News & Announcements
April 11, 2019
In Memoriam: W. Wesley Pue
W. Wesley Pue was born in Canada a British subject before the patriation of Canada’s constitution from the United Kingdom. He had his status as a British subject taken from him by virtue of the Canada Act. That experience contributed to his decision to become a legal historian. He was educated in England at Gresham’s School, Holt, and Regent’s Park College, Oxford, graduating with a BA in Geography in 1977 and a BA in Jurisprudence in 1979. He then returned to Canada, where he earned a Master of Laws from the University of Alberta in 1980 and a PhD in Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1989.
He taught at Osgoode Hall Law School, Oklahoma City University, Carleton University and the University of Manitoba before joining the law school at the University of British Columbia as the inaugural Nathan T. Nemetz Chair in Legal History and Professor of Law in 1993. His courses focused on Jurisprudence, Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal Theory, Public Law, and Canadian Legal History. He was a wonderful teacher – well loved by his many students.
W. Wesley Pue was a tour de force in Canadian legal history. His research interests included law and society, legal pluralism, the history of law, the histories of legal professions, comparative legal history, law and colonialism, and issues related to constitutionalism, security, and policing. A highly prolific scholar, his publications include: Natural Justice in Canada (Butterworth, 1981); Misplaced Traditions: British Lawyers, Colonial Peoples, edited with Rob McQueen (Federation Press, 1999); Law School: The Story of Legal Education in British Columbia (UBC Faculty of Law, 2000); Pepper in Our Eyes: The APEC Affair (UBC Press, 2000); Lawyers and Vampires: Cultural Histories of Legal Professions, edited with David Sugarman (Hart, 2003); The Promise and Perils of Law: Lawyers in Canadian History, edited with Constance Backhouse (Irwin Law, 2009); Lawyers’ Empire: Legal Professionals and Cultural Authority, 1780-1950 (UBC Press, 2016) [winner of the 2017 CLSA English-language book prize]; numerous book chapters and articles in journals such as Law & History Review, Alberta Law Review, Anglo-American Law Review, American Journal of Legal History, Manitoba Law Journal, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, and UBC Law Review. He also served as Series Editor for more than 200 titles in Canada’s Law and Society Book Series, published by the University of British Columbia Press. He had a mastery of Canadian legal history, a deep understanding of legal education, and could always be counted on to provide fresh insights into those subjects.
Wes Pue was also a gifted administrator. At UBC, he served as Director for the Graduate Programme in Law, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, acting Director of the Individual Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program, Vice-Provost for Academic Resources (Vancouver Campus), and Provost (Okanagan Campus).
He was a member of the Bars of the Northwest Territories and Alberta, and an honorary member of the Honourable Society of Inner Temple. He served as President of the Canadian Law and Society Association, and was a longtime member of the American Society for Legal History, which he served in numerous roles.
In addition to his contributions as a teacher, scholar, editor, and administrator, Wes will be remembered for his calm demeanor, good nature, and steadfast willingness to help colleagues and students.