Faculty of Law

Faculty of Law

The University of Manitoba's Faculty of Law offers an exceptional legal education where students experience dynamic and innovative experiential and classroom learning, and receive the highest training in the skills of critical and analytical thinking, advocacy and legal research. Located in Robson Hall on the banks of the Red River on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Ojibwe-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Red River Métis, the UM Faculty of Law is proud of its tradition of innovation.

Outside view of Robson Hall west side

Faculty of Law

A Tradition of Innovation

Justice – Integrity – Excellence

Law Introduction

The UM Faculty of Law is one of the oldest law schools in Western Canada, founded in 1914 by Hugh Amos Robson and Esten Kenneth Williams in partnership with the Law Society of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba. Housed in Robson Hall on the northeast corner of UM's Fort Garry Campus, the Faculty is directly across the Red River from Riel House - the birthplace of Louis Riel, Father of Manitoba and a founder of the Métis Nation.

We are pleased to present the Faculty of Law’s Strategic Plan from 2022-2025 approved by our Faculty Council in August 2022.

The Plan builds on earlier strategic plans, curricular innovation reports and clinical program studies, and develops values and principles to assist our progression in the coming years and will help frame the environment in which students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners work, study and learn...

Proud of our Alumni

For more than 100 years, graduates of the UM Faculty of Law made great achievements in their careers, using their educations to make a difference in the lives of so many. In the classroom, emphasis is on the legal challenges facing society and the modern legal profession. We seek to educate leaders who promote social justice and progress through economy and human rights, with emphasis on training members of the legal profession who will serve the public good.

Robson Hall Community achievements

Our students have opportunities to study with accomplished professors whose works are widely published in leading journals, boasting national and international standing, with research clusters focusing on Immigration and Criminal law. Along with endowed research Chairs devoted to Private Enterprise as well as International Business and Trade law, our award-winning professors engage in tri-council-supported research aimed at finding solutions to real problems faced by Canadians today in areas including Indigenous, Family, Health, and Human Rights Law.

Our History

Legal education in Manitoba started in 1877, when the Law Society of Manitoba introduced an articling system and examinations protocols aimed at encouraging local Manitoba residents to pursue legal careers. Prior to that date, most lawyers in Manitoba had trained at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, or in Europe. In 1914, Hugh Amos Robson, then a judge on the Court of King's Bench and Esten Kenneth Williams, a young lawyer at the time, worked together to create the Manitoba Law School, with the intention of modelling it after Osgoode Hall, from which Williams had recently graduated. Sponsored by the Law Society of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba, the Manitoba Law School was formally created in the summer of 1914.

Robson Hall entrance from the west
View our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan
Alumni looking through the contents of the time capsule
Manitoba Law Journals on display
1914 Class of UM Law

What we offer

LLM Centre for Research and Graduate Studies Hallway

Programs of study

The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law houses three programs, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) and Canada’s first interdisciplinary Master of Human Rights (MHR) degree. Students enrolled in these programs obtain the highest quality of education, studying with accomplished professors and engaging in experiential learning beyond the classroom.

a student studying on her laptop

Student experience

University of Manitoba Faculty of Law students studying at Robson Hall receive excellent training in the skills of critical and analytical thinking, advocacy and diverse legal knowledge through experiential and classroom learning. At Robson Hall, we recognize the transformative power of education for individuals, their families and communities. Our students are the heart of Robson Hall and the faculty and staff work hard to support and encourage them.

Two students walking through the E.K. Williams Law Library

Research

As one of the oldest universities in Western Canada, the University of Manitoba has a long and proud tradition of achievement and innovation in research. Building on this tradition of scholarly excellence, University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law was established in 1914. A vibrant research community, Robson Hall’s faculty members’ research is well-respected and published internationally, nationally, and locally. Robson Hall research contributes greatly to the advancement of legal and socio-legal knowledge and the development of public policy across Canada and the globe.

Indigenous initiatives

students and community members gathered to experience the indigenous peoples and criminal law event.

The Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba (UM Law) has been working to meaningfully implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action #28, with the hiring of a new Indigenous Legal Studies Coordinator, Indigenization of the Juris Doctor curriculum, implementation of new courses, and introducing clinical opportunities for law students. 

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 28

We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

UM Law’s Faculty Council is committed to implementing CTA 28 and has taken the following action to do so:

Faculty and staff

Law events calendar

Connect with us

Faculty of Law

224 Dysart Road
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

lawinfo@umanitoba.ca
204.474.6130
204.474.7580
Our office is open Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.