Court |
Jan. 16 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Law and Economics | Henry Smith – Harvard Law Combining Property and Contract |
Jan. 23 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law/Legal Theory | Naiomi Metallic – Dalhousie University Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Crown Sovereignty and how UNDRIP provides a conceptual off-ramp |
Jan. 30 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law | Carolyn Strange – The Australian National University The Politics of Abolition: Reframing the death penalty’s history in comparative perspective |
Feb. 6 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Law and Economics | Manisha Padi – Berkeley Law Title: TBA |
Feb. 13 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Legal Theory | Eric Adams – University of Alberta The Challenge of Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution |
Feb. 27 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law | Aya Gruber – USC, Gould School of Law Sex Exceptionalism |
Mar. 6 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Law and Economics | Tom Ginsburg – University of Chicago Title: TBA |
Mar. 13 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Legal Theory | Jennifer Nadler – Osgoode Hall Law School Consideration and its Problems: A Re-Interpretation |
Mar. 20 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law/Legal Theory | Hugh Collins – LSE Law School Title: TBA |
Mar. 27 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Law and Economics | Natasha Sarin – Yale Law School Title: TBA |
Apr. 3 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Critical Analysis of Law | Katya Assaf – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Take it to the Streets: Re-Imaging Urban Spaces as Sites of Individual Expression |
Apr. 10 12:30 – 2:00
Room: Solarium | Legal Theory | Danielle D’Onfro – Washington University School of Law Title: TBA |
