Angela Swan, a distinguished legal scholar and practitioner, gave a heartfelt speech during York University’s final Spring Convocation ceremony, where she received an honorary doctor of laws degree on June 20.
Speaking to Osgoode Hall Law School’s Class of 2025, Swan outlined her gratitude for the honour, acknowledged the wisdom of Indigenous Peoples and shared vital reflections from her six-decade career in law.
Osgoode Dean Trevor Farrow introduced Swan, a former adjunct professor at the law school, as “a deeply influential presence in Canada’s legal community for over 50 years as a practitioner, scholar, teacher and mentor.”
Her impact, he said, extends beyond the classroom and courtroom. She inspired dozens of young people when, in 2008, she “courageously and publicly shared her identity as a transgender woman” which has led to her leadership in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion.
Swan opened her address acknowledging the contributions of Canada's First Peoples. She highlighted their governance structures and stewardship of resources, stating, “We would be far better off if we had, and would, let ourselves be guided by them. This acknowledgement of what we owe to them and could learn from them is, I believe, important in achieving reconciliation.”
Reflecting on her own journey in law and life, Swan shared important insights she carries with her. She highlighted three sources of joy from her 60-year career, with the first being the opportunity to teach and befriend students.
“I always leave a class knowing more or seeing things more clearly than I did when I started the class. I owe my students a great deal,” she said.
Swan conveyed her fondness for teaching and expressed a sense of loss as she approaches retirement, noting, “I shall miss that experience this September when I shall have no one to teach.”
Swan also found joy when, at age 68, she experienced deep contentment in her identity as a woman. She remarked on the acceptance she has received from her family, friends and colleagues, and encouraged graduands to move forward and establish a culture of compassion and kindness. “Kindness is, after all, the most important human quality,” Swan said.
Swan expressed her gratitude for Canada as another source of joy. She and her family immigrated to Canada in 1956. “I am so very glad that I came here and very proud to be a Canadian," she said, expressing her appreciation for the nation’s kindness and tolerance compared to other places around the world.
Transitioning into practical advice for graduands, Swan shared her well-known principle of ethics that she offers all of her students pursuing legal careers: “Don’t be a scumbag; don’t advise your client to be a scumbag; and try to avoid having a scumbag for a client.” She also reminded graduands to be cautious of greed and, lightheartedly, to "always go to the bathroom before a Zoom or conference call."
Graduands also heard about Swan’s key contribution to the Supreme Court case Bhasin v. Hrynew, which established the idea that contracts should always involve an expectation of good faith between parties. She noted that the Supreme Court’s recognition of this principle came nearly 30 years after she had argued for it in a 1984 lecture at the Law Society and highlights a memorable moment in her career.
She urged Osgoode’s graduating class to be aware of negative attitudes and dishonest behaviour in the legal landscape and reiterated her core message of kindness and integrity.
“Be kind to one another,” she said in closing. “Be kind to everyone.”