In the GPLLM, learning occurs on both sides of the podium
U of T’s Nexus talks to Emma Phillips about teaching in the Global Professional Master of Laws Program
Emma Phillips (and Louis Century) teach in the University of Toronto Faulty of Law’s masters program, the Global Professional Master of Laws Program.
Nexus, the magazine for Faculty of Law alumni, spoke to Emma about what it is like teaching students who are engaged in a variety of professional careers
It may well be the lively interplay between the professionals at the front of the room and those behind the desks that sets this program apart. There’s something in it for everyone. The students learn from the teachers, and the faculty definitely learn from the students. “When you’re teaching people who come to the material with a great deal of life experience, they bring a lot of added value to it,” said Emma Phillips, JD 2005, a respected Toronto labour lawyer who is enthusiastic about teaching in the Law of Leadership concentration from its inception. “In the first class I taught, I had a student who was a pediatric surgeon, somebody from the PMO’s office, a retired MP and someone who’d been the chair of an administrative tribunal. I had a whole variety of students from interesting backgrounds, which they brought to the legal questions we were discussing. That allowed us to apply legal principles to real life scenarios.”