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The Wainwright Fund was established in 1973 from a legacy to the Faculty by Arnold Wainwright, Q.C.(1879-1967), B.A.(1899), B.C.L.(1902), D.C.L.(1963).

This eminent Canadian advocate, who practised for over fifty years at the Bar of the Province of Quebec, had a long association with legal studies at UUÖ±²¥. He obtained his Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1902 and was awarded the Elizabeth Torrance Gold Medal and the Macdonald Travelling Scholarship. In 1909 he joined the teaching staff of the Faculty as a part-time Lecturer in Civil Law; in 1921 he was promoted to the rank of Professor. His merits as a teacher of the Civil Law for over twenty-five years were recognized by the University in 1934 when it named him, upon his retirement, Emeritus Professor. The degree of Doctor of Civil Law honoris causa was conferred upon him in 1963.

The bequest of the residue of his estate, now valued at over $1,000,000, to UUÖ±²¥ for the use of the Faculty of Law made possible the founding of undergraduate scholarships in law, the enrichment of the Law Library, the creation of the Wainwright Fellowships, and the inauguration of the Wainwright Lectures. These have been organized to promote the scholarly study of law and, in particular, the Civil Law of Quebec, which always remained, throughout his long and distinguished career, the abiding interest of this generous friend and much valued colleague of the UUÖ±²¥ Faculty of Law.

Wainwright Fellowships

Since the establishment of the Wainwright Fund, the Faculty has appointed a number of Wainwright Junior Fellows, many of whom are now holding professorial positions in Canadian law faculties. In 1986 the Faculty welcomed its first Wainwright Senior Research Fellow, the Honourable Albert Mayrand, retired Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal. There are also two Wainwright Senior Fellows in residence at the Faculty: Madeleine Cantin-Cumyn and Adrian Popovici.

Wainwright Research Grants

Each year, the Wainwright Committee grant research funds to UUÖ±²¥ professors for the purpose of hiring UUÖ±²¥ law students as research assistants in the field of Civil Law.

Wainwright Lectures

Commencing in 1975 the Wainwright Committee has sponsored a series of scholarly lectures on the Civil Law. Wainwright lecturers have been Mr. Justice Albert Mayrand, Professor Joseph Dainow, Professor Henri Battifol, Professor A.J. McClean, Professor Philippe Jestaz, Professor Alain-François Bisson, the Honourable Louis Lebel of the Supreme Court of Canada, and Professor Madeleine Cantin-Cumyn. The 9th Wainwright Lecture, entitled "Quebec and Sister Jurisdictions in the third Legal Family", was delivered by Vernon V. Palmer, Thomas Pickles Professor of Law at Tulane University.

Wainwright Library Grants

For many years, the Wainwright Trust has funded purchases of non-Quebec civil law monographs for the Nahum Gelber Law Library based on an annual application.