FACL BC’s Intervention in Irvine v. UBC: Why Representation in Legal Education Matters

I am pleased to report that the Supreme Court of BC has granted the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (British Columbia) Society (FACL BC) leave to intervene in the judicial review proceeding Irvine et al. v. University of British Columbia. 

The petition challenges, among other issues, equity, diversity, and inclusion requirements in faculty hiring at UBC, including at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.

FACL BC’s intervention is focused on the challenge of EDI-related faulty hiring practices. Law schools are gateways into the legal profession. Faculty hiring decisions shape the perspectives students encounter, the mentorship available to them, and the signals sent about who belongs in law.

For students from communities historically underrepresented in the profession, representation within legal education can have a meaningful impact. It affects not only the classroom experience but also the future composition and credibility of the profession itself.

From my perspective as pro bono counsel, FACL BC’s role is to assist the Court on the broader implications of EDI-related hiring practices for legal education, the legal profession, and the communities that profession serves. Specifically, FACL BC challenges the petitioners’ suggestion that the implementation of EDI-practices are merely political imperatives. Instead, by supporting the University’s right to implement policies and procedures that promote EDI policies in hiring, FACL BC seeks to protect the hard-earned gains that visible minorities have made in having society recognize these policies, fulfilling legal, ethical, and moral requirements.

Public confidence in the legal profession is strengthened when the profession reflects the diversity of the public. FACL BC’s participation in this proceeding is an important opportunity to ensure that perspective is before the Court. We are honoured to support FACL BC in that work.

For more information, see the statement from FACL BC and the full notice of application.