Registration for Mindfulness program: Oct. 28, 12:30 – 2:00: Letting Go of Perfectionism

Register below for Oct. 28, 12:30 – 2:00: Letting Go of Perfectionism. See information and the schedule here.

Note that you can register for individual sessions without taking all of them.

 

Headnotes - Sep 9 2019

Announcements

Web Site and Headnotes

Read this: find out about the website calendars and "Today's Events" email

Website features: the Calendars

The Faculty of Law website features two levels of calendar, public and internal.

  • The public calendar only includes events open to people outside the law school, and is visible to anyone who visits the law school's web page. It can be accessed by clicking on "events" in the top right of any page.
  • The internal calendar includes all events at the law school, including those only open to students, faculty and/or staff. To access the internal calendar, log into e.Legal and then click on "Events" in the navigation menu along the top of the page.
  • The daily "Today's Events" email gets its information automatically from the internal calendar. So, to be included in "Today's Events", make sure that your event is listed in the internal calendar.

Events are added to the calendar when rooms are booked using the Room Booking Form, which is accessible in e.Legal.

NOTE: Today's Events is not related to Headnotes. Make sure your event is included in both the calendar and Headnotes!

Special features

The Calendar has special features to make it easier to coordinate your calendar with the Faculty of Law calendar.

  • If you click on any upcoming event, you will see an "Add to calendar" button on the right side under the title. Simply click on this button to add the event to your personal calendar (iCalendar, Outlook, Google, Yahoo). Each browser and calendar system will work slightly differently.
  • From the main public calendar page, you can add the Faculty of Law public calendar to your personal set of calendars by clicking on the "iCal" icon to the right of the page title.
  • For any event, if you want to alert others to it, you can share it on social media by clicking the social media icons on the event page.
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Deans' Offices

BORA LASKIN LIBRARY CLOSURE NOTICE- FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019 FROM 1:00 PM ONWARD

Due to a special event, the Bora Laskin Library will be closed at 1:00 pm on Friday, October 25, 2019. Rooms Falconer 1 and 2 have been booked from 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm as alternative study locations. Regular hours will resume on Saturday, October 26, 2019.

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“Lawyers Doing Cool Things” Alumni Lunches – Fall 2019 line up

“Lawyers Doing Cool Things with Their Law Degrees” is a series of conversations with alumni about their cool jobs, the important issues they are tackling, and how their law degrees got them there. We intentionally focus on alumni who are earlier in their careers and moving the dial on important issues.

Each “Cool Things” alumni speaker will host a lunch for up to 20 students in one of the law school’s classrooms. The law school will supply sandwiches and drinks. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Fall 2019 line up includes amazing alumni who are doing cool things with White & Case LLP in NYC, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Toronto Transit Commission, War Child, City of Toronto, and Animal Justice.

On September 18th at 12:30 – 2:00, our first speaker is Jerry Lee (J.D. 2018). Jerry practices corporate law at White & Case LLP in New York City, focusing on technology transactions and mergers and acquisitions. She has worked with clients such as Facebook and Google. She was previously a 1L summer student at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto. In 2017, Jerry was named one of the 54 Next Generation Women Leaders around the world by McKinsey & Company. During law school, Jerry was the Co-President of the Business Law Society, volunteered for the Wills Project, and competed in the Callaghan Memorial Moot. Jerry has a Bachelor of Science from McGill University.

Fall 2019 speaker bios and registration links are here.

Date of event:
Wed. Sep. 18, 2019, 12:30pm
Event conditions:
Registration required
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Leadership Skills Program: Fall 2019 workshops and Rotman@Law

Leadership Skills Program: Fall 2019 workshops and Rotman@Law

The law school’s Leadership Skills Program (LSP) offers students opportunities to build the key skills and knowledge to succeed in the legal profession. LSP expert-facilitated workshops are interactive, focus on “key take-aways”, and are conveniently held over the lunch hour.

2019-20 workshops include sessions on working in teams, effective communication, conflict management, emotional intelligence, resilience, etc. Click here to sign up for Fall 2019 workshops.

The Rotman @ Law certificate program (continuing in 2019-20) is a collaboration between Rotman and the law school that gives J.D. students access to Rotman’s superb pre-MBA online courses on finance, accounting and statistics.  Click here for more information about how to sign up for R@L courses.

Event conditions:
Registration required
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Bleached out: A Race and the Law Discussion Group

Bleached out: A Race and the Law discussion group

The Race and the Law discussion group at the Faculty of Law is devoted to bringing a critical race theory lens to the study, promulgation, and practice of law. This discussion group is offered at a time when the Law Society of Ontario plans to re-consider its diversity statement, when the profession struggles with a lack of diversity, and when access to justice is inversely correlated with race, class and other identifiers.  Bringing an intersectional lens to the study of law, the Race and the Law discussion group will introduce students to foundational texts in critical race studies and their implications for the study and practice of law.  In addition to providing a grounding in the language and analytic framework of critical race studies, the discussion group will also be a venue for racialized students and others to explore openly and in a safe environment the affective challenges that arise in professional cultures that construct professionalism in bleached-out terms. This is a non-credit, co-curricular activity.

Instructor: Professor Anver Emon, Professor of Law and History; Canada Research Chair in Religion, Pluralism and the Rule of Law; Director, Institute of Islamic Studies.

Click here for more information. Registration will open later this week.

