David Walter Mundell Medal

The Mundell Medal celebrates great legal writing.

The Mundell Medal honours those who have made a distinguished contribution to law and letters. Each year, the award recognizes a legal writer whose literary craftsmanship and clarity of expression work together to make ideas come alive. Expert grasp of the subject, sharp analysis and clear language are the hallmarks of the best legal writing.

"It is intended to be a kind of Pulitzer Prize for legal writing and I announce it to honour the memory of the late David W. Mundell..."
— IAN SCOTT

In 1986, former Attorney General Ian Scott established the Mundell Medal. In his speech announcing the creation of the award, Scott emphasized that the ability to use language effectively and stylishly is valuable in a profession which relies on words — written or spoken — as the raw material. The award, in his vision, aims to help advance and foster the effective use of language in the legal profession.

The medal is named after David Walter Mundell, a renowned constitutional lawyer and the first director of the ministry’s Constitutional Law Branch. The medal was designed by the late Kenneth Jarvis, a lawyer and former Secretary of the Law Society of Upper Canada, who was also a skilled singer, photographer and nationally recognized sculptor.

Nominations

Every autumn, the ministry invites nominations and announces the winners the following spring. The medal is awarded by the Attorney General upon the recommendation of a selection committee.

The Honourable George Strathy, Chief Justice of Ontario, has graciously agreed to serve as chair of the selection committee for this award.

Please note that the broad terms of reference for the award encompass all classes of writers — legal practitioners, academics, and others.

Candidates nominated for previous competitions can be nominated again. A nomination should include a list of the nominee's published writings and two copies of one representative sample of writing, and be sent to:

The Honourable George Strathy
Chair, Selection Committee for the David W. Mundell Medal
Osgoode Hall
130 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N5

Email: Stephanie.Ho2@ontario.ca

The deadline for nominations is November 27, 2020.

Mundell Medal Recipients

2019

• Gillian Hadfield
• David Tanovich