The Douglas McK. Brown Chair in Law was established in 1986 in honour of one of Canada's most distinguished counsel and one of British Columbia's most eminent citizens. Douglas McK. Brown was born in Vancouver in 1912 and educated at the University of British Columbia and in Cambridge, England. For many years he taught at the law school, in addition to his busy practice in the firm of Russell & DuMoulin and his many public interests.
Douglas McK. Brown died in 1982 and soon thereafter a campaign was initiated to establish a Chair of Law in his name. Distinguished Visitors are appointed to the Faculty to participate in the intellectual life of the law school and to contribute to its program of legal education, including delivering the Douglas McK. Brown Lecture.
The Lecture is a public expression of the Faculty's wish to commemorate Mr. Brown and to thank those whose contributions enabled the Chair to be endowed. It is open to the profession, students and the public.
Douglas McK. Brown lecturers:
2023
Khiara M. Bridges, UC Berkeley School of Law
Topic: Race in the Roberts Court: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
Delivered April, 2023
2020
Sundhya Pahuja, Melbourne School of Law
Topic: Invisible Leviathans: Global Corporations and International Law
Delivered March, 2020
2019
Anna Arstein-Kerslake, Melbourne School of Law
Topic: Personhood and Innovation in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Delivered January, 2019
2018
Liora Lazarus, Oxford University
Topic: Doing Violence to the Rule of Law
Delivered April, 2018
2017
Carol Rose, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Topic: Commons, Cognition, and Climate Change
Delivered March, 2017
2016
Ian Loader, Oxford University
Topic: Partners in Crime?: Populism and Technocracy in Crime Control
Delivered February, 2016
2014
Robert Ahdieh, Emory University School of Law
Delivered March, 2014
Alison Renteln, University of Southern California
Topic: Is there a Right to be Free from Corruption?
Delivered February, 2014
2013
David Garland, Arthur T. Vanderbilt, Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology, New York University
Topic: American Penalty and the American State
Delivered January, 2013
2007
Professor John Whyte, Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy and the University of Regina
Topic: Text, Context and Narrative in the Search for Constitutional Meaning
Delivered March, 2007
2003
Professor Alfred de Zayas
Topic: The Status Of Guantánamo Bay and the Status of the Detainees
Delivered November, 2003
2002
Mr. Justice Allen M. Linden
Topic: Contribution of British Columbia to Canadian Tort Law
Delivered March, 2002
2001
Chancellor Allan McEachern, Chancellor of University of British Columbia
Topic: The Role of The Courts in Contemporary Society
Delivered November, 2001
1999
Professor Judy Fudge, Osgoode Hall Law School
Topic: New Wine into Old Bottles? Updating Legal Forms to Reflect Changing Employment Norms
Delivered March, 1999
1998
Sir Peter North, Oxford University
Topic: Law Reform: Problems and Pitfalls
Delivered September, 1998
1996
Professor Roderick Macdonald, McGill University
Topic: Three Centuries of Constitution-Making in Canada: Will There be a Fourth?
Delivered March, 1996
Professor Regina Graycar, University of New South Wales
Topic: Hoovering as a Hobby and other Stories: Gendered Assessments of Personal Injury Damages
Delivered November, 1996
1993
Professor Denise Réaume, University of Toronto
Topic: Justice Between Cultures: The Protection of Cultural Affiliation
Delivered November, 1993
1991
Professor Donald H. Berman
Topic: Artificial Intelligence and Law: Machines Thinking Like Lawyers
Delivered October, 1991
1990
Professor Karl Klare, Northeastern University
Topic: Reinventing Democracy: Does Legal Theory have a Role?
Delivered November, 1990
1988
Professor Maurice Copithorne, University of British Columbia
Topic: Canada: Federation or Confederation?
Delivered March, 1998
1986
Professor Alice Erh-Soon Tay, University of Sydney
Topic: The Struggle for Law in China
Delivered November, 1986