Ted L. McDorman Entrance Scholarship in Law
Professor Ted L. McDorman joined the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law in 1985 and retired in 2022. His academic career was primarily in the areas of International Law of the Sea and Public International Law. He published over 120 articles and book chapters about ocean law and policy, international trade law, and comparative constitutional law. He was the editor-in-chief of Ocean Development and International Law for twenty years. His book Saltwater Neighbors: International Ocean Law Relations between the United States and Canada is considered required reading for ocean lawyers in the US State Department and Global Affairs Canada.
Throughout his distinguished career, he undertook a variety of projects for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, including drafting legislation, conducting workshops, and writing reports on fisheries and other ocean issues. In addition, for over fifteen years, Professor McDorman was a key member of a joint Canada-Thailand Southeast Asian collaboration focused on ocean law and policy development. He advised and wrote reports for the governments of Canada, Québec, British Columbia, and South Korea. He also led government workshops in Japan and the Republic of China.
From 2002 to 2004, and again from 2011 until 2013, Professor McDorman was seconded to the Bureau of Legal Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa, serving as the Academic-in-Residence. In 2007, he was the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Canada-US Relations at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
Over his thirty-seven years at the Faculty of Law, Professor McDorman taught a broad range of courses, including three first-year courses: Canadian Constitutional Law; Law, Legislation and Policy; and Torts. As he often stated, teaching first-year law students was the most fun a law professor could have in a classroom.