Over the past two years, the undergraduate Certificate in Law program has grown to seven courses with an enrolment of almost 2,000 students. This academic year saw the launch of the first two courses in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Services Management program, and registration will be open to legal professionals starting with this spring’s offering. Overseeing the growth of these online programs are Shai Dubey, Law’94, and Morgan Jarvis, Law’10 (Artsci’05, MSc’08). 

Dubey has been appointed the school’s first Executive Director of Undergraduate and Professional Programs, and Jarvis the school’s first Academic Director of the Certificate in Law.  

“I am delighted to announce the appointments of Shai and Morgan to these new strategic leadership roles,” says Dean Bill Flanagan. “Both have a mandate to ensure high academic quality in these programs and seek further opportunities for growth.”

“Queen’s Law is a pioneer in online legal education in North America,” says Dubey, who is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Business Law at Smith School of Business. This term he is teaching Shaping the Future of Legal Practice, a course he developed for the Graduate Diploma. 

“The undergraduate Certificate has been a great success for the school,” he adds, “and we have already seen a great deal of interest in the Graduate Diploma from both law students and law firms.”

In his new role, Dubey will manage the growth of both initiatives and will look for new opportunities for the school to apply its academic legal talent, as well as its technical skills in online program delivery.  
  
“I want to develop a team that thrives in an environment of innovation,” says Dubey. “I hope that Queen’s Law will be seen as ‘Canada’s law school’ as we help lawyers be better at what they love to do by understanding the business of law, and by making law more accessible through programs that reach more people. I am looking forward to working with faculty, students, staff and alumni to make a real difference, one of the real reasons that I chose to become a lawyer myself.”

Jarvis, who will continue as Director of the Queen’s Business Law Clinic (QBLC) on a part-time basis, became involved with the Certificate in Law program last year. He developed the Intellectual Property course, which he taught in the fall.
 
“I’m thrilled to be joining the team of incredibly capable staff and instructors who are responsible for the success this program has seen over the past couple of years,” Jarvis says. “We’re in the fortunate position of having a proven concept with almost unlimited potential for growth. We’ll be working now to see just how many Canadians we can bring access to legal education to, while upholding the university’s reputation for unrivalled quality.” 
 
Crediting the school for already doing a “fantastic job” of looking towards the future of the legal profession and preparing law students for it, he notes how there are so many more people who should have access to legal information, and variations on a legal education that suits their needs. These include undergraduate and college students for whom an understanding of the law applicable to their field would be extremely valuable. Others are those in the workforce; they could learn how to do their jobs much better and to more effectively use legal counsel with a better understanding of the applicable law. 

“Really, all Canadians should have a basic understanding of how the law impacts them in their daily and working lives, so we’re really excited about the opportunity in front of us as we look to serve that greater audience.”  
 
With the Certificate courses, he explains, the focus is on the practical application of the law. “We want to connect with a full range of students from undergrads to continuing education learners out in the workforce. To do that, we aren’t just introducing them to the law, but to how it matters to them in the real world. It isn’t law school, where we need to teach them the theory and history, the why and how behind the law that they need to think like lawyers; we just want to help them better navigate the law as it applies to them. Our courses will help them know when they need to hire a lawyer, or help them use their lawyers more effectively.” 
 
It’s that practical aspect of the Certificate in Law program that ties in with Jarvis’ work as QBLC Director. Being involved with the QBLC keeps Jarvis on top of what matters to students and others out in the community starting businesses and running local not-for-profits and charities. “These clinic clients are in some cases quite literally our students in the Certificate program,” he says. “In my Certificate IP course, I used a lot of our clinic student work as examples to practically illustrate what I was teaching. Some of the students in that class then applied to the clinic for help starting their business.”

Both Shai Dubey and Morgan Jarvis are taking on their new roles with great enthusiasm and expectations. As Jarvis puts it, “Our mission, really, is to contribute to the great brand Queen’s Law is building as an innovative leader in legal education.” 

By Lisa Graham

Watch a video of Shai Dubey, Law'94, explaining how Queen's developed the ideal business skills program for lawyers.