Mark Walters (Dean, Queen’s University Faculty of Law), In Memoriam – Arthur Cockfield:

I am writing with some extremely difficult news. Our colleague and our friend Art Cockfield passed away suddenly on Sunday, January 9, arising from an unsuspected heart condition.

This is very hard and shocking news for all of us.  Our thoughts turn to his family. We will all wish to convey our deepest condolences and sympathies to them during this difficult time.

For the many, many graduates of our law school who had the great fortune to learn law from Professor Cockfield, and for Art’s former classmates, this news will be very difficult to understand and process.

Art was a mainstay of our law school. Art studied business at Western University, obtained his law degree from Queen’s in 1993, and completed doctoral studies in law at Stanford University. He returned to Queen’s as a faculty member in 2001. He was a Full Professor and the Associate Dean of Academic Policy. Art was one of the world’s leading tax law scholars. His work on comparative and international tax law was truly innovative and extremely influential. He was a loyal and dedicated teacher who cared deeply for his students. Art was cherished as a mentor and a friend to so many of us.

In the days to come, there will be opportunities to reflect upon and celebrate Art’s many contributions to academic and public life in Canada and beyond. Right now, however, we are all simply in a state of collective shock about the loss of our teacher, our colleague, and our dear friend. I will therefore keep this message brief and I promise to update you with further information as soon as I can, including information about memorial events.

Law.com, International Tax Expert, Respected Law Professor Arthur Cockfield Dies Suddenly

(Hat Tip: Reuven Avi-Yonah)