Event conditions:
Registration required
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Lawyers Doing Cool Things - Jerry Lee J.D. 2018, Sept. 18 at 12:30

Lawyers Doing Cool Things - Jerry Lee, J.D. 2018

Jerry practices corporate law at White & Case LLP in New York City, focusing on technology transactions and mergers and acquisitions. She has worked with clients such as Facebook and Google. She was previously a 1L summer student at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto. In 2017, Jerry was named one of the 54 Next Generation Women Leaders around the world by McKinsey & Company. During law school, Jerry was the Co-President of the Business Law Society, volunteered for the Wills Project, and competed in the Callaghan Memorial Moot. Jerry has a Bachelor of Science from McGill University. 

Date and time: Sept. 18, 12:30 

To register, please click here. 

Date of event:
Wed. Sep. 18, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
Flv 223
Event conditions:
Registration required
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Grand Moot: The Constitutionality of Solitary Confinement

Do not miss this year's Grand Moot on Thursday, October 3 in the Moot  Court Room.  Watch four of the law school's most skilled mooters (Eileen Church Carson, Spence Colburn, Julie Lowenstein, and Will Maidment) make submissions on the constitutionality of solitary confinement in front of the Honourable Chief Justice Richard Wagner (Supreme Court of Canada), Chief Justice George Strathy (Ontario Court of Appeal) and Justice Breese Davies (Ontario Superior Court).  Doors open at 4:30 pm.--spillover viewing available in J140!

Date of event:
Thu. Oct. 3, 2019, 5:00am
Location:
Moot Court Room (Jackman 250)
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Wright Lecture: Philip Pettit on The Elusive Sovereign
Philip Pettit

Please attend the Wright Lecture, one of the law school's most important scholarly events of the academic year on Thursday, October 10 beginning at 4:10 pm in Jackman 140.  Professor Pettit will explore whether the idea of sovereignty can find a natural home within a mixed or decentered set of legal arrangements. 

Date of event:
Thu. Oct. 10, 2019, 4:15am
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Mental health resources and Accessibility Services

Dear students

Welcome to the first week of term! I hope you had a lovely long weekend.

I am writing to provide you with an update about the mental health program at the law school, and a reminder about registering for Accessibility Services.

Mental health counselling:  As many of you will know, Yukimi has left the law school to pursue a new opportunity at George Brown College. We are working to fill this vacancy. In the meantime, you can access mental health counselling by booking an appointment with our part-time in-house counsellor, Salima Jadavji, by emailing wellness.law@utoronto.ca. You can also book an appointment with a U of T Health & Wellness counsellor by calling 416-978-8030 or visiting the web page. To address our current vacancy, Health & Wellness has agreed to prioritize scheduling law students with embedded counsellors located near the law school. Please make sure that you identify yourself as a law student when you book an appointment.

For information about a broad range of mental health and wellness supports, please visit the law school’s health and wellness web page.

Accessibility Services:  For students with on-going health issues or disabilities (including mental health issues) that impact the writing of exams and/or papers, it is critically important that you to register with the University's Accessibility Services as soon as possible. If testing accommodations are required (extra time, separate testing facilities), students must also register with the University's Test & Exam Services.

Registration packages and further information about Accessibility Services deadlines can be found here. Registration information for Test & Exam Services can be found here.

Please note that Accessibility Services can also assist students with accessing note taking services, assistive devices, and potential funding for additional academic supports.

Accessibility Services is a central University service that sets its own deadlines. Students must refer directly to Accessibility Services’ web site to stay on top of those deadlines. Students who register after the deadline typically are not able to write exams during the regular examination period with accommodations.

Some academic accommodations offered through the law school are available for students experiencing unexpected or urgent circumstances that render them unable to complete their examinations or written materials. The law school can provide a deferral or extension for students who meet the criteria for accommodation. For more information on the process for requesting an accommodation through the law school see the Academic Handbook for more information.

We are very happy to help you navigate this process.  Please contact me at alexis.archbold@utoronto.ca or Salima Jadavji at salima.jadavji@utoronto.ca if you have any questions.

 

Best regards

Alexis  

 

Alexis Archbold LL.B

Assistant Dean, J.D. Program

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Student Office

Become a JD Student Ambassador
Become a JD Ambassador

VOLUNTEER TO BE A JD STUDENT AMBASSADOR

Did you take a law school tour or attend an admissions info event before you were admitted?  

The JD Admissions Office is seeking JD students in all years to volunteer as JD Ambassadors.

Under the direction of the Senior Recruitment, Admissions & Diversity Outreach Officer, JD Ambassadors will engage with prospective students, applicants and newly admitted students to motivate them to enrol in the Faculty.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

* BE VALUED & MAKE A DIFFERENCE *
You can have a direct impact on the composition of future classes. Incoming students who have interacted with current JD students and alumni consistently rave about the value of their engagement. 
________________________________________________________________________________________________

* EVERYONE IS ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE*
We seek a mix of Ambassadors in order to support the wide range of educational backgrounds, life experiences and demographics of our prospective students and applicants.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________

* REASONABLE TIME COMMITMENT *
The commitment is quite light enough not to be a strain with other commitments. Allot 4-6 hours per term (typically an average of 1 hr /three weeks) to volunteer. We will work around your personal schedule.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

* MAIN DUTIES *

1. LAW SCHOOL TOURS [80%]
Conducting tours that highlight key activities, services, facilities and personnel, and how they relate positively to the student experience. Tour groups range from 1 - 8 people comprising primarily of prospective students, applicants and their relatives/families. Tours are normally 45 min in length, scheduled within the 12:30-2:00 pm period on weekdays. Training will be provided.

