Professor David McLauchlan—Teaching Contract Law “his way”
Professor David McLauchlan has taught Contract and Commercial Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington for over fifty years. This month marked a significant milestone for the Faculty as he delivered his final lecture to the students. Professor McLauchlan leaves behind an impressive legacy both in terms of his scholarship and his impact on generations of students. Before he retires though, he has one last achievement to tick off his list.
1971 was a big year for Professor McLauchlan. It was the year he joined Victoria University of Wellington’s Faculty of Law as a junior lecturer, and the year he got married. He was 22 years old. A decade later, he was made Professor—signalling the start of a long, steadfast, and fulfilling career as the Faculty’s longest- serving professor.
On the day of his final lecture, students and colleagues gathered outside the lecture theatre and honoured him with hearty cheers and applause. The celebration highlighted Professor McLauchlan's remarkable scholarship, undeniable reputation as a giant of Contract Law, and his impact as a teacher.
A number of Professor McLauchlan’s former students are currently colleagues at the Faculty of Law, many have become leading practitioners, and several have gone on to grace the benches of New Zealand’s highest courts. “Teaching has always been a great privilege for me,” he says.
However, Professor McLauchlan is quick to correct anyone who assumes he is retiring. He still has much to do. Later this year he will deliver the Ivor Richardson lecture titled A Uniform Approach to Contract Formation and Interpretation. He also plans to use his upcoming sabbatical to complete his legacy book—Teaching Contract, My Way!—a two-volume work in which he explains and illustrates his approach to teaching contract law.
The motivation to write his book came as he was pondering the possibility of retirement back in 2022. “I thought it would be a shame to walk away and throw out all of the contents of my six filing cabinets full of teaching materials,” he says.
“I thought it would be worth recording for the benefit of teachers and students, so I hit upon the idea of writing the book.”
While Professor McLauchlan has published extensively—two books and over 170 articles and book chapters in top national and international journals — this book primarily consists of unpublished teaching interactions, reflecting the depth of his tenure and his refined methodology.
“It is basically a series of ‘Socratic’ exchanges between a professor and his students during lectures, with three or four lectures condensed into each chapter.
“My hope is that it will also be useful for continuing legal education because it has a lot of discussion of first principles of the law of contract,” he says. So far, he has completed volume 1, with volume 2 still in the pipeline.
As he reflects on his career, Professor McLauchlan counts himself lucky. “Not many jobs give you the freedom to research, write and teach. I would not change a thing.”
Since his last lecture, many former students have paid tribute to Professor McLauchlan for his mentorship and for the impact that his teaching methods have had on the way they practise the Law. Students remember the rigour and logic that was the hallmark of his lectures which, although daunting at times, transformed both their understanding of the subject and their thinking about law.
As one former student put it, “Professor McLauchlan’s contribution to legal education and to the legal community is incalculable. More than 30 years later, his intellectual method and rigour still resonates.”
Professor McLauchlan is proud of the influence his writing has had in many areas of the law, both in New Zealand and internationally. As an educator, he believes that one of his strengths has been to bring enthusiasm, humour, and rigour to help students develop critical thinking and analytical skills, and to “not just believe everything they read.”
Professor McLauchlan has taught contract law “his way” for over fifty years—both at Victoria University and overseas—and has built up a reputation that precedes him both internationally and in the classroom. “Surviving Contract Law” has been a rite of passage for many of his students, and the tributes speak of an enduring legacy.
“I have always believed that students want to be challenged and engaged, not just lectured at.”