Prof. Joseph Roach

This extensive oral history interview with Professor Joseph Roach chronicles his remarkable career at the University of Ottawa Law School from 1965 to his retirement. Born in New Brunswick and educated at classical colleges, Roach initially pursued dentistry and teaching before being recruited to law by Dean Tom Feeney, whom he had met as a practicing lawyer in Campbellton. After graduating from Ottawa’s common law program in 1962 and briefly practicing with a francophone firm, Feeney recruited him back to develop the law library and teach property law.

Roach played a pivotal role in establishing the French common law program in 1977, serving as its first director and creating the world’s first common law casebooks in French. He taught courses in both languages across three faculties – Law, Arts (Latin and Greek), and Education – while serving on numerous university committees. His contributions include developing the joint LL.B./LL.L. program that allows students to obtain both common and civil law degrees, establishing the student legal aid clinic, and writing seven casebooks including groundbreaking French-language materials.

The interview provides rich detail about the evolution of Canadian legal education, the challenges facing francophone students in common law programs, and the transformation of Ottawa’s law school from a small institution with 40 students to a major law school attracting over 3,200 applications annually. Roach’s reflections on forty years of teaching, his relationship with the legendary Dean Feeney, and his role in creating bilingual legal education offer valuable insights into the development of Canadian legal institutions.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.