2. INFORMATION EVENTS [10%]
Assisting with on-campus and off-campus events, such as Welcome Day, open houses, info sessions and education/career fairs. etc. The majority of events are on weekdays, with possibly 3-5 events held on a weekend day (usually Saturday).

3. E-ENGAGEMENT [10%]
Corresponding with prospective and incoming students via social media, email and live online chats.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

* QUALIFICATIONS *

Candidates must be:
- in ANY JD year of study, from1L to 4L(for combined programs)
- in pursuit of any legal area of interest
- in good academic standing at the Faculty 
- willing and able to be a positive and responsible representative of the Faculty and University

________________________________________________________________________________________________

* SIGN-UP TODAY ONLINE *

To be a new Ambassador
Complete and submit the online application asap at https://forms.gle/zZifRNLfKmSiC4H99


A resume or cover letter is not required, just the completed online form.
The first round of selections will be made from the applications received by September 18

________________________________________________________________________________________________

* HELP *

Jerome Poon-Ting
Senior Recruitment, Admissions & Diversity Outreach Officer
JD Admissions Office
jerome.poon.ting@utoronto.ca

tel: 416-978-3716

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Academic Events

Law and Economics Colloquium: Mitu Gulati

LAW & ECONOMICS COLLOQUIUM

Mitu Gulati
Duke University School of Law

Pricing Collective Action Clauses:  Where’s the Hidden Holdout? 

Tuesday, September 10, 2019
4:10 - 5:45
Room FL219 (John Willis Classroom)
78 Queen's Park 

A creditor who asks for stronger enforcement rights should accept a lower interest rate on her lending to reflect these rights. Over a dozen studies attempting to document this basic relationship in the context of a key provision in sovereign bonds, the collective action clause, have failed. We conjecture that this failure is because whether pricing of rights in fact occurs turns on whether these enforcement rights require collective action and the market perceives the presence of a specialist creditor who is willing to serve as a collectivizing agent and litigate the relevant right (as opposed to where such specialists are hidden). Using data from Venezuela’s ongoing debt crisis, we find that in situations where the market identifies the presence of such a creditor, the rights get priced. The timing of when such terms are priced, is critical for social welfare. Because clauses that provide strong enforcement rights are not priced earlier, at the time the sovereign issues the bonds, the sovereign has little incentive to adopt such terms even if the terms increase overall social welfare by reducing debtor moral hazard, including the risk of profligate spending.  

For more workshop information, please send an email to events.law@utoronto.ca

Date of event:
Tue. Sep. 10, 2019, 4:00pm
Location:
Room FL 219, 78 Queen's Park
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Student Activities

Like to write? Join Ultra Vires!

Ultra Vires, the independent student newspaper of the Faculty of Law, is looking for contributors!

First meeting

Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sep. 11 at 12:30pm in the Ultra Vires office. The office is located in the basement of Falconer Hall. Food will be served. 

1L Editors

We are also looking for four 1L Editors. The commitment level is about five hours a month, six months a year.

If this is of interest, please send us a letter of interest (max. 250 words) to editor@ultravires.ca by Friday, September 13th at 5:00pm.

Date of event:
Wed. Sep. 11, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
Ultra Vires office, Falconer Hall
Event conditions:
Food will be served
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Law Follies General Meeting

The first Law Follies meeting of the year! If you have any experience singing/dancing/acting/video-making/tomfooling/great-time having/laughing (or if you want to start gaining those skills now) then come out to J125 at lunch to learn all about Law Follies, the single most fun night of the school year (100% guaranteed, but still non-refundable). If you are interested in participating in Follies but can't attend this meeting, stay up to date by joining our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Follies2020/ or by sending an email to utlawfollies@gmail.com.

This meeting is primarily geared towards 1Ls or those not familiar with Follies. If you have been a part of the show or know what Follies is about, feel free to join the Facebook group and we'll keep you posted on upcoming writers meetings.

Date of event:
Tue. Sep. 10, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J125
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ILS Presents: 1L Summers in International Law

It's never too early to start thinking about how to spend your 1L summer! Join the International Law Society on Thursday, September 26th at 12:30 in J130 to hear from current upper year students about their experiences at the United Nations, Permanent Court of Arbitration, and International Criminal Court, to name a few. Lunch will be served.

Thursday, September 26th

12:30-2:00 PM

J130

Date of event:
Thu. Sep. 26, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J130
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1L Representatives for the International Law Society (ILS)

Hey 1Ls! The International Law Society (ILS) is looking for three (3) 1L Representatives to join us this year. 

The ILS is a student-run organization dedicated to the study and promotion of international law. We host events throughout the year. As a 1L Representative, you would help the Co-Presidents with organizing the events, but are more than welcome to get further involved with additional tasks.

If you're interested, please send a copy of your CV/resume and a 250-word statement of interest to sophie.barnett@mail.utoronto.ca by Wednesday, September 11th at 10:00 PM. If you have any questions, feel free to write to us. We look forward to reading your applications!

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Fantasy Courts

Do you enjoy a little friendly competition?

Feel like you haven’t had an opportunity to apply the ideas that you are learning in law school?

Wish that there was a law school-related equivalent to fantasy sports?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be interested in participating in Fantasy Courts.

In essence, this competition would see participants predicting Supreme Court of Canada decisions in a survivor pool setup with competitors predicting correctly advancing to the next round until only one person remains (or the season ends which will be the end of the term). The expected buy in to participate is $10 but this will be subject to adjustment based on participation.

