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1906 - The “King Eddy”
The Ontario Bar Association is established. This dinner was held at the glitzy King Edward Hotel in 1910. It would play host to numerous Osgoode graduation parties over the next few decades.
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1914 - The Fighting Lawyer
World War I has begun. Lecturer Holford Ardagh and other Toronto lawyers form the Osgoode Hall Rifle Association to train lawyers, clerks, and law students without previous military experience. Most of the Rifle Association’s training takes place at the Toronto Armouries just behind Osgoode Hall or at other military facilities. Here, men practice with bayonets at the Toronto Armouries.
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1915 - In Uniform
A motion passed by the Benchers gives enlisted Osgoode students a passing grade for the year in which they were registered, while third-year students are automatically called to the Bar. They also suspend the rule that requires students to wear barristers’ robes for the call to the Bar ceremony, allowing them to appear in military uniform.
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1915 - The Lost
Ninety-seven students are on active service on the Western Front. One hundred and thirteen names are memorialized on a wall in Osgoode Hall’s Great Library. Those who survived often lived with terrible physical and psychological injuries.
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1917 - Doing Their Bit
The benchers vote to return the admission fees of all students killed in action to their families. In total, the Law Society of Upper Canada has invested $70,000 in Canadian Victory Bonds. This Victory Bonds poster was created by F. L. Nicolet in 1918.
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1919 - A Return to Normalcy?
After years of low enrolment, Osgoode is coping with its largest classes. The Law School creates a special summer session for returning veterans that allows them to complete an academic year in a few months. The Law Society of Upper Canada waives school and articling requirements for veterans, students receive one year of law school credit in recognition of their service.
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1919 - “… to encourage the interchange of ideas and co-operation between women with legal training.”
Laura Denton Duff and Helen Currie gather together a handful of young women lawyers and law students in the offices of Frank Denton, K.C., Laura's father. They create the Women’s Law Association of Ontario. Barred from professional organizations, the WLAO’s monthly meetings provided the sole source of continuing legal education for women lawyers. This is a toast card from a dinner held in 1927.
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1920 - A “Portia” Made Good
A second summer session is held for returning veterans. Convocation then suspends the veterans’ blanket exemption, stating that sufficient time had elapsed for veterans to seek to benefit from their service. Helen Kinnear, the first woman in the British Commonwealth to be appointed King’s Counsel, and John Robert Cartwright, future Chief Justice of Canada, graduate.
Though Osgoode Hall Law School's history dates back to the 1820s, it was first permanently established in 1889 and the first class was held in October. Osgoode's 125th anniversary in the 2014-2015 academic year is an occasion for telling more of our stories to more communities. Enjoy these historical vignettes!
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