Class of ’58 pays homage to popular professor and judge

As a law student at McGill in the 1940s, Gerald Le Dain studied under noted poet and lawyer F.R. Scott, and later went on to become a McGill law professor himself, and eventually a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Now, less than one year after his death, many of the popular professor’s former students from the Class of ’58 have joined the Le Dain family in establishing a new fund designed to support student activities at McGill’s Faculty of Law.

“Our father showed us the power of active participation, but he also noted where a lack of funds limited his own involvement in his early years as a student,” said Justice Le Dain’s son, Eric. “We felt it would be highly appropriate in his memory to create a fund linked to encouraging student participation.”

The Gerald Le Dain Fund in Constitutional and Administrative Law will be used to support student activities connected to legal education, notably student research assistantships. The endowed fund now sits at over $65,000, and is expected to grow as more donations come in.

Eric Le Dain said the family was thankful to the Class of ’58 for joining the family in the initial founding of the fund. “He was particularly fond of his early classes, and took pride in their many accomplishments.”

Dean of Law Nicholas Kasirer agreed that the fund is a fitting tribute to Le Dain, who was known for his commitment to young lawyers not only as a professor, but also through his work as a Supreme Court Justice, where he helped provide guidance and inspiration to law students selected for clerkships.

“Like Frank Scott, he took a genuine interest in the growth of his own students,” said Kasirer. “And now that they have gone on to become ambassadors, ministers of the Crown, appellate court judges, and respected advocates and business people, it’s wonderful to see them show their support for current and future students at their alma mater.”

Gerald Le Dain was born in Montreal on November 27, 1924. After service overseas during the Second World War, he returned to his hometown and enrolled at McGill’s Faculty of Law. He obtained his BCL in 1949, and later that year pursued further studies in France.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Gerald Le Dain practised law in Montreal and also taught constitutional law at McGill University for eight years. He later accepted a position as Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.

In 1975, Le Dain was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal and the Court Martial Appeal Court, was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1984, and made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1989.

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