Lionel David Smith

Faculty of Law

Biography

Lionel Smith is James McGill Professor of Law and Director of the Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law. His research and teaching focus on private law, in particular the law of trusts and unjust enrichment. He was a law clerk to Mr. Justice John Sopinka at the Supreme Court of Canada and conducted his doctoral research at Oxford under the supervision of Professor Peter Birks. He taught law at the University of Alberta (1991-1992; 1994-1996) and Oxford University (1996-2000) before joining McGill University in 2000.

He is the author of The Law of Tracing (Oxford University Press, 1997), and a co-author of Waters’ Law of Trusts in Canada, 3rd ed. (Carswell, 2005). He is a co-author and the English reporter of Commercial Trusts in European Private Law (Cambridge University Press, 2005; paperback, 2009). He is a contributor to Canadian Corporate Law: Cases, Notes and Materials, 4th ed. (Butterworths, 2010), Oosterhoff on Trusts: Text, Commentary and Materials, 7th ed. (Carswell, 2009), and The Law of Restitution in Canada: Cases, Notes and Materials (Emond Montgomery, 2004). He is also the author of numerous articles, book chapters, notes and reviews.

He is a member of the American Law Institute, the European Law Institute, the International Academy of Comparative Law and the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law. He is a non-practising member of the Bar of Alberta.

In 2011, Lionel Smith was elected a Visiting Fellow at Oxford's All Souls, and elected Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law.

Education

LL.B., Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal: 2001-6

D. Phil., Lincoln College, Oxford: 1992-94

LL.M., Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge: 1989-90

LL.B., Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario: 1986-89

B.Sc., Faculty of Arts and Science, Trinity College, University of Toronto: 1983-86

Employment

Director, Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law (2007- )

James McGill Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University (2004- )

Full Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University (2007- )

William Dawson Scholar, Faculty of Law, McGill University (2003-2004)

Associate Dean (Graduate Studies and Research), Faculty of Law, McGill University (2001-2004)

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University (2000-2007)

Official Fellow and Tutor in Law, St. Hugh's College, Oxford University, and Lecturer in Law, Oxford University (1996-2000)

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta (1991-1992; 1994-1996)

Law Clerk to the Hon. Mr. Justice John Sopinka, Supreme Court of Canada, (1990-1991)

Areas of Interest

Private law, especially the law governing unjust enrichment, corporations, loyalty and trusts, and gifts, including the philosophical foundations of private law.