About this Area of Expertise
The traditional image of educational institutions as small, isolated knowledge-based communities has been replaced by vibrant, sophisticated and savvy creatures that function predominantly in a business-oriented manner to achieve educational purposes. Actors within the educational system – such as students, parents, teachers and professors, administrators, school board trustees – are increasingly turning to experienced legal advisors to enable them to fulfill their roles. Their legal needs intersect tradition legal practices, including:
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Labour and Employment: Educational professionals and their unions are subject to a series of rules and guidelines, some of which are unique to the educational context and others that apply generally to employees and labour groups.
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Torts: Educational institutions are liable in tort for a direct act or through vicarious liability for acts of employees. In particular, these institutions have a duty to provide a safe environment for students, which raises issues in relation to bullying and injuries that can be suffered by individuals on school grounds.
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Human Rights: Constitutional freedoms are defined significantly by disputes arising within the educational experience, specifically in relation to freedom of speech and expression, equality rights, and the rights of children with special needs.
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Administrative Law: The decisions of adjudicative bodies within educational institutions and other organizations on a wide range of issues are subject to judicial review before the courts, and these bodies are treated similarly to administrative government agencies.
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Corporate Governance: Universities generally manage their affairs through a bicameral structure composed of a board of directors or governors and a senate, which structure creates opportunity for jurisdictional conflicts.
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Real Estate and Commercial Leasing: Educational institutions require diverse property interests to adequately provide forums for learning, and institutional administrators are frequently obliged to deal with zoning, assessments, and ownership and leasing issues.
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Citizenship and Immigration: Students and professionals from jurisdictions outside Canada and the United States are generally encouraged to attend and teach at our educational institutions.
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Regulatory Compliance: Educational institutions are subject to a comprehensive statutory framework and must consistently and vigilantly abide by a myriad of different rules.
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Intellectual Property: Teaching materials and research initiatives often raise issues regarding reproduction and ownership of intellectual property.
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Aboriginal Law: Aboriginal governments are increasingly assuming jurisdiction over education within their communities.
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Privacy: Institutional administrators control student records, which contain information that is deemed to be private and, in some circumstances, privileged.
Parties to the education process deserve practical solutions for concerns arising in these and other areas. We are keenly aware of the unique legal and social challenges that they confront, and we work closely with our other practice groups and with our Meritas affiliates to provide the best coordinated services possible.
Boughton’s expertise in education law dates back to the tenure of Leslie R. Peterson Q.C., a firm founder, as the Minister of Education in the Cabinet of W.A.C. Bennett. Mr. Peterson has since been a chancellor of the University of British Columbia and chair of the University of British Columbia Foundation.
We are uniquely capable of advising educational institutions and professional organizations that operate throughout the educational system, particularly universities, colleges, professional institutes, school boards, independent schools and teachers’ unions, as well as parents, guardians and students.
Case Comment: Maughan v. UBC et al
Recent Publications
Noah Sarna & Lazar Sarna, The Law of Schools and Universities (Toronto: Lexis Nexis, 2007).
Key Contacts
*Personal Law Corporation
