The University of British Columbia

Law Society Gold Medal Award

(left) Law Society President Bruce LeRose, QC and (right) Emily
MacKinnon, Class of 2012. Photo courtesy of Brian Dennehy
and the Law Society of BC.

On May 23, UBC Law graduate Emily MacKinnon was presented with the Law Society Gold Medal Award during the Faculty's graduation reception at Allard hall. The prestigious and highly coveted medal is awarded each year to a J.D. student who has maintained the highest cumulative grade point average over the three years of law school.

"I am thrilled and very honoured to receive the gold medal, in large part because I simply loved law school," explained Emily. "I was challenged and inspired both by professors who clearly loved their subjects and by practitioners who brought a wealth of experience to the classroom. The opportunity to immerse myself in a wide range of opportunities - from mooting to student government and the frequent colloquia - has given me a firm foundation from which to launch my career. I learned more in three years than I ever thought possible, both inside and outside of the classroom. I am so proud to be part of this UBC Law graduating class, and the gold medal is a lovely reminder of all that law school has meant to me."

Before joining law school, Emily obtained her masters in Ethnomusicology at UBC after completing her Bachelor's in music at the University of Ottawa. This fall, she will begin a prestigious clerkship with Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. After the clerkship, she returns to Vancouver to practice with the firm McCarthy Tétrault. She hopes to pursue a career in litigation.