(Image Credit: Contributed)
Hope Hyslop

Estate of longtime Kamloops judge and lawyer donates $1.4M to TRU Faculty of Law

Jul 7, 2026 | 12:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — A substantial legacy gift from a late, longtime Kamloops judge and lawyer will go toward supporting Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) Faculty of Law. 

TRU announced the $1.4 million it received from Hope Hyslop’s estate will go toward assisting law students and expanding legal services for those who need it. 

In a news release issued this week, TRU says a portion of Hyslop’s monetary gift will create the Hope Hyslop Legacy Community Legal Clinic Fund. The university says the fund will expand capacity at the TRU Community Legal Clinic by improving services for residents who may struggle to access legal help, increasing opportunities for student participation and supporting additional supervision. 

The Hope Hyslop Law Retention Awards will also be created, providing financial assistance to TRU students who are committed to practicing family law. Each year, TRU says four returning third-year students will receive $10,000 awards as recognition for their academic focus and desire to build their careers in the Cariboo, Kootenays, Northern and Thompson-Okanagan regions. 

Hyslop graduated from the University of British Columbia Law School in 1966. From there, she spent her 59-year legal career in Kamloops. Hyslop is credited with establishing the first legal aid clinic in Kamloops, personally paying rent for the officer space and gaining support from young lawyers who volunteered their time early in their careers. 

After retiring as a judge in 2017, Hyslop joined TRU’s Faculty of Law as judge-in-residence. She passed away on Dec. 7, 2025, and received an honourary, posthumous Doctor of Law which was accepted by her brother Mark Hyslop during spring convocation. 

Hyslop was the only female lawyer in Kamloops when she arrived. Since then, TRU notes more than half of its graduating Law students were women.