At One Table: A Celebration of Five Decades of Leadership and Friendship

Past and present leaders of the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law gathered around a single table this past March for an evening of conversation and reflection, bringing together more than five decades of leadership in one room. The occasion marked both a celebration and a transition: an opportunity to thank outgoing Dean Emerita, University Professor Jutta Brunnée, and to welcome Professor Christopher Essert as Jackman Law’s new Dean, with former deans Edward Iacobucci, Mayo Moran, Ronald J. Daniels, J. Robert Prichard, Martin L. Friedland, Frank Iacobucci, and Robert Sharpe also in attendance.

“It’s not often that you have the opportunity to bring together so many former deans in one room,” says Dean Christopher Essert, noting the sense of history and collegiality that shaped the evening. 

Those around the table have gone on to play influential roles well beyond the Faculty, as leaders of major institutions, senior public servants, academics, and members of the judiciary, including appointments to the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. As former dean Robert Prichard noted ahead of the gathering, it brought together "a pretty exceptional group of leaders who have all had interesting, successful, and diverse careers." 

Against that backdrop, the evening’s conversation revolved around both institutional memory and shared experience. At a time of significant change in legal education and the profession, the opportunity to exchange perspectives, across different eras and challenges, offered both continuity and insight as the Faculty moves forward under Dean Essert.  

A graduate of the Faculty, Dean Essert brings a strong personal connection to the Faculty, as well as  advanced degrees from Yale and a distinguished record as a scholar of property law, tort law, and legal philosophy. His appointment brings both continuity and a fresh perspective at this pivotal moment.  

The Faculty enters this next chapter with renewed momentum, thanks to its recent transformational gift from Hal Jackman and his family to advance student scholarship, research, teaching, and experiential learning. The gift strengthens the Faculty's capacity to shape academic and legal debates in Canada and internationally, and to continue preparing its graduates to make meaningful contributions across the legal profession and beyond.

As the evening concluded, what stood out was less a sense of occasion than of connection in a group shaped by a common commitment to the Faculty and to one another. That kind of connection extends beyond the deans to students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and to their shared purpose in legal education.

“Seeing these eight amazing individuals together in one place really brought home how impressive they all are and how big the shoes are that I have to fill,” says Dean Essert. “At the same time, what stood out was a sense of community and of an unwavering commitment to the Faculty. I think those things really show how valuable this institution is and provide a foundation that I am really looking forward to building on over the course of my term.”