Backhouse: Top law grad puts litigation to the test

This summer, Diana Backhouse, recipient of the 2008/09 Law Society Gold Medal and Prize for top GPA, plans to gain a new perspective on litigation. Through a position with the Ontario Court of Appeal, Backhouse will get the opportunity to work directly for a judge summarizing trial information from lower courts, sitting in on hearings and watching litigators in action.

Backhouse first became interested in litigation after participating in a competition at UVic. “One of the most interesting things for me in law school was the mock trial moot court. This competition involves law schools from all over the world. Students are given questions involving international law and they answer them in front of a virtual panel of judges. My question involved terrorism and human rights, which included looking at what constitutes torture,” explains Backhouse.

Backhouse grew up in Ontario and came to UVic after completing her undergraduate degree at Queens. “I had no idea what to do after finishing my degree. I decided on law because it seemed general enough that I could still leave my doors open,” says Backhouse.

“When I was trying to choose between going to law school in Ontario or British Columbia, I decided on BC because I’d never been there before. I picked UVic Law because I’d heard that, unlike a lot of other Canadian law schools, almost all of the students who went to UVic really enjoyed all three years of the program. I also really liked the idea of being in a smaller program where everyone got to know each other.”

Now as a graduate, Backhouse can look back and see that she made the right decision. “I loved my three years at UVic. The faculty are fabulous and right from the first week of our legal process orientation I realized that this was going to be an entirely different kind of experience from what I had expected.  But what stands out the most is the wonderful group of students and friends that I met during my time at UVic Law.  I feel so lucky to have been able to spend three years with such a rich and talented group of classmates and friends.”