J.D. Conversion Process

Dear Queen's Law Alumni:

In February 2008, with broad support from students and faculty, the Queen's University Senate unanimously approved a motion to change the designation of the Queen's Law degree from LL.B. to J.D.

Recognized internationally as designating a high-quality second-entry professional degree, the J.D. will help our students and graduates secure international opportunities and will support the Faculty's goal of becoming "Canada's Global Law School."

For interested alumni, the law school will provide a replacement J.D. diploma and transcript. We anticipate that as many as 1,000 of our almost 6,000 alumni may choose to convert their degrees. As a goodwill gesture, the Faculty will not charge for this service for a two-year period, beginning November 1, 2008. However, we are asking for a donation to the school to offset the costs of issuing replacement diplomas and to enhance our student programs.

For our recent alumni, Law '03 to Law '08, we are asking for a $50 donation to the school to offset the cost of the replacement diploma. For our more senior alumni, we are asking for a $200 donation. Contributions at this level will be sufficient to cover the cost of the new diploma, and some funds will remain with which we can enhance our student programs at Queen's. You will receive a charitable tax receipt for the full amount of your donation.

All donations will be directed to our Dean's Excellence Fund, an alumni fund used exclusively to support student programs and educational opportunities at Queen's Law.

Alumni living and working abroad, or those with past experience having done so, are also encouraged to join our developing Global Alumni Network. We would like to link up alumni with international careers, and build stronger connections between our international alumni and our students and other alumni who are interested in global aspects of legal study and practice. Our alumni can now be found around the world, from Hong Kong to New York, from Dubai to London. You can all be a great resource for our students and alumni interested in pursuing international career opportunities.

Thank you for your support of Queen's Law.


Yours truly,

Bill Flanagan
Dean of Law