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Faculty of Law

The UNB Law advantage

An intimate learning environment

Our limited enrolment and small class sizes create an intimate and supportive learning environment that many students find ideal.

With an annual intake of just over 90 students, our warm atmosphere allows you to form close relationships with peers and professors. These connections form the basis of professional networks that create opportunities for decades after graduation.

Our friendly learning environment helps develop the distinctively well-rounded character of our graduates, who combine a broad legal background with humility, compassion, good humour, and a collaborative and generous spirit. Employers are looking for graduates with social skills that inspire trust in co-workers and clients.

A JD program that gives you an edge

Our core curriculum stands out among Canadian law schools for its dedication to fundamental principles and skills.

The education we provide focuses on subjects that are relevant, regardless of the issues that may be dominating society at a particular point in time. Our program emphasizes the basics of common law and legislation, analytical skills, legal writing, and oral advocacy.

By focusing on the fundamentals, we ensure our graduates are prepared for any line of work and can tackle any challenge.

This is why UNB Law’s core curriculum gives you an edge in the labour market.

A deep commitment to your success

One of the benefits of our size is the individual attention you will receive. Our Career Services Office provides one-on-one support and has proven especially effective in securing summer and articling positions and judicial clerkships, from coast to coast.

Our accomplishments

  • Our articling placement rates continue to sit well above the Canadian average. Consistently, well over 90% of our students obtain articling positions upon graduation.
  • In the summer of 2023, UNB Law sent six students to Bay Street.
  • In the last four years, UNB Law has placed three students in Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) clerkships.
  • In the last three years, UNB Law has placed three students in Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) clerkships.
  • In the last five years, three UNB Law graduates have been hired to clerk at the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA).

Astounding for a law school with an annual graduating class of approximately 90.

A strong network

We have a rooted history and are extremely proud of our alumni from across North America who want to see and help you succeed.

To offer you encouragement and opportunities right from the start, UNB Law has an alumni mentorship program through which incoming students are matched with UNB Law graduates. An alumni mentor can offer you advice on surviving the first year of law school and evaluating career opportunities. Most importantly, they serve as role models for you and give you confidence in facing and overcoming the challenges of a legal education.

130 years of excellence

When you enroll at UNB Law, you are joining an elite institution with a rich history in the fabric of Canadian law and society. Founded in 1892, UNB Law is the second-oldest university-based law faculty in the Commonwealth and has graduated premiers, cabinet ministers, and judges at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Learn more about the history of Canada’s oldest law school.

Notable alumni

  • The Hon. Frank McKenna, PC, OC, ONB, KC, FICD (LLB ’74). Deputy Chair, Wholesale, TD Bank Group; former Premier of New Brunswick and Canada’s former ambassador to the United States.
  • Lydia Bugden, KC (LLB ’91). CEO and Managing Partner, Stewart McKelvey.
  • Ian Putnam (LLB ’96). President and CEO of HBC Properties and Investments
  • Patricia Bernard (LLB ’99). Chief of the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in northern New Brunswick.
  • Kerry O’Reilly Wilks (LLB ’01). Executive Vice President, Legal, Commercial and External Affairs at TransAlta.

Small town. Big opportunities.

Since 1959, we have been part of the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus, located on the unceded traditional lands of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and overlooking the Saint John (Wolastoq) River. Fredericton is a friendly, accessible, viable city with a vibrant, diverse student community.

While Fredericton has all the amenities of a big city (artisan markets, craft breweries, outdoor adventure, and a thriving art and culture scene), the small-town feeling is part of what makes this place so enjoyable for our students. Fredericton placed #2 on Maclean’s “Canada’s Best Communities” ranking.

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