Caesar Wright

Who was Caesar Wright?

Cecil Augustus Wright, often called Caesar Wright, was a famous Canadian jurist, law professor, and a prominent figure in the Canadian legal education reform. He was among the first law professors to import the Harvard case method into Canadian legal education. He was also known for his confrontational and aggressive personality.

He was born in London, Ontario. He taught at Osgoode Hall Law School from 1927. During this time he championed many reforms of the legal education system, and in particular favoured a greater role for classroom instruction over the existing apprenticeship model. In 1949, the Law Society of Upper Canada rejected his proposed reforms and Wright left Osgoode to take up the position of Dean at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Together with other professors, including Bora Laskin, he shaped the undergraduate law program into a professional law school. He remained with the university until his death.