Forum: New Normal or No Normal? Adapting Legal Traditions in an Era of Unprecedented Challenges.

• Author: Caldwell, John

The University of New Brunswick Law Journal has a longstanding tradition of soliciting topical and engaging articles inspired by the themes of the annual Ivan C. Rand & Viscount Bennett Memorial Lectures. These renowned lectures are open to the public and typically attract capacity audiences of students, lawyers, and professors alike, who gather in the Mary Louise Lynch Room of the Law Building at the University of New Brunswick. However, as in-person classes were cancelled for the 2020-2021 academic year, these touchstone lectures that typically inform our journal's theme, were postponed indefinitely.

Without the limitation of a strict journal theme, this year's Editorial Board sought the highest quality of Canadian legal commentary that reflected the challenges and developments that occurred during a year that made us question if life would ever return to 'normal'. With that inspiration in mind, the forum topic of Volume 72 was born: "New Normal or No Normal? Adapting Legal Traditions in an Era of Unprecedented Challenges".

Articles are divided into four groups. First, articles exploring "The New Normal" of Canadian legal traditions include analysis of, inter alia, government accountability in pandemic responses; and the constitutionality of face mask laws. Second, articles positing there has been "No normal" include analysis of, inter alia, bankruptcy lessons for payday lending regulation; and the role of decision-maker expertise when reviewing for correctness. Third, commentary on regional legal themes include an...