Graeme Bowbrick: Putting a human face on the law

Graeme Bowbrick leads a lively class discussion.

Graeme Bowbrick makes the law come to life in his classroom.

Bowbrick, coordinator for the Legal Studies Diploma program, came to Douglas College in 2002 after leaving his post of Attorney General of BC.

"Teaching runs in the family. I have three university professors in the family and my parents were teachers. I went off in a different direction. I became a lawyer," says Bowbrick.

He soon discovered a major ideal shared by teaching and politics - the desire to communicate.

"Both worlds take complex ideas and concepts and convey them to a very broad group of people. Law can be a very complicated topic, but that's what I really like about it: being able to communicate these concepts to the students, and I think with success," says Bowbrick.

The result is lively classroom discussion. When his students start debating an issue in a passionate, positive way, Bowbrick knows he's reached them.

"I make sure the law is alive to the greatest extent possible and try to show that this isn't just some dry, boring subject that isn't relevant - it's directly relevant and that's why it's in the news all the time," he says.

To help make the law come alive, Bowbrick weaves the big issues of the day into the course content. Whether it's debates over same-sex marriage or street racing, his students get to grapple with points of law that directly impact people.

"I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I can tell students about law-making from personal experience, and I hope that I can give them some insight into that process. Looking at the process from a distance people may see formality and ceremony, but really it's a process involving people like anywhere else - with all of their strengths and weaknesses - grappling with often difficult issues."

"In the end it's about igniting a little bit of passion; seeing how this is important and relevant," he says.

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