In 1996, when Professor Bernard Hibbitts first established JURIST, few could have foreseen the impact the project would have. Whether measured in terms of the individual lives it has touched, its global reach, or the impressions it has left on the landscape of online legal news coverage, JURIST’s role cannot be overstated.
What began as a modest online repository for legal scholarship evolved under Professor Hibbitts’ visionary leadership into a groundbreaking service that revolutionized how legal news reaches the public. Through his innovative approach of empowering law students as reporters and editors, he created a unique educational model that has trained generations of legal professionals while delivering accessible, authoritative coverage of rule-of-law issues to millions of readers worldwide. Upon his retirement in December 2024, after nearly three decades of service, his legacy endures in JURIST’s continued commitment to bridging the gap between legal academia and public understanding, fostering transparency and justice across borders.
A festschrift is a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar, traditionally during their lifetime. This digital festschrift for Professor Hibbitts will grow organically through regular contributions published several times weekly. All entries will be permanently archived and indexed on a dedicated section of JURIST’s website, creating a living testament to his transformative vision and lasting impact on legal journalism and education. This is the seventh entry in this ongoing series, the (as-yet) entirety of which can be found here.
Professor Bernard Hibbitts is a thoroughly good man, and I am sure he is missed dearly as a teacher already. As he is now retiring from JURIST as well, I suspect this is where he may be missed the most.
I first met Professor Hibbitts as a 1L at U. Calgary Law, when JURIST was first expanding into Canada in 2020. I was so excited to join this global group of students, who share my passion for the “truth seeking” function in the legal system, and who recognize the overlap between law and journalism in this regard.
I remained a contributor to JURIST throughout my law school journey, and it was one of the highlights of my time as a student. It was electrifying to be part of this global team, and to pave the way for JURIST’s further expansion into Canada. I started as a news writer, news and op-ed/analysis editor, and dabbled in social media. By 3L I eventually became the first Canada Bureau Chief. During these years, I had numerous strategy sessions and status meetings with Professor Hibbitts, and we got to know one another as people, as one naturally would. It feels a bit strange referring to him as “Professor Hibbitts” in this short tribute, in fact, as I have come to call him “BJH” (or sometimes, “the Hibbitts”)!
The man who I have come to know in the last four to five years is one who is thoughtful, patient, and deeply passionate about protecting the rule of law. He is also a spirited entrepreneur, who started JURIST with a dream and rudimentary website skills back in 1996. Most importantly, he tends to view the legal profession, the power of communication, and perhaps the world, a bit differently from most lawyers and professors.
When I think about outstanding individuals in the legal profession, Professor Hibbitts will always be one of the first names that comes to mind. I have lost count of the times that I have expressed feelings of disheartenment about the profession to him. Each time, his thoughts, feedback, and insights have reminded me of the good that one can see – if one just knows through which lens to look.
Beyond the above-mentioned, I can also speak briefly to the way he goes to great lengths to help students all over the world; at times this has meant he has taken their challenges on as his own and met them with moxie and aplomb. I credit JURIST for my meeting many remarkable people, but I credit Professor Hibbitts and our mutual friend (then-Dean at U. Calgary Law) Dr. Ian Holloway specifically for meeting one of my dearest friends today. After the fall of Kabul in 2021, Professor Hibbitts and Dr. Holloway personally saw to it that a JURIST-affiliated law student who narrowly escaped Afghanistan with her life could relocate to Canada to attend U. Calgary Law. That story is hers to tell, but the idea that made this happen was unsurprisingly Professor Hibbitts’. It took a lot of planning and co-ordination for all of this to actually occur, of course, but this event was truly life changing. Again, I will not tell my friend’s story for her, but I can say that getting to know her has been life-changing for me as well. She is an incredibly strong woman with one of the most admirable characters of anyone I have had the pleasure of knowing. It is not every day that one sees a professor or newspaper proprietor propose such an ambitious scheme to assist another human, but then again, not every professor or newspaper proprietor is Professor Hibbitts!
I could spend this evening writing volumes about the different ways in which Professor Hibbitts has made his mark in both the legal profession and journalism, but for the sake of brevity I will end this here with the following statement:
Thank you, BJH, for being a friend, mentor, and inspiration. You will be missed dearly.
Heidi J.T. Exner is the founding partner of Ethical Edge PI & Corporate Advisors, a firm founded in 2023 with a vision to foster transparency, accountability, and trust in Canada’s corporate landscape. She holds a JD from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Huskayne School of Business. She worked with JURIST while pursuing her JD, between 2021 and 2023, serving as a staff writer and Canada Bureau Chief.