Lisa Kelly and Lisa Kerr: Yes, Law Schools Must Be Political

The recent acquittals in the Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine cases have sparked controversy on the purpose and neutrality of legal education. In an opinion piece published on 17 March 2018 by The Globe and Mail, 2010 and 2012 scholars Lisa Kelly and Lisa Kerr argued that law schools should not only train students in legal and case-based rules and doctrines, but should also teach students how to analyze the relationship between law and politics. Law has helped to create inequality and continues to distribute power in today’s societies, wrote Kelly and Kerr, and “we should be suspicious of those who don’t want law schools to notice.”

Lisa Kelly and Lisa Kerr are 2010 and 2012 Foundation scholars and assistant professors of law at Queen’s University. Read their article here.