Controversies in the Common Law identifies some of the thorniest problems in private and public law, and explains how Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin addressed them by applying a common law approach to judging.

Introduction: Controversies in the Common Law—Innovative Solutions and Future Challenges at the Supreme Court of CanadaVanessa Gruben, Graham Mayeda and Owen Rees 1. Reflecting on the Legacy of Chief Justice MclachlinLady Brenda Hale, Baroness of Richmond, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom 2. Justice Beverley McLachlin and Tort Law:  The Good, the Bad, and the Puzzling Bruce Feldthusen 3. Evaluating Chief Justice McLachlin’s Decisions on “Residual Policy Considerations” in NegligenceErika Chamberlain 4. Controversey Resolved: Chief Justice Mclachlin, Personal Autonomy, & Unjust EnrichmentMitchell McInnes 5. Selective Deference and the Judicial Role: Chief Justice McLachlin’s Legacy for Law and Legal EducationDavid Sandomierski 6. Combatting Stereotyping & Facilitating Justice: McLachlin’s Vision for the Law of EvidenceDavid M. Tanovich 7. The Continuity of Private and Public Law Reasoning in Chief Justice McLachlin’s Criminal Law JudgmentsGraham Mayeda 8. Less is More: Chief Justice McLachlin and Criminal Law MinimalismMatthew R. Gourlay 9. Controversies in the Common Law of Judicial Review: Tracing the Contributions of Chief Justice McLachlinAdam Goldenberg 10. The McLachlin Court and the Concept of Open JusticeEszter Bodnar

"Through their insightful analysis of the jurisprudence of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the contributors to this volume weave together classic methodological questions of the common law and McLachlin’s characteristic conceptions of her role as a judge and as a law-maker. Taken together, the essays provide a rich narrative of the path of the common law and judicial decision-making over the first two decades of the twentieth century."