Professional LLM Specializing in
Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Course Descriptions*

Advanced Trial Advocacy: Empirical and Theoretical Issues

[GSLaw 6705] [6 credits]
This course focuses on refining the trial advocacy skills of experienced civil litigators. The teaching of trial advocacy skills has traditionally been an area where there is a high degree of anecdotal method premised upon the individual experiences of trial lawyers. This course departs from this tradition by drawing upon empirical
work in trial simulations, and psychological literature concerning courtroom dynamics.


Recent issues in evidence, such as the rules concerning expert opinion versus junk science and developments in the area of hearsay, are explored. Knowledge of evidence is viewed as a core trial advocacy skill.


Part of the course utilizes a unique practical methodology, which combines performance with critique. Participants perform a particular advocacy skill
and are provided with direct feedback by senior and experienced faculty members.

Contemporary Issues in Civil Litigation [GSLaw 6702] [6 credits]
The course examines, from a theoretical perspective, a range of issues of current interest dealing with the litigation process, including reforms to the rules of civil
procedure. Particular topics will be drawn from areas of the law undergoing considerable change and which are featured prominently in recent cases. These topics and areas may include, among others:

  • Jurisdiction of courts
  • Class proceedings
  • Res judicata and abuse of process
  • Arbitration and Courts
  • Procedure and Factual Issues in Litigation
  • Issues in Discovery
  • Disqualification of Counsel
  • Costs and Remedies

The Role of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Litigation Process [GSLaw 6703] [6 credits]
Adjudication no longer has a monopoly on dispute resolution. For a variety of reasons, disputants are increasingly turning to other means, principally mediation and arbitration. Moreover, ADR methods are still in common usage, despite recent changes to mandatory mediation rules. This course will be taught from the perspective of the modern litigator and civil justice policy maker seeking to understand more about the theory of ADR, what types of ADR techniques have
emerged or are evolving, how lawyers should represent clients in this new milieu, and what the implications are for the civil justice system.


The course traces the rise of the ADR movement, its content, strategies and variants, then considers how ADR can be integrated into the litigation process and
how to determine which process should be used to resolve a particular dispute. It then focuses on the two major forms of ADR, primarily mediation, and to a lesser extent, arbitration:

  • Mediation: Examination of the dynamics and
    techniques of mediation, emphasizing the
    lawyer’s role in representing clients in mediations.
    Workshops involve role-playing in simulated
    mediations with feedback and critique.
  • Arbitration: Analysis of the role historically played
    by arbitration in Canada, the United States and
    Europe, tracing the genesis of the recent wave of
    arbitration legislation across the Commonwealth;
    review of the Ontario Arbitration Act and the
    conduct of arbitration.

Recent Developments in Substantive Law Relevant to Litigation [GSLaw 6704] [6 credits]
Students will pursue a critical examination of recent developments in areas of substantive law of particular relevance to litigators. Subjects to be covered may
include the following:

  • Disclosure of material change class action
  • Injunctions/Fraud
  • BCE case/Corporate governance
  • Administrative monetary penalty/civil remedies
  • Globalization/International Human Rights
  • Ethics
  • Libel: Evolving areas of restitutionary doctrine including the liability of public authorities, the role of the unjust enrichment principle, recovery
    of benefits conferred by mistake or under illegal transactions, etc.
  • Litigation and ADR: enforcement of mediation agreements and other topics
  • New Rules
  • Suing public authorities: new causes of action against the police and correctional authorities, immunities, and causation
  • The Charter: Analysis of topics of recent practical and theoretical importance, such as damages for Charter violations, Court review of government funding decisions that impact on Charter rights, the appropriate level of deference to be accorded to legislatures under section 1, the meaning and scope of the right to liberty under section 7.
  • Legal developments in access to Justice: Implications of recent substantive developments which have affected access to civil remedies, including the availability of costs where counsel are representing clients on a pro bono basis, the availability of advance costs by indigent parties, the elaboration of access to justice as a constitutional principle and the claim for a constitutional right to legal aid in civil matters
  • Professional liability: new causes of action against lawyers, doctors, and other professionals

Transnational Litigation [GSLaw 6701] [6 credits]
Like the economic activity giving rise to it, litigation and dispute resolution are becoming increasingly globalized and transnational in nature. This is most apparent in commercial litigation (although it arises also in other areas, e.g. product liability). As a result, disputants often have a choice as to where to litigate, or become embroiled in fights over where the litigation should be conducted, over choice of law, etc. The result is a subject which is an amalgam of civil procedure and conflict of laws.
Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence in this area will form the basis for analyzing the “revolution” in Canadian law relating to jurisdiction, service out of the jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, stay of proceedings, anti-suit injunctions, enforcement of foreign judgments and choice of law. The course will also focus on the processing of commercial disputes in the Ontario and English Commercial Courts and on litigating cases with interprovincial and transnational elements, and the role of domestic and international commercial arbitration. Attention will also be given to the impact on commercial dispute resolution of key developments abroad, such as the formation of regional arrangements like the European Union, and harmonization projects underway to develop a worldwide judgments convention and transnational rules of civil procedure.

International Commercial Arbitration [6 credits]

Useful for both international and domestic arbitrations, this course provides an in-depth introduction to the law and practice of international commercial arbitration including the legal framework; the role of the courts, arbitral institutions and tribunals; the main elements of effective arbitration agreements; the selection of the tribunal and challenges to members of the tribunal; jurisdictional issues; interim measures; pre-hearing procedure and the conduct of the evidentiary hearing; and how awards may be challenged or enforced. Using a workshop format with a range of demonstrations and exercises, the course follows a mock arbitration from commencement of the proceedings through the presentation of expert evidence to challenging or enforcing the award.  Students learn how to draft and work with arbitration agreements and to participate in the constitution of the tribunal.  With a focus on both substantive and procedural law in this area, this interactive course allows students to develop and hone the specialized written and oral advocacy skills required for international commercial arbitrations.

 

Major Research Paper [6 credits]
A Major Research Paper (MRP) of approximately 70 pages may be completed on a topic in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution, provided appropriate supervision is available.


The MRP should go beyond merely describing legal developments to include independent critical analysis of its subject matter. It should be work of publishable
quality. You will be required, at a minimum, to submit to your supervisor, an outline and bibliography for approval before writing your paper. The final paper is marked on a pass/fail basis.

*Curriculum and course descriptions are subject to change. New courses and course changes are subject to Senate approval..