Reading Time: < 1 minute

By Sarah Krichel

Ryerson plans to have a law school fully operational by 2020, according to a letter of intent that was released this week.

The proposal for the new juris doctor program at Ryerson has been in the works since 2007.

“The aim is to produce practice-ready legal professionals with the knowledge and transferable skills required to compete in a rapidly changing profession,” the letter states.

The process of building the program at Ryerson was postponed in the summer of 2008 because of the provincial government refusing to fund any new law school proposals, so the school put the process on hold and kept the idea active “by other means.”

Ryerson hosted a conference in the fall of the same year and decided to move forward with the proposal to bring together faculty that was already researching law-related topics. The following year, the proposal passed Senate.

A Feasibility Committee will look into institutional arrangements for establishing a Ryerson law school as its own faculty. A proposal will be introduced at Ryerson at two upcoming town halls.

Senate approval is expected by May 2017 and the first intake of students is expected to be in September 2018.