Justice Mike Dinkel (BA Law, 1987)

Justice Dinkel shares some of his memories of studying at the University in the 1980s.

Back in September of 2025, I had the pleasure of visiting with Birmingham University Law Professor, Paul McConnell, in my Judicial Chambers at the Alberta Court of Justice, where I sit as a Justice.

At our meeting, Paul and I discussed in detail how the Law School is going to great lengths to recruit students from Canada. Of course, I was impressed with this, but also a little bit surprised. Back in 1984, when I walked across campus past the Chamberlain Clock Tower (known to all as Old Joe) and into the original location for the red brick Law School (now called The Harding Building), I was shocked to find that I was the first Canadian to have attended there to study Law. There were students from all over the world in our class, but I was the lone Canadian, past or present, by all accounts. This status made me somewhat of an anomaly, and it was a great talking point when meeting new people around the university. I have been advised that there are now 200 Canadians studying Law at Birmingham. It was an honour being the first!

When I arrived at the University in the fall of 1984, at the age of 23 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in my back pocket, my first stop was at University House, which is just a stone's throw from the Guild of Students Building across Edgbaston Park Road. It was there that I attended an Orientation Weekend and had many conversations and a few beers with everyone from Professors to foreign students from Australia (who were there for the Beer Brewing Program, of course) to local students, about living in Birmingham and life on campus. It was also where I made my first English friend, Andy from Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and it is where I first heard the legendary story of Simon Le Bon and Duran Duran being booed out of the Cellar Bar in the basement of The Guild.

From there, it was off to Griffin Green. Back then, it was off-campus, self-catering housing, which was located a 15-minute bike ride southwest down the Bristol Road. That meant I had to get a bike, which I did, and I rode it for all three years, making travelling around campus quick and easy. The self-catering units were great fun as a group of 6 guys of varying ages and interests all got together to try to learn how to cook and survive. I applied to move to the Vale in the second term of first year, as I had lots of friends there and at the nearby Maple Bank self-catering housing. Another Yorkshireman from the Law School helped get me into Mason Hall, and I had no regrets. It was great fun because they had a pub on the main floor, and every day we would study in our rooms until 10 pm and then head down to the pub to compare notes and have a pint.

On one such famous occasion, the students brought out a Yard of Ale for a little competition. I got a good chuckle out of the crowd when I offered to give it a try, and then I proceeded to shave about 30 seconds off the Mason Hall record. Yes, we Canadians can handle our beers, and my victory was met with a combination of consternation and awe. I heard that my record was broken only a few days later, putting it safely back in English hands.

My second year was spent in off-campus rental housing with another law student and a friend from the basketball team. We were lucky to find an old house on Tiverton Road. I remember the house was so cold that I wore mitts and a good ol’ Canadian toque while I studied at night. You could feel the chilly breeze coming straight through the single-pane glass window in my room all winter long. That made for an enduring memory of England. Best of all, the house was strategically located just a few blocks from our favourite pub, The Old Varsity Tavern (The OVT), which still stands today.

My final year was spent in a newer house on Lottie Road with two other law students. The house had central heating and warm running water for at least one shower a day, which we constantly fought over. Being a Canadian, I loved my long, hot showers, so timing was everything.

I was constantly being asked to play Rugby because I was so tall at 6’3", but my game was basketball. So off I went to the Munro Sports Centre on day one to try out for the team. I met a great bunch of guys, and the majority of us played together for all three years I was there. I even coached the team in the final year. I still keep in touch with some of the players, and we laugh about our games against the Police (always very tough and physical), Loughborough University (always very fit and fast), and other universities that had visiting American students (we enjoyed beating them and their hotshot American players the most). To this day, our team is still most proud of the fact that our odd squad of English misfits and one washed-up Canadian ball player managed to make it to the All-England finals in our third year. Sadly, our best shooter was out with an injury, so we ended up losing that game, but, as always, we drove back to Birmingham in our university van singing songs, telling stories of our greatness and most of all, laughing and laughing.

I also had the benefit of being able to travel during the term breaks. When everyone went home to visit and study, I went on the road. As I recall, I toured all through Europe by rail, and I flew to Russia, the Canary Islands and Greece. On one occasion, my roommate and I hopped in his Triumph sports car, with the top down, and made our way to pre-Channel Tunnel Paris for a weekend. The great city of London was only a short train ride away, and weekends there were common. While in London, I enjoyed popping into the Maple Leaf Pub in Covent Garden for a taste of home in a bottle of Molson Canadian. To me, the opportunities were limitless, and being from the slightly larger country of Canada, it was a shock to have all of these famous locations so close by and accessible.

Back in 1985, I remember world-famous England cricketer Ian Botham doing a Charity Walk 900 miles across England from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just 35 days. To put it into perspective, if you tried walking from one side of Canada to the other at the same pace, it would take you 185 days of just walking, not to mention any rest stops for the mountains you would have to cross; give the whole walk six to eight months in Canada.

Travelling out of town was great, but just as fun was finding a group of students to head off to the Lickey Hills and have a picnic or wander out to Himley, near Dudley, and have a few pints at the 19th centrury Crooked House Pub, which had subsided to the point it was on a 15 degree angle and all the locals would famously have a chuckle out of the tourists making a steel ball roll “uphill” on the window sill. When I was homesick, I would head down to the New Street McDonald’s at The Bull Ring and have a burger and fries.

When I craved live music, I could go to downtown Birmingham. Among many of the gigs I saw, I remember Van Morrison at the Odeon and, on my last day of university, just after I finished my final law exam, I saw U2 at the NEC on their Joshua Tree Tour.

The very best adventures were often right on campus. Visiting students in their residences, meeting friends at the Guild Hall for some special event, or heading down to The OVT for a pint. When planning to head out for a night, we would often call a friend and say, "I’ll meet you at The OVT back near the cigarette machine.” That was our hangout. Just out of the way enough not to bother anybody with our loud stories and laughter. After that, we would head out to a student party in Selly Oak or down to the Dilshad and befriend the best waiters in town, finishing our night over a few more beers and a lovely Prawn Biryani with Naan Bread. I loved the comraderie of of my various friend groups, be it the basketball players or the Law students or the rest of the students I came to know so well. That was what Birmingham University was to me. Meeting new people, enjoying new experiences and experiencing the English culture.

Even better, I received a great education at the Law Faculty and learned the law, how to Moot and how to be a lawyer one day, and in my case, how to be a Judge. I remember spending endless hours in the two-level Law Library and many late nights at my own desk studying cases and trying to wrap my head around terms like res gestae, ultra vires and mens rea. Fortunately, the Law School had the students divided into tutorial groups. This gave me five other instant Law Faculty friends who were all focused on the same tutorial issues that arose from the lectures. Without those other five students, I might not have made it. We helped each other out constantly, but it was the crucible of the tutorial session that was the crucial test. I really enjoyed the tutorial sessions and my presiding lecturer, Keith Hendry. Mr Hendry inspired me and likely was the reason I became a litigator. He saw my promise and encouraged it in the tutorials. I may not have been great on exams, but I could sure argue a case on my feet in a tutorial session.

There were many great lecturers at the Law Faculty, most of whom had written a book or two. It was a solid group of very caring educators. I remember Professor Pennington the most. He wrote the book on Company Law as it then was, and walking into his classroom was as intimidating as it could get. Not because he was mean or gruff, but because he knew everything in that great big book of his and he expected you should too.I look back on all of these experiences with great fondness and pride and constantly wish I was back in Brum, studying Law and hanging out with the same old friends. It was one of the very best times of my life. I owe my 22-year career as a diligent defence lawyer and my 14-year career (so far) as a Judge to the education I received at Birmingham University, and I will be forever grateful for all that it has brought me.

Whether you are in Canada or elsewhere, if you are considering a career in Law and hope to study overseas, Birmingham's highly ranked and respected Law School should be at the top of your list. I’ve had the good fortune to go back to campus in the last few years, and I have seen first-hand how the University has continued to innovate and improve, whether it is the new Law Faculty building, the new Sports and Fitness Centre (which replaced the very posh Gun Barrels Pub) or the new Student Housing in nearby Selly Oak. The march to the future continues at Birmingham University. I’m proud of my association with the city of Birmingham, the University and, most of all, the Faculty of Law. It continues to be a place worth going and a place well worth remembering.

Cheers to those who made it happen!