The attached PDF includes more information on the specific structure that I propose. Please feel free to message or email (Austin.gaghadar@mail.utoronto.ca) if you have any questions.

If you are interested in participating please follow the link and fill out this attached Google Form by Friday September 13th

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7z3z0HdN67DvBsPtVNzccv-ZhnDDOLIp1mAemBnGkhRe46A/viewform?usp=sf_link

u_of_t_law_fantasy_courts_additional_information.pdf
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SLS Fall Elections
The Students’ Law Society (SLS) is running elections to fill the following positions for the 2019-2020 academic year:

Social Affairs
1L Rep – three (3) positions
3L Rep – three (3) positions
 
Student Affairs and Governance (StAG)
1L Rep – four (4) positions
2L Rep – one (1) positions
3L Rep – one (1) position
 
University of Toronto Students' Union St. George Campus (UTSU)
UTSU Rep – one (1) position

Below is the timeline for the elections:
Wed. Sept. 4: Nomination period opens at 10:00am.
Wed. Sept. 11: Nomination period closes and candidate statements due to CRO (elections.sls@gmail.com) by 11:59pm. 
Thurs. Sept. 12: Campaign period opens at 10:00am. Candidate statements published via list-serv. 
Tues. Sept. 17: Candidates’ forum occurs at 12:30pm. Location to be announced.
Tues. Sept. 17: Online voting opens at 5:00pm.
Thurs. Sept. 19: Online voting closes at 5:00pm. Results published via list-serv shortly after.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A POSITION
Candidates may nominate themselves by emailing a statement of no more than 150 words with the subject line “SLS Election Nomination [Candidate’s name]”. Statements are due by Wednesday, September 11th at 11:59 PM EST to elections.sls@gmail.com. Statements received after this time will not be accepted. Candidates’ statements will then be distributed in a list-serv email.

The SLS has prescribed rules on campaigning, which shall be strictly enforced by the CRO, and can be found in SLS By-Law 500. The SLS By-Laws can be found on the SLS website here. Nominees must provide the CRO with a signed copy of By-Law 500 acknowledging that they have read and agree to adhere to the By-Law. Please email a signed copy to the CRO or return the signed copy to the SLS office. If no one is in the office at the time you drop it off, please slide it under the door. 

Voting will take place online. Information on voting will be distributed prior to the voting date.

Note that successful candidates will need to attend the SLS Retreat on Saturday, September 28th for orientation and training.

More information about the SLS can be found here. If you have any questions regarding elections, please contact the CRO at elections.sls@gmail.com.
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iTrek Israel Trip Info Session

Come to Israel with your fellow U of T Law students on iTrek!

iTrek is a highly subsidized 7 day trip to Israel from May 1 – May 8 open to all U of T Law students. Over the course of the trip we will explore Israel’s cultural landscape, legal environment, nightlife, high-tech industry, history, and politics. All led by your fellow law students! Come out to the info session to learn more.

Date: Thursday, September 26
Time: 12:30 – 2:00pm 
Location: J125

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Dark Money: Elections, Nonprofits, and Voter Manipulation

During the last US election, a small network of billionaires spent over $1 billion to push their issues. They used networks of nonprofits and charities to mask their identities, purposes, and create the false impression of an independent grassroots movement advocating for their interests. Join the Charity Law Interest Group as it presents original research evaluating the exposure of Canada's charity, nonprofit, and electoral laws to this type of abuse.

Date: Monday, September 16, 2019
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Location:  FA3 (Falconer Hall)

For more information email utcharitylaw@gmail.com

To RSVP on Facebook go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/384767785553258/

Date of event:
Mon. Sep. 16, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
Falconer Hall Fa3
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Centres, Legal Clinics, and Special Programs

LAWS Volunteer Information Session
Law in Action Within Schools

Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS) is Canada's leading law school youth outreach program, recognized in its field across North America. For all students interested in learning more about the LAWS program and how to get involved, join us for lunch at our Volunteer Information Session on Wednesday September 11 from 12:30 - 2:00pm in J250.

LAWS law student volunteers:

  • Develop mentoring skills which are highly valued in the legal profession
  • Learn first-hand about the issues facing inner-city youth and newcomers
  • Enhance classroom learning by teaching young people about the law and communicating complex legal issues simply and succinctly
  • Cement their commitment to legal education and public interest work
  • Build rewarding relationships with amazing young people

Law students interested in volunteering for LAWS can sign up at www.lawinaction.ca

The application deadline is Friday September 13 at 12:00pm.  

Date of event:
Wed. Sep. 11, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J250
LAWS Volunteer Brochure 2019
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LAWS Volunteer Training
Law in Action Within Schools

All new LAWS volunteers must attend a mandatory training session on Thursday September 19, 2019 from 12:30 - 2:00pm in J140. Lunch will be provided.

Law students interested in volunteering for LAWS can sign up at www.lawinaction.ca

The application deadline is Friday September 13 at 12:00pm.  

Date of event:
Thu. Sep. 19, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J140
LAWS Volunteer Brochure 2019
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Advocates for Injured Workers (AIW) Information Session and Application

Advocate for Injured Workers (AIW) Information Session

Date: Monday, September 9, 2019

Time: 12:30PM-2:00PM

Location: P120

Advocates for Injured Workers (AIW) is a great opportunity to gain advocacy and research experience during law school. Upper year students invite new students to a panel followed by an informal meet and greet to chat with us about opportunities available at the clinic and our experiences as caseworkers.

