Trinity Western University has named a retired Vancouver lawyer to oversee the development of its new school of law.
Earl Phillips, a former Vancouver managing partner of the law firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP, will be the school’s executive director, the TWU announcement said.
“My goal is to ensure that everything is in place for the graduating class of 2019 to get a great legal education and have an outstanding experience,” said Phillips, who retired in 2013.
The university announcement said Phillips will lead the development of the law school and manage operations in preparation for its opening, planned for 2016.
“I am drawn to the idea of having a law school that really prepares lawyers for practice,” Phillips said.
“Specifically, one that is focused on serving the types of clients that are underserved today and that appreciates law as a serving profession with broad obligations to the communities in which they work, and to our society as a whole.”
Phillips specialized in labour and employment law during his 28-year career.
Since 2011 he has been listed in the Canadian Legal Expert Directory as a leading lawyer in the area of employment law, labour, and workplace human rights.
The press release, issued Tuesday, made no mention of the controversy that has developed over the creation of the new law school, with some critics complaining the Langley-based private university has an community charter with anti-gay language that violates the standards of the legal profession.