News

The Schulich School of Law is pleased to welcome Jon Legorburu as the new James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law. He will commence the role in a part-time capacity as a visiting professor and will be joining the faculty full-time in due course.

James S. Palmer, QC (LLB ’52) was passionate about fostering informed public policy and advancing education that would contribute to good governance. Through his and his family’s generous support and that of other donors, the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law was established at the Schulich School of Law in 2015.

The Palmer Chair provides intellectual leadership and engages in projects that have an impact on public policy and law locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Building on Schulich Law’s expertise in research and advocacy that engages with and shapes public policy, the Palmer Chair plays an instrumental leadership role in bringing together scholars, students, policymakers and advocates to engage with current policy issues.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to engage in the promotion of public policy discourse, formulation and teaching at Dalhousie University. Universities must be central to the advancement of new laws, and are places where diverse and ground-breaking research catalyse,” says Legorburu. “My role as Palmer Chair is to foster contribution to the ongoing policy formulation process within business, government, social and other spheres. The University is the springboard for such endeavours and the Schulich School of Law is at the forefront of this process. We are at a juncture where systemic initiatives are arising across our society, from cyber-security and defence, to social media regulation, climate change and policies aimed at addressing the adverse impacts of prejudice, to name a few. This Chair is open to policy education and formulation in the widest sense, in the classroom and in the community.”

Legorburu is Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department at ByrneWallace LLP and is one of Ireland’s leading public sector and commercial litigation lawyers. He is also one of Ireland’s top practitioners in the areas of regulatory investigations and corporate and white collar crime, responsible for anchoring large-scale project-based investigations and legal proceedings in the financial services, health and insurance sectors.

Legorburu’s chosen areas of specialisation are company and corporate disputes, regulatory disputes, project-based litigation in the construction and logistics sectors and intellectual property/information technology matters. His work has included representing clients in business-critical injunctions to protect or freeze assets and he has worked in leading law firms in England and Australasia including Slaughter and May in the United Kingdom and Chapman Tripp in New Zealand, before joining ByrneWallace LLP in 2010.

“We are very pleased that Jon will be joining us as our new Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law,” says Camille Cameron, Schulich Law Dean. “The Schulich School of Law has substantial expertise in policy work for the public good. We have productive partnerships with policymakers, advocates, and activists who want to work with us to effect policy change. With his rich variety and depth of experience, Jon will be an excellent addition to our policy expertise and impacts, and to our efforts to educate future policymakers.”