John Willis - A Tribute

John Willis has been respected and loved in the Canadian legal community as a teacher, colleague, and scholar for decades, and one of his articles - Statute Interpretation in a Nutshell' - is probably the best-known single piece of Canadian legal writing. The law about government was his abiding interest and the subject of most of his writing. This article is a study of this writing, especially the writing done during the 1930s. It is primarily part of an undertaking to understand the minds of Canadian lawyers, but it is also a tribute. My conclusion is that this writing was outstanding scholarship. Canadians do not easily believe that one of us has been outstanding, not only within our community but beyond, but this is my claim and my tribute.