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to 2Ls Saambavi Mano (saambavi.mano@mail.utoronto.ca) or Daniel Yang (daniel.yang@mail.utoronto.ca).

AIW Overview

Advocates for Injured Workers (AIW) is a student clinic of Legal Aid Ontario dedicated to providing high quality legal services to injured workers. We represent clients in their claims and appeals with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.

Opportunities for Students

Students working at the clinic are supervised by a Staff Lawyer, but have full responsibility for files including the preparation and presentation of appeals before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT). Students have the opportunity to handle a variety of casework, engage in research projects, and represent injured workers at all levels of appeal. Cases include Workplace Safety and Insurance claims, as well as human rights and related labour & employment matters.

First year students can volunteer at the clinic, and upper year students can enroll in the Clinic for Credit program for academic credit. The clinic holds training seminars specifically geared for new case workers as well as social events to celebrate our work together. Many students continue their commitment year round, in the form of summer employment and extra academic credit in upper years.

Applications

Applications for first-year AIW caseworkers are due on Friday, September 13th at noon. The application form and contact information for submission will be emailed to 1Ls in early September and made available on Facebook.

Date of event:
Mon. Sep. 9, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
P120
Caseworker Application
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Sept 10: Information & Sign-Up Session for Asper Centre & IHRP student working groups

JD students in all years can volunteer with one of the Asper Centre student working groups, or IHRP (International Human Rights Program) student working groups that are led by upper year students. Working groups draft policy briefs, organize workshops, create public legal information materials, and conduct research on emerging constitutional/charter rights issues and international human rights topics.

This year, there are four Asper Centre student working groups:

  1. The Refugee & Immigration Law working group
  2. The Sex-Worker Rights working group
  3.  The Equal Rights in Housing & Accommodation working group
  4.  The Climate Justice working group

There are also four student working groups with the International Human Rights Program:

  1. Mapping Global Health Rights
  2. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Country-Conditions Reports
  3. Making Women’s Human Rights Resources Accessible Globally
  4. Digital Verification Corps

Find out more about these working groups at the information & sign-up session on Tues September 10, 2019 at 12:30PM in J250 in the Jackman law building.

NOTE: To be eligible to sign up for one of the above working groups, you must attend this important info and sign-up session.

Date of event:
Tue. Sep. 10, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J250 Moot Court Jackman Law Building
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Volunteer Call for the Artists' Legal Advice Services Clinic

Hi Everyone,

If you are interested in volunteering for the Artists’ Legal Advice Services (ALAS) clinic, or want to learn more about the clinic, the volunteer role and the application procedure, then come to our info session on Wednesday, September 11th from 12:30pm-1:15pm in room J125. Click on this link to access the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1511478925677041/.

As a reminder, applications will be due by 5pm on Friday, September 13th.

Kind regards,

The ALAS Directors

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Volunteer with Pro Bono Ontario

Hi everyone! Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) is looking for student volunteers (upper years only) to help with the day-to-day operations at PBO’s clinic at 393 University Avenue. Our volunteer program provides an intensive exposure to the practice of law and offers students a chance to gain hands-on experience in civil litigation.

To apply, please complete the application form and email it together with a copy of resume to PBO's 2019 - 2020 Volunteer Coordinators, Lan Chen (Lanchao.chen@mail.utoronto.ca) or Sylvia Qiu (xiaoya.qiu@mail.utoronto.ca). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with the deadline to apply September 12, 2019. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Lan or Sylvia through either email or on social media.

Due to some technical issues with the previous application system, for people who submitted their applications before September 4, please forward Lan and Sylvia the automated email from PBO and your resume. Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience caused.

To learn more about how PBO works, please visit our website at https://www.probonoontario.org.

PBO Application Form
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PBSC 1L Launch Event

Come join us on September 9th at 12:30-2pm in room J250 to learn more about Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC), the volunteer projects we will be offering this year, and how to get involved!

Grab some lunch and hear from:

  • The Hon. Gloria Epstein (Ontario Court of Appeal)
  • Dean Iacobucci
  • Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, an Associate from McCarthy Tétrault
  • PBSC's National Director, Brittany Twiss
  • PBSC's U of T Program Coordinators, Samantha Hans and Tresa Zacharia 

Pro Bono Students Canada (“PBSC”) is a national, award-winning student organization with a chapter in 22 law schools across the country. We are the only national pro bono program in the country, and the only national pro bono legal service organization anywhere in the world. Our mandate is to provide early, practical learning experiences for law students and high-quality volunteer legal services for our community partners, while promoting the value of pro bono lawyering among the next generation of law students. Each Chapter is staffed by law students, who work with the guidance of the PBSC National Office, which is housed at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Check out our list of 2019-2020 partner organizations here: https://pbsc.law.utoronto.ca/projects

General Applications will be open on Friday, September 6th and are due Friday, September 13th at 12:00pm

 

Date of event:
Mon. Sep. 9, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J250
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Downtown Legal Services - Volunteer Program Info Session

Interested in public interest law?  The DLS Volunteer Program is a full-year opportunity to gain professional skills and contribute to meaningful social justice work in partnership with other fantastic law students, social work students, and supervising lawyers.  Please join us at this information session to learn more about our different volunteer opportunities and how to apply.

Date of event:
Thu. Sep. 12, 2019, 12:30pm
Location:
J250
Event conditions:
All welcome
dls_logo.png
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Volunteer with PBSC's Family Law Project (FLP)

Gain experience conducting client interviews and drafting court documents by volunteering with PBSC’s award-winning Family Law Project (FLP). In addition to gaining experience in litigation and legal advocacy by assisting unrepresented family law litigants, volunteers also meet and network with legal professionals including judges and legal aid lawyers. Student volunteers need not be interested in practising family law to take advantage of this unparalleled hands-on experience to develop client-facing skills and be immersed in the court system.

Feel free to reach out to UofT's FLP coordinator, Vidya Prakash through email (flp.utoronto@gmail.com) or Facebook for more information! 

 Apply to this project using our ADVANCED APPLICATION FORM at https://forms.gle/bxV944wXmvPNenUe9. Applications are due September 10! 

 

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Career Development Office and Employment Opportunities

Asper Centre Work Study Position

Work-Study Position with Asper Centre

The Asper Centre is looking for a student to provide research, writing and technical support for the Centre’s website and social media (Facebook and Twitter). The position involves some research and drafting for content to be uploaded to the Centre's website related to Canadian constitutional law and the activities of the Centre (primarily case summaries). Support for Asper Centre events will also be expected. Training will be provided in respect to the website; therefore, in-depth knowledge of website development, maintenance and design, although helpful, is not required.  Apply by September 13th at 5:00 p.m. through the University’s Career Centre page: http://cln.utoronto.ca (Job No. 147853).

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Faculty Research Assistants (Library RA Pool)

Job Title:  Faculty Research Assistant (Library RA Pool)
Status:  Casual
Hours:  Up to 8 hours max. per week during school year
Salary:  $16/hr
Reports To:  Reference and Research Librarian
Applications Accepted Until: Friday, September 20, 2019

Please see the attached job description for more information and instructions on how to apply.

faculty_ras_-_library_pool_-_2019-2020.docx
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Job Postings This Week on UTLC
Upcoming Events on UTLC

Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Awards

Private Law Writing Prize

Dear Students,

I am writing to draw your attention to a new Private Law Writing Prize. This is an exciting initiative (made possible by an anonymous donor) to promote and recognize student scholarship. Please consider submitting a paper this year! I personally look forward to reading your work. Details are below.

Best wishes,

Larissa Katz

-----------------------------

The Private Law Writing Prize is awarded for the best student paper on a topic in private law. The competition is open to J.D. students currently enrolled at the University of Toronto. Prize-winning papers will be published on the U of T Law’s law and philosophy webpage. Prize-winning papers will also be awarded an honorarium of $250.

To be eligible for consideration, the paper must be written during the current academic year in conjunction with a course or directed research project at the Faculty of Law.  Students should include a brief abstract along with he paper. Papers must not exceed 30 pages, double-spaced (Times New Roman, 12 point font). Papers must be submitted to Larissa Katz at larissa.katz@utoronto.ca by April 24, 2020.

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Journals, Research, and Scholarship

The Law Review is Recruiting Associate Editors for Volume 78!

For more information about the Associate Editor Position: https://utflr.law.utoronto.ca/page/editorial-positions

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The Law Review is Accepting Submissions for Volume 78(1)!
Journal of Law & Equality: Apply to be an Associate Editor by September 13, 2019

The Journal of Law & Equality (JLE) is a peer-reviewed journal at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. We aim to promote critical and informed debate on equality issues, with special emphasis on the Canadian context. The JLE publishes peer-reviewed full-length articles, case comments, notes, and book reviews by professors, judges, practitioners, and students across Canada.

The JLE is now recruiting Associate Editors for 2019–2020. Associate editors help Senior Editors review submissions throughout the year. This can include, but is not limited to, reading submissions, conducting background research, and writing memos that summarize research findings and evaluations. This is an ideal opportunity for 1Ls to refine research and writing skills, but we welcome applicants from all years. We expect a commitment of up to 15 hours per semester. To apply, please email jle.editor@utoronto.ca with a brief cover letter and a resume by 5 PM on September 13, 2019.

If you have any questions please feel free to email Amit Singh and Angela Hou at jle.editor@utoronto.ca

Website: https://jle.law.utoronto.ca
Email: jle.editor@utoronto.ca

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The Indigenous Law Journal: Call for Submissions!

The Indigenous Law Journal is dedicated to developing dialogue and scholarship in the field of Indigenous legal issues, both within Canada and internationally.  We encourage submissions from all perspectives on these issues.  Our central concrns are Indigenous legal systems and the interaction of other legal systems with Indigenous peoples.

We are the only legal periodical in Canada with this focus.  We welcome the addition of your voice to the discussion.  We invite submissions from all peoples, nations and perspectives.

Original, unpublished submissions are sought from academics, students, judiciary, practitioners, or anyone else writing in the area.   To ensure your submission conforms with our guidelines, please visit https://ilj.law.utoronto.ca/for-authors.

Submissions must be sent to submissions.ilj@utoronto.ca by September 13th, 2019 at 11:59 PM.

Please address questions to Olivia Hodson and Daniel Diamond, Co-Editors-in-Chief, at indiglaw.journal@utoronto.ca. 

 

 

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Journal of Law & Equality - Call for Submissions

Journal of Law & Equality: Call for Submissions (Suggested Deadline: September 20, 2019)

The Journal of Law & Equality (JLE) is a peer-reviewed journal at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. We aim to promote critical and informed debate on equality issues, with special emphasis on the Canadian context. The JLE publishes peer-reviewed full-length articles, case comments, notes, and book reviews by professors, judges, practitioners, and students across Canada.

 Though we accept submissions on a rolling basis, we encourage you to submit by September 20, 2019 to ensure publication, if accepted, in this academic year. 

 To make a submission, please visit our online submissions system at https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/utjle/index. To contact us, please email jle.editor@utoronto.ca.

-- 

Angela Hou and Amit Singh
Editors-in-Chief, 2019-2020
Journal of Law & Equality

Website: https://jle.law.utoronto.ca
Submissions: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/utjle/index

 

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The Indigenous Law Journal: Become an Associate Editor!

The Indigenous Law Journal is a student-run legal journal.  It is the first and only Canadian legal journal to exclusively publish articles regarding Indigenous legal issues.  We are dedicated to developing dialogue and scholarship in the field of Indigenous legal issues both in Canada and internationally. Our central concerns are Indigenous legal systems and legal systems as they affect Indigenous peoples

All law students are invited to be involved with the Indigenous Law Journal as Associate Editors.  If you are interested in being part of the Indigenous Law Journal, please fill out the online form below:

https://forms.gle/7wMNvCgFSHg8UXkNA

Our Information and Training Session for incoming Associate Editors will be on Monday, September 16th at 12:30-2:00 in J125.

Please contact Olivia Hodson and Daniel Diamond, Editors-in-Chief, at indiglaw.journal@utoronto.ca with any questions.

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Bookstore

Bookstore Fall Extended Hours

Bookstore Extended Hours for Back-to-School

August 19-31: Monday-Friday 11 am - 5 pm

Sept 1-14: Monday-Thursday 9 am - 5 pm, Friday 11 am - 7 pm

Sept 15-28: Monday-Thursday 10 am - 4 pm, Friday 3 pm - 7 pm

 

 

Come for the books, and as a bonus find Law swag, study necessities, and friendly staff!

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Back to School Savings!

Back to School Savings

Save on selected items including:

  • printers
  • U of T single subject notebooks
  • Essentials U of T ball caps
  • Dudley carded locks
  • lined paper (3-hole punched)

Find textbooks and more at the Law Bookstore

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External Announcements: Events

Sept 10: Ifeoma Ajunwa, The Paradox of Automation as Anti-Bias Intervention (Ethics of AI in Context)

The Paradox of Automation as Anti-Bias Intervention

A received wisdom is that automated decision-making serves as an anti-bias intervention. The conceit is that removing humans from the decision-making process will also eliminate human bias. The paradox, however, is that in some instances, automated decision-making has served to replicate and amplify bias. With a case study of the algorithmic capture of hiring as heuristic device, this Article provides a taxonomy of problematic features associated with algorithmic decision-making as anti-bias intervention and argues that those features are at odds with the fundamental principle of equal opportunity in employment. To examine these problematic features within the context of algorithmic hiring and to explore potential legal approaches to rectifying them, the Article brings together two streams of legal scholarship: law and technology studies and employment & labor law.
Counterintuitively, the Article contends that the framing of algorithmic bias as a technical problem is misguided. Rather, the Article’s central claim is that bias is introduced in the hiring process, in large part, due to an American legal tradition of deference to employers, especially allowing for such nebulous hiring criterion as “cultural fit.” The Article observes the lack of legal frameworks that take into account the emerging technological capabilities of hiring tools which make it difficult to detect disparate impact. The Article thus argues for a re-thinking of legal frameworks that take into account both the liability of employers and those of the makers of algorithmic hiring systems who, as brokers, owe a fiduciary duty of care. Particularly related to Title VII, the Article proposes that in legal reasoning corollary to extant tort doctrines, an employer’s failure to audit and correct its automated hiring platforms for disparate impact could serve as prima facie evidence of discriminatory intent, leading to the development of the doctrine of discrimination per se. The article also considers other approaches separate from employment law such as establishing consumer legal protections for job applicants that would mandate their access to the dossier of information consulted by automated hiring systems in making the employment decision.

Ifeoma Ajunwa       
Cornell University
Labor Relations, Law, and History

04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin 

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Sept 17: Teresa Heffernan, The Ethical Imagination: Humanities versus Artificial Intelligence (Ethics of AI in Context)

The Ethical Imagination: Humanities versus Artificial Intelligence

The era of “disruptive” technologies has given way to an ethical quagmire. Biased algorithms, invasive facial recognition software, proprietary black boxes, the theft and monetization of personal data, and the proliferation of hate-spewing bots and deepfakes have undermined democracy. Killer robots and the automation of war have led to a new arms raise with Vladimir Putin declaring whoever leads in AI will rule the world. The concentration of wealth and power of corporations that own most of this resource-intensive technology and the environmental price tag of AI can only hasten climate change. In response to these ethical problems, a number of research centres are now investing in the intersection of humanities and AI in order to study its impact on society, notably the Schwarzman College for Computing at MIT, the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society at the University of Toronto, and The Schwarzman Centre’s Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford. An article about the MIT initiative noted: “The approach has the potential not just to diversify tech but to help ‘techify’ everything else” while Geoffrey Hinton said: “My hope is that the Schwartz Reisman Institute will be the place where deep learning disrupts the humanities.” What these statements disavow, however, are the very different epistemological approaches that structure these fields. If we are to begin to deal with the ethical issues of AI, the humanities should not be “disrupted” and made to bow to the logic of big data, algorithms, and machines. In this talk, I will argue that it is only by keeping alive the tensions between artificial intelligence and the humanities that we can hope to have an informed debate about the limits and possibilities of this technology.

