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Well-known lawyer, author, educator and human rights advocate Lorne Rozovsky was instrumental in creation of Dalhousie's Health Law Institute

Dalhousie's Health Law Institute and the Schulich School of Law has lost a great friend in the passing of Lorne Rozovsky QC, following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. A pioneer in establishing health law as an area of study and research, Lorne authored 18 books and over 600 articles in this area. He also introduced health law into the law school curriculum as well as those of the faculties of medicine and dentistry at Dalhousie. Lorne and his wife Fay, who also taught in this area at Dalhousie, were key proponents and vigorous advocates for what would become the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie.

A native of Timmins, Ontario, Lorne spent his later years in the United States after a distinguished career in Canada, where he was made Queen's Counsel in Nova Scotia. Before entering private practice, Lorne served as Legal Counsel to the Nova Scotia Ministry of Health, and over his long career, advised governments, corporations, international and domestic health agencies, NGOs and associations in Canada, the US, and abroad. He lectured broadly in every province of Canada, the US, Europe, the West Indies, Africa and Israel. His works have been cited in Supreme Court decisions and endorsed by organizations such as the Canadian Health Information Management Association. His books include many bedrock works in this field, including The Canadian Patient’s Book of Rights, AIDS and Canadian Law, and Canadian Hospital Law, the first book on the subject published in Canada. He was the only Canadian to be named an honorary fellow for life by the American College of Legal Medicine and the only non-American witness to appear before the Commission on Medical Malpractice in the United States. 

Lorne and Fay Rozovsky designed and taught the classes at the law school where students first wrote research papers on health law and policy. In the words of Professor Constance MacIntosh, current Director of the Health Law Institute, Lorne Rozovsky planted the seeds which "allowed the blossoming of an amazing cross-disciplinary community and the national leading institution for teaching, research, and public service in health law and policy." The Health Law Institute and the Schulich School of Law recently established the "Rozovsky Health Law Paper Prize" in honour of the contributions made by Lorne and Fay Rozovsky to the field of health law, and to their visionary work in founding what would become the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie. The prize will be awarded annually to the law student who writes the best major research paper in the area of health law and policy.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Lorne's family (survived by wife Fay and sons Joshua and Aaron) and his many friends and colleagues. Lorne will be dearly missed by all of us.