BarTalk February 2001
Volume 13, Number 1

A look back from 2001

by Professor Susan B Boyd

In 1992, I was recruited as the first incumbent of the Chair in Feminist Legal Studies. This Chair was funded through private and government monies, thanks to the dedicated energy of members of faculty and the legal profession who recognized the need to highlight the emerging importance of work on women and the law. UBC already had feminist faculty members who actively contributed to law teaching and scholarship at UBC, so the goal of the Chair was to strengthen teaching, research, and administration in this field. Another objective was fostering a community inside the university and beyond to engage with the insights and challenges of feminist legal research.

What have we achieved since 1992? The feminist legal scene has changed but not diminished. Students continue to find that UBC offers them a range of teachers and scholars, an active group of students, and a sense of community fostered by the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies. We offer several first year and upper year courses relevant to feminism and law.

Faculty Members, Publications and Activities: During the late 1990s, former Dean Lynn Smith was appointed to the BC Supreme Court and Nitya Iyer to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. However, we hired Ruth Buchanan, an expert on globalization, labour and women, and Claire Young, an internationally recognized expert on women and tax. Important publications have emerged, including The Law of Evidence (1999) by Christine Boyle and Marilyn MacCrimmon; S. Boyd, ed., Challenging the Public/Private Divide: Feminism, Law, and Public Policy (1997); and Canadian Feminist Literature on Law: An Annotated Bibliography (1999) (S. Boyd et al.). Feminist faculty members contribute their expertise frequently to legislative reform initiatives, community groups, conferences, litigation initiatives and judicial education workshops.

Centre for Feminist Legal Studies: A Centre for Feminist Legal Studies was established in 1997. Its mandate is to enhance the visibility of feminist legal studies at UBC and strengthen collaboration in research and teaching between scholars working in different university and community settings. The Centre offers space, resources, and networking opportunities to students and scholars. We welcome visiting scholars to the Centre and present a lecture series featuring lawyers, academics, and community activists. The Centre is seeking more permanent funding, and in the meantime depends on small grants and the dedication of students who volunteer their time to keep the Centre open as much as possible. To become a Friend of the Centre, send a cheque to the UBC Centre for Feminist Legal Studies. For any amount above $25, a tax receipt is issued. We’ll send you invitations to events, consider your suggestions, and keep you informed of activities.

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law: We have provided space for the English language side of the CJWL since 1996, as well as various English co-editors (currently myself). Christine Boyle is Case Comments Editor and Ruth Buchanan is Book Reviews Editor.

Recent Publications: On January 18th, the Centre launched two research reports by UBC faculty members: Ruth Buchanan’s Gender on the Line: Technology, Restructuring and the Reorganization of Work in the Call Centre Industry and Claire Young’s Women, Tax and Social Programs: The Gendered Impact of Funding Social Programs Through the Tax System. Both are available free from Status of Women Canada (www.swc-cfc.gc.ca). Also launched was a collection of six feminist working papers on Child Custody Law Reform written by students at the Faculty in my seminar on Women, Law and Family. This collection is available for $15 from the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies (send a cheque and request to the Centre).

Mentoring Program: January 18th saw the launch of UBC’s new Feminist Legal Mentorship Program. The program matches feminist law students with feminist graduates of law. Its goal is to create a supportive link between women students and women professionals in the legal community or within an alternative career to the practice of law. The participants of the program reflect diverse interests. The professionals who have committed themselves to the program have legal careers ranging from such practices as human rights, violence against women, corporate commercial, civil and criminal litigation, to family and maritime law. Students from different years, ages and backgrounds are participating, again with varied interests. Some have an interest in forging legal careers that reflect the changing nature of law and the impact of equality norms. Many have concerns about the continued domination of male partners, the balance between work and family, and the need for increased flexibility of work.

If you are interested in signing up as a mentor or would like more information about the program, please contact UBC’s Centre for Feminist Legal Studies at 604.822.6628 (mentors) or 604.822.6523 or write to us at CFLS, Faculty of Law, UBC, 1822 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1. Or email cfls@law.ubc.ca.

For more information on the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, visit the CFLS website at http://faculty.law.ubc.ca/cfls.

Professor Susan B Boyd holds the Chair in Feminist Legal Studies and is Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, UBC. TOC Consulting: Linda Tarrant brings insight, inspiration and humor to people and organizations in transition. She speaks on courage, connectivity and change. Linda can be reached at TOC Consulting at 416.533.1532 or at www.lindatarrant.com. If you would like to contribute additional ideas or suggestions, please email her at linda@lindatarrant.com

This article was published in the February 2001 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.