Teresa Heffernan         
St. Mary’s University
English

04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin 

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Sept 18: Jill Ross, Horatian Poetics and Moral Theory in the Middle Ages (Ethics@Noon)

Horatian Poetics and Moral Theory in the Middle Ages

One of the animating doctrines of medieval poetic theory is the avoidance of poetic error. Based on the first 37 lines of Horace’s Art of Poetry where the poet counsels against inept, monstrous composition, medieval commentators created a system of 6 poetic errors that became a canonical element in the teaching of poetic technique in the standard artes poetriae of Geoffrey of Vinsauf and Matthew of Vendôme. The term used to refer to these poetic errors, vitia, carries with it a moral, ethical charge, with poetry placed firmly under the philosophical rubric of ethics. While this prescriptive system of avoiding poetic vice is a theoretical topos, what is less clear is how poets chose to intervene in such a fixed system. In this paper, I will use a case study of Juan Ruiz, a fourteenth-century Castilian poet who turns these poetic errors inside out in the process of narrating the moral, sexual sins of his protagonist whose unsuccessful efforts at seduction mirror the aesthetic lapses of the text itself. The poetic text of the Libro de buen amor (Book of Good Love) deliberately commits every aesthetic error condemned by Horace and his medieval readers in a poem that self-reflexively blurs the boundaries between poetics and ethics. I will then explore, through a sampling of commentary on Horace’s Ars Poetica, spanning the 12th to the 15th centuries, how and why the writing of poetry may constitute an ethical act. By placing the Horatian material in conversation with both Aristotelian ethics and the large Christian literature on sin, this paper will explore some possible avenues for theorizing and defining the kind of moral lapse that some commentators attributed to faulty poetic composition.

Jill Ross       
University of Toronto
Comparative Literature and Medieval Studies

12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin

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Sept 30: Luvell Anderson, Navigating Racial Satire (Perspectives on Ethics)

Navigating Racial Satire

What has to go wrong for racial satire to be racist? In 2014, Stephen Colbert came under fire for a tweet sent out on behalf of his show The Colbert Report. The tweet in question, “I am willing to show @Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong-Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever,” sparked a twitter response from writer and hashtag activist Suey Park. The tweet was a brief recap of a joke Colbert told on the show as a satirical response to Daniel Snyder’s creation of a charitable organization for Native Americans while continuing to maintain a racial slur for the same group as the name of his football team. We typically think of humor as a non-serious context. These sorts of contexts affect how we interpret utterances. Normally, we don’t interpret humorous utterances as straightforward assertions. In fact, some responses to the charge of racism against Colbert’s satirical performance claimed that recognizing it as satire was enough to exonerate the humor of the charge. But if this is so, what explains when charges of racism against satire persist? In this talk I critically explore candidate views of racist satire. I also draw a distinction between satire that is offensive and satire that is racist. 

Luvell Anderson       
Syracuse University
Philosophy

04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin 

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Oct 2: Elena Comay del Junco, Aristotle and the Ethics of Nature (Ethics@Noon)

Aristotle and the Ethics of Nature

Aristotle holds certain natural beings to have greater or lesser degrees of value or perfection. This raises the question of what ethical entailments such a hierarchy might have.  I argue for three main points: first, that there is no sense in which an ethical approach to the natural world can be straightforwardly derived from Aristotle’s form of natural hierarchy, since it does not entail viewing “lower” species instrumentally. Moreover, such a hierarchy is in fact fully compatible with strict limits on interspecies exploitation. Second, the one passage in which Aristotle seems to ground the exploitation of non-human nature by humans in his natural philosophy conflicts with his larger theoretical commitments. Third and finally, Aristotle himself – even if he is often unclear and self contradictory – provides powerful materials for an ethics of nature.

Elena Comay del Junco       
University of Toronto
Centre for Ethics

12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin 

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Oct 7: John Basl, Artifact Welfare?: A Problem of Exclusion for Biocentrism (Perspectives on Ethics)

Artifact Welfare?: A Problem of Exclusion for Biocentrism

Biocentrism is the view that all and only living things have moral status or are deserving of direct moral concern. The project of defending Biocentrism includes adopting some strategy for excluding various kinds of things – biotic communities, ecosystems, species, and artifacts – from the domain of direct moral concern. This talk aims to showcase the failures of this strategy of exclusion specifically in the case of artifacts. The standard line for the Biocentrist is to argue that these things fail to meet the conditions for having a welfare or well-being, a necessary condition for having moral status of the relevant kind. The Biocentrist has, for good reason, typically adopted a view of non-sentient welfare that is teleological, grounding the welfare of non-sentient organisms in their goal-directed behaviors, and where pushed to articulate an account of goal-directedness, they have typically appealed to etiological account of function or teleology. When it comes to excluding artifacts, the reason artifacts are taken to lack a welfare is that, while goal-directed, their goal-directedness is derivative on our goals; whereas natural selection grounds genuine teleology, artificial selection does not. I explain why this appeal to natural selection can’t do the work the Biocentrist requires and consider a range of alternatives finding each lacking.

John Basl          
Northeastern University
Philosophy


04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin

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Oct 8: John Basl & Jeff Behrends, Why Everyone Has It Wrong About the Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles (Ethics of AI in Context)

Why Everyone Has It Wrong About the Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles

Many of those thinking about the ethics of autonomous vehicles believe there are important lessons to be learned by attending to so-called Trolley Cases, while a growing opposition is dismissive of their supposed significance. The optimists about the value of these cases think that because AVs might find themselves in circumstances that are similar to Trolley Cases, we can draw on them to ensure ethical driving behavior. The pessimists are convinced that these cases have nothing to teach us, either because they believe that the AV and trolