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Faculty of Law

Jamie Cassels, KC

jamie cassels

Professor Emeritus

Contact:
Credentials:
BA (Carleton, LLB (Western), LLM (Columbia).
Area of expertise:
Legal theory, private law (contracts, remedies, torts)

Biography

Professor Cassels joined the Faculty of Law in 1981 and had a rewarding career as a teacher, a scholar and an educational leader. In addition to being a professor of law, he served as the faculty's dean, and for a ten year period served as the university's Vice President Academic and Provost, and subsequently served as the seventh president of the University of Victoria from July 2013 to October 2020.
 
Recognition of his contributions as a teacher, scholar and leader include appointments as Kings Counsel, a member of the Order of Canada, numerous university and national awards for his teaching and research, including the national 3M university teaching award.

Education

  • BA (Philosophy), Carleton University;
  • LLB, University of Western Ontario;
  • LLM, Columbia University

Selected books

  • The Uncertain Promise of Law: Lessons from Bhopal (1993) about the environmental and human cost of the devastating 1984 explosion at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, and its aftermath;
  • Remedies: The Law of Damages (2000; third edition with Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey, 2014);
  • Complex Litigation: The Law of Large-Scale Claims (2005 with Craig Jones)

Other work

 Reports and studies for governments, crown corporations and law firms on various matters including:

  • Pension Reform for Homemakers;
  • Natural Resource Expropriation and Compensation;
  • Constitutional Reference re Senate Reform;
  • Accident Compensation for Women;
  • Aboriginal Land Claims;
  • Tobacco Manufacturer’s Liability for Health Care Costs;
  • Personal Injury Compensation Reform

Recognition and awards

  • King Charles III medal 2025
  • Order of Canada, Member 2019
  • Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, 2012
  • British Columbia Queen's Council, 2004
  • Society for Teaching and Learning 3M Teaching Fellow, 2002
  • Canadian Association of Law Teachers Award for Academic Excellence, 1999 [one award per year for “exceptional contribution to research and law teaching by a Canadian law teacher in mid-career”]

Areas of graduate supervision

Not taking on graduate students at this time, but happy to consult and advise.