Hon. Robert Bauman on Advocacy, Access to Justice, and a Career Shaped by U of T Law

For former Chief Justice Robert Bauman (LLB ’74), the University of Toronto (U of T) remains a source of enduring pride – one that has followed him throughout his legal career. He jokes that it became something of a running theme during his time on the bench to find ways to mention where he studied. Behind the humour was a genuine belief in the strength of the education he received and the standard it set.

“It was the best decision of my life,” he says of choosing the U of T Faculty of Law (now known as the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law), recalling arriving in 1971 and being “wowed” by his classmates and professors. “There were so many talented people. The faculty was incredible. It was an experience in and of itself.”

That sense of pride has also shaped how he views giving back to the Faculty. For Hon. Bauman, supporting the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law is a natural extension of his connection to it – a way of supporting the kind of legal education he believes is essential to the profession, and ensuring that future generations benefit from the same intellectual rigour and sense of possibility that defined his own experience.

Advocacy in Practice

That foundation continues to shape how Hon. Bauman approaches the law, particularly the role of advocacy.  

For him, advocacy is about clarity, discipline, and the ability to bring others toward understanding. But he is equally clear that its effectiveness depends on something more fundamental: openness to persuasion.

He recalls one sentencing early in his judicial career in which he went into the hearing prepared to impose a custodial sentence on a young couple who had defrauded a jewellery store. As they spoke about their remorse and willingness to make restitution, he reconsidered his position in real time. “I sentenced them as I listened to them,” he says. He ultimately imposed a restitution order over time – and the couple repaid every cent.

For Hon. Bauman, moments like that reflect the core of what advocacy can achieve: not winning an argument, but allowing understanding to evolve as new information and human context emerge.

That openness, he adds, is also what defines strong legal practice more broadly. “I’m constantly amazed at the times my mind is changed by advocacy in front of me,” he says. “And that’s got to be the holy grail of advocacy – when you bring someone around who was initially against you.”

Access to Justice and the Cost of Law

The responsibility of advocacy does not stop at persuading a decision-maker in a single case; it extends to the broader system in which those decisions are made. Hon. Bauman points in particular to his concern about access to justice and the pressures facing the legal system.

Having seen firsthand the realities of family law chambers, he points to the growing cost of legal services as a fundamental challenge. “Ordinary people simply can’t afford legal representation at the most critical moments in their lives,” he says.

He notes that rising tuition and debt loads for law students add another layer of pressure. “When I was in law school, tuition was about $900 a year,” he recalls. “Now students are coming out with debt in the hundreds of thousands. Of course they have to make a living.”

For Hon. Bauman, that reality raises a broader concern about access – both to the profession and to the legal system itself. If the cost of becoming a lawyer is so high that it shapes who can enter the profession, it has downstream effects on who can access legal services. It is this concern that shapes his support for legal education and the institutions that train future lawyers, grounded in the belief that widening access to the profession is essential to keeping the law accessible to all.

“If only corporations and governments can afford legal services, then we’ve failed,” he says. “The rule of law has to be accessible to everyone.”

A Career of Learning

More than 50 years into his legal career, Hon. Bauman continues to emphasize the same core principles: build a strong foundation, develop your skills, and remain open to learning.

“I’ve never stopped learning,” he says. “And I’ve never stopped realizing I should continue to learn.”

He encourages students to take a broad approach early on, resisting the urge to specialize too quickly, and to continue developing their advocacy and writing skills over time. 

Because, in his view, it is those skills – the ability to think clearly, communicate effectively, and engage others – that define both strong lawyers and a strong legal system.

That belief, he adds, has shaped his entire career and remains closely tied to his pride in the University of Toronto: the place that set his standard for excellence and continues to inform how he understands the profession today.