Thanks to the generous funding of the Law Foundation of Ontario, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law has established Canada's first Centre for the Legal Profession (formerly Centre for Professionalism, Ethics and Public Service). Under the leadership of Academic Director Lorne Sossin, the Centre's goal is to broaden and deepen our understanding of professionalism, ethics and public service, and the relationship between them.
As a gathering place for leading voices from the spheres of the academic, private practice, judicial and public interest communities, the Centre seeks to forge a stronger link between the study of law, the practice of law, and the implications of law.
The Centre will be a catalyst for dialogue about the capacities, judgment and actions necessary for effective lawyering, and about the idea of community leadership and public service as essential to becoming a "good" lawyer.
Housed at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, the Centre benefits from (and will contribute to) a vibrant set of kindred initiatives, such as the Chief Justice of Ontario's Advisory Committee on Ethics and Professionalism and its pioneering work through colloquia with Ontario's law schools. The Centre hopes to collaborate in its activities with the Law Society and other legal organizations, the Courts, other law schools and Universities across Canada and abroad, and public interest organizations.