Prof. Klar is presented with his award by Berkeley Law's Prof. Stephen Sugarman.
University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professor Emeritus Lewis Klar, Q.C. was recognized with the prestigious John G. Fleming Award in Torts today at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law). Prof. Klar is only the second Canadian to receive the bi-annual award, which recognizes an international scholar in tort law. The award was created in honour of the late Professor John G. Fleming - author of The Law of Torts, currently in its 10th edition - recognized by many as the 20th century's leading scholar of comparative tort law.
"To be recognized for your work is certainly satisfying. But to be honoured with this award is something very special," said Prof. Klar.
"On behalf of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, I would like to congratulate Professor Emeritus Klar on receiving the John G. Fleming Award in Torts from Berkeley Law," said Dean Paul Paton. "Not only does this prestigious award recognize Prof. Klar's significant contributions to legal scholarship made throughout the course of his career, it also comes on the heels of the Alberta Law Review's spring reception celebrating his accomplishments and the recent publication of the ALR's Special Issue in Tort Law in his honour. Prof. Klar continues to be a tremendous champion and ambassador for the Faculty of Law both at home and abroad."
As part of the award ceremony, Prof. Klar - the 10th recipient of the award - also delivered the fourth Fleming Lecture. In "The Ebbs and Flows of Tort Law: Reflections on a Half Century of Tort Law", Prof. Klar discussed the shift in perceptions of tort law as well as the important judicial developments which have occurred throughout the past 50 years. Early in his career, tort law was widely viewed unfavourably by academics and reformers, who saw little value in it and sought its replacement by no fault compensation schemes. However, as the 21st century approached, academics began to shift their focus from repealing tort law to better understanding and exploring its theoretical basis, values, and doctrine.
"The law of torts experienced a dramatic expansion in the latter half of the 20th century only to be met by a conservative and restrictive approach in the beginning years of the 21st century," said Prof. Klar.
Prof. Klar was admitted to the Bar of the Province of Quebec in 1971 and the Law Society of Alberta in 2000. Following a teaching fellowship at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1972-3, Prof. Klar began his career at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law as an assistant professor in 1973. From 1997-2002, he served as Dean, a time he says was marked by many special highlights, including the creation of the Alumni & Friends of the Faculty of Law Association and the Hon. Tevie H. Miller Teaching Excellence Award, renovations to classrooms, national moot court victories, Prof. Ted DeCoste's international conference "Holocaust - Art, Politics and Law", hosting the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Reform, and the Faculty's rise to second place in the Canadian Lawyer survey of Canadian law schools.
In 2002, Prof. Klar was awarded a Queen's Counsel and received a certificate of merit from the Law Society of Alberta. He was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association (Alberta) in 2005 for his contributions to legal scholarship. In 2007, Prof. Klar received the J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research from the University of Alberta - the University's most senior and prestigious research award - and in 2008, the Hon. Tevie H. Miller Teaching Excellence Award from the Faculty of Law.
Throughout his career, Prof. Klar researched and lectured all over the world during a number of visiting professorships, including at the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, the University of San Diego School of Law, the National Law School of India University in Bangalore, the University of British Columbia, McGill University, the University of Western Australia, Arizona State University, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Prof. Klar is the author of Tort Law (5th edition, 2012) and a co-author of Canadian Tort Law: Cases, Notes & Materials (14th edition, 2014). He was also a contributor to the 10th edition of Prof. Fleming's The Law of Torts (2011) as well as to Torts Tomorrow: A Tribute to John Fleming (1998). He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and his works have been cited hundreds of times by courts in every province in Canada and at the Supreme Court of Canada. In recognition of his substantial contributions to tort law, the Honourable Madam Justice Ellen Picard wrote "Reflections on the Career of Professor Klar", published earlier this year in the ALR's special issue in his honour. The special issue contained contributions from Canadian, American, and English tort scholars.
Despite his retirement from formal academia, Prof. Klar said that his interest in torts and thirst for knowledge remains strong.
"I truly love the subject, reading the judgments and writing about torts. Believe it or not, I am more enthusiastic about the topic than ever," he said.