Citizen Lawyer

Thomas MacKay, a 32-year-old Music major with an advanced degree in Education, might not look like your average law student. But that is because you are thinking about the average law school.

"Because of Windsor Law's holistic admissions process, all of the students come in with a very diverse set of experiences and are all very accomplished in their realm," says MacKay, who starts his third year in the fall. It is not a competition based on high marks and LSAT scores, he adds. "Windsor looks to many criteria to pick the best of the best."

For MacKay, the motivation to attend law school was simple and powerful. "I wanted the chance to do something more substantive with my life and to make change," says the Windsor native. "That's why I wanted to get into law and that's what I'm doing."

The operative word here is "doing." MacKay has taken advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by Windsor Law to put legal principles into practice. In fact, during the fall semester of 2008, MacKay worked full-time at Legal Assistance of Windsor (LAW) in lieu of normal classes and received eight credits in return.

"I had the opportunity to appear before tribunals on a weekly basis, to prepare written material and to develop client relation skills and interviewing skills that have served me well today," says MacKay, now working a summer position at Giesbrecht, Griffin, Funk & Irvine in Kitchener. "It's been invaluable to my growth as a law student and future law professional."

Since MacKay is a political beast by nature, he dove headfirst into campus governance. In both his first and second year, MacKay was elected as a student representative to the Faculty Council. As a Students’ Law Society representative, he advocated for greater student involvement in the hiring process, more budget transparency and more autonomy for student clubs. MacKay has also been a staunch advocate in support of efforts to rename the LL.B. degree to a J.D.

His tireless advocacy work earned MacKay the 2008 Students’ Law Society Award, in recognition of an “outstanding contribution to the Windsor Law Community.” For MacKay, it is all part and parcel of the learning process.

"My experiences at law school have given me an opportunity to hone my political skills and to apply my legal abilities to my political efforts," says MacKay. "It makes the work I do more effective."