Au delà de la salle de classe

Every year, McGill students participate in a number of national and international competitions called moots. Each moot concentrates on an area of law, and teams are given a legal problem requiring focused analysis and research. Mooters are evaluated on their ability to plead their case and respond to intense questioning from the bench, while the team factum is assessed for precise use of law and clarity of drafting. 

The Faculty’s participants distinguish themselves every year in the provincial, national and international rounds of these competitions, and we have the trophy cases to prove it! McGill regularly sends teams to competitions such as the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot, the Tribunal-École Pierre-Basile Migneault, Concours Charles Rousseau, the Laskin Moot Court , the Gale Cup Moot, the Kawaskimhon Moot, the Wilson Moot, the Sopinka Cup, and the Davies Corporate & Securities Moot. 
See Law Student Affairs Office: Competitive Mooting 

McGill offers a unique for-credit program of student clerkships, allowing selected senior students to work with judges from Quebec’s Court of Appeal, Superior Court, along with other courts and administrative tribunals for credit during the year. Students gain invaluable research and writing experience and an insider’s understanding of the court system, while being mentored by an experienced judge. Student clerkships are prestigious positions involving a minimum of 100 hours work per term; students must take an oath of a confidentiality to maintain the integrity of the court. 

Recent graduates pursue clerkships to launch their careers, clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, and provincial courts. The Faculty’s integrated program, as well as its bilingualism, makes our students and alumni coveted candidates for these positions. 

See Law Student Affairs Office: Clerkships

The first and second years of the program include mandatory courses in legal research and writing and in advocacy. Senior students can apply to lead small groups (10-20 students) in either course.  As Tutorial Leaders, senior students collaborate closely with the supervising instructors. Being a Tutorial Leader is an invaluable way of helping newer students become the best researchers they can be, while developing teaching and leadership skills and working in partnership with Faculty members. 

Group Assistants attached to a specific course are upper-year students who lead tutorial sessions, answer questions, and explain concepts. 

See Law Student Affairs Office: Group Assistants & Legal Methodology Tutorial Leaders

The Faculty has many exchange agreements with leading law faculties around the world, such as the North American Consortium on Legal Education. McGill students receive credit equivalence to study at these other institutions for a term and pay McGill fees. 

See Law Student Affairs Office: Exchange, Study Away & Summer Programs

The Legal Information Clinic at McGill began in 1973 as a modest attempt by a handful of students to get some practical experience while helping the community. It has since grown into a cornerstone service, with nearly half of the Faculty’s students volunteering their time to help about 4000 clients each year. It remains the only wholly student-run legal clinic in North America. The Clinic offers a walk-in service, a telephone information hotline, and a Student Advocacy service where law students represent other McGill students in disciplinary and grievance cases with the university. The Clinic also offers information sessions for community-based organizations. 
See https://licm.ca/ 

Legal Clinic Course

The Legal Clinic Course gives students an opportunity to earn credits toward their degree while enriching their legal education through practical work experience in law-related fields. Students work in community organizations and legal clinics, under the supervision of a lawyer, providing information and assistance to socially disadvantaged individuals. 

This course promotes a deeper understanding of the legal system’s response to poverty and inequality. Students are confronted with the social reality of access to justice and the interrelationship between legal concerns and economic, psychological, ethical and other social problems. 

The work covers areas such as family, consumer, criminal, landlord-tenant, immigration, environmental and human rights. Our 25+ local partner organizations include Action Réfugiés Montréal, Éducaloi, the Elder Law Clinic, Mile End Legal Clinic and Project Genesis. 

See Student Affairs Office: Legal Clinic Course

The Faculty of Law has several student-run peer reviewed journals. Students work in various roles at these journals and can receive 2 to 6 credits toward their degree for their work.

McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution

The McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution (MJDR) is a bilingual, peer-reviewed, student-run academic journal dedicated to the presentation and promotion of high quality scholarship in the fields of arbitration, mediation, facilitation, negotiation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. 
See mjdr-rrdm.ca 

McGill Journal of Law and Health

The McGill Journal of Law and Health (MJLH) is a student-run, on-line peer-reviewed journal. It is an interdisciplinary project consisting of an anthology of scholarly contributions by renowned academics and practitioners alongside an organic on-line database—a resource of recent developments in the field of health law. Both components aim to inform the vital public debate surrounding health, public policy and ethics and to critically explore the nexus of health and law in a transsystemic framework. The MJLH is an open-access journal that is available on our website free of charge. 
See mjlh.mcgill.ca 

McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law (MJSDL)

The issue of development, with its impact on environmental degradation and human rights, is of growing concern; yet there are few outlets for informed and focused commentary on these issues, particularly in Canada. In response to this void, students at the Faculty of Law at McGill University founded the MJSDL in 2005. This student-run, peer-reviewed academic journal aims to provide a forum for critical analysis and cutting-edge commentary on the intersection between law, development, the environment, domestic and international economies, and society. 
See  https://www.mjsdl.com/

McGill Law Journal

The prestigious, student-run McGill Law Journal was founded in 1952 to foster a more profound understanding of the common law and civil law legal traditions. Its articles are consistently cited in Supreme Court of Canada decisions, and the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation developed by Journal editors is the standard reference guide at a number of courts, law schools, and law journals in Canada. 

Selection to the Journal is competitive - candidates are usually invited to apply after their first year of law school, with interviews taking place in early fall of second year. Students who are selected by the editorial board are required to make a two-year commitment, spending their first year as members of the junior board doing fact and footnote checking on manuscripts. In their second year, students can remain on the editorial board as senior members or run for executive management positions. All members of the Journal work with authors to develop their academic writing, and gain a broad, thorough knowledge of research and citation standards while being exposed to cutting-edge legal theory. 
See lawjournal.mcgill.ca 

In 1994, the Faculty of Law created a series of human rights partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the globe. Between 20 and 30 students are selected each year to intern at a partner NGO, to apply their legal education in a concrete setting and further develop their interest and commitment to the defence of fundamental human rights. 

The International Human Rights Internships Program is a fully credited course that allows students to earn 6 credits toward the completion of the BCL/JD degree, composed of a 12-week field placement and a short Internship report during the summer, followed by a fall seminar course leading to a research paper. 

L’Association des étudiants et étudiantes en droit (AÉD) de McGill est un comité de gouverne étudiante actif et dynamique. 

Chaque année, on dénombre un grand nombre de clubs étudiants. Consultez la liste la plus récente des groupes actifs.

Contours est un projet de la Faculté de droit qui s’attache à circonscrire divers débats, expériences, préoccupations et aspirations par une exploration écrite et artistique de l’interaction entre la réalité juridique et les femmes.

Innocence McGill est une clinique juridique de la Faculté de droit qui se voue à la recherche et à l’exploration portant sur les condamnations injustifiées pour crimes graves au Québec.

Étudiants pro bono du Canada McGill est un programme étudiant national qui offre des services juridiques gratuits à plus de 400 organismes d’intérêt public ou autres organismes communautaires, cours et tribunaux.

Chaque jeudi après-midi, une 'soirée coffeehouse' informelle (5 à 7) est tenue dans l’Atrium du pavillon Chancellor-Day. Cet événement social est une occasion de faire plus ample connaissance avec vos collègues, hors des salles de cours. Plusieurs 'coffeehouses' sont tenues pour financer les clubs étudiants, alors que d’autres sont financées par des cabinets d’avocats.

Le Programme de rayonnement L.E.X. (Loi-Éducation-Connexion) jumelle de petits groupes d’étudiants en droit avec les jeunes de la région montréalaise pour offrir de l’information sur les droits et enjeux juridiques ainsi que pour ouvrir des horizons aux jeunes en matière d’éducation postsecondaire et d’études en droit.

Le Programme des ambassadeurs étudiants en droit met en lien des candidats admis ou potentiels avec les étudiants actuels en droit.

Le Programme de mentorat des anciens jumelle des étudiant.e.s avec des diplômé.e.s qui œuvrent dans divers secteurs et établissement, ainsi qu’avec des diplômé.e.s qui utilisent leurs diplômes hors de la pratique juridique.

SKILLS21 est un nouveau programme de développement des compétences destiné aux étudiants et étudiantes de premier cycle de McGill, conçu pour leur offrir diverses possibilités dans l’acquisition des compétences, des valeurs et des attitudes du 21e siècle. 

Le programme offre aux étudiants et étudiantes des ateliers de perfectionnement de leurs compétences, dans cinq volets (ou catégories de compétences), offerts par plusieurs unités partenaires à McGill. Les personnes intéressées s’inscrivent à SKILLS21, choisissent un volet, s’inscrivent à des ateliers, puis assistent aux ateliers. La complétion des ateliers et des volets se reflète ensuite dans leur dossier parascolaire.

The Student Affairs Office (SAO) provides both student advising services and wellness programs. The SAO supports students in understanding and navigating the academic accommodation process, handles curricular and academic matters, as well as oversees joint degrees, student clerkships, the legal clinic and mooting programs, internships, and first year orientation.

The Faculty of Law's Career Development Office (CDO) works with students to inform and advise them on career planning. The CDO hosts information sessions and networking events to allow students to meet law firm representatives and learn about alternative career opportunities. The CDO will work with you from the beginning of your studies in first year to help you define your career aspirations and to guide you in meeting your goals.

McGill University has a host of Student Services available, including the Student Wellness Hub, International Student Services, and the Student Accessibility & Achievement. It is worthwhile familiarizing yourself with these services before arriving at McGill. 

The Law Faculty’s SAO works closely with Student Achievement & Accessibility to provide accommodations for students living with illness or disability. If you have received accommodations at any time in the past for disability or illness, contact Student Accessibility & Achievement before you start the program, as this will greatly facilitate a smooth entry. If you are uncertain whether you will need accommodations, get in touch with the SAO