New courses are a response to legal issues in construction, infrastructure, and public procurement
This article was provided by OsgoodePD
OsgoodePD’s new Certificate in Public-Private Partnership (P3) Law and Practice in Canada, launching September 2023, and Professional LLM in Construction Law, launching September 2024, are part of Osgoode’s response to complex legal issues in construction, infrastructure, energy, and public procurement.
The launch is a natural progression for OsgoodePD. For more than a decade, its popular Certificate in Construction Law has offered professionals in the industry intensive, practical education on the legal issues impacting construction. Meanwhile, elective courses in construction law have been available to Professional LLM students in Osgoode’s Energy and Infrastructure and Business Law programs.
Andrea Lee, a co-founding program director of the new Professional LLM in Construction Law alongside Osgoode Professor and Chartered Arbitrator Janet Walker, has witnessed the growing demand for legal expertise in her niche up close, in both her private practice and her role as an OsgoodePD instructor teaching some of the school’s existing offerings. She says the new devoted LLM program will help relieve some of that pressure.
“There is certainly an appetite for more construction law courses, so it’s great that Osgoode is taking things to the next level,” Lee says. While lawyers who deal regularly with construction law issues or advise industry professionals are obvious candidates for the new LLM program, Lee says it is also likely to appeal to lawyers looking to gain insight into construction law to complement their existing practice, or even transition into the area on a full-time basis.
Chris Bennett, one of three chairs of Osgoode’s new Certificate in Public-Private Partnership (P3) Law and Practice in Canada, shares a similar sentiment.
The coming-of-age process for P3 projects has proven turbulent. Many private sector players have struggled with getting projects done within the rigid structure and risk transfer profile of a traditional P3 model.
While traditional P3s continue to be used, the risk is too much for many, leaving public owners with a dwindling number of private sector partners willing to bid on them. As a result, the public sector is increasingly open to new methods for delivering large and complex infrastructure projects, with innovative models emerging to reflect the changing market conditions.
“We’re entering a very evolutionary phase of P3 where different types of partnership are available, so we’re reassessing what risk allocation looks like, and testing new models,” Bennett says, adding that this makes the timing perfect for the launch of Osgoode’s new Certificate in Public-Private Partnership (P3) Law and Practice in Canada.
“It’s all about keeping Canada on the leading edge of infrastructure globally” says Bennett.
Applications for Osgoode’s LLM in Construction Law open on October 1, 2023. Stay informed now. Osgoode’s Certificate in Public-Private Partnership (P3) Law and Practice in Canada is an open enrollment course accepting registrations today.
To view the various additional offerings in these areas, visit Osgoode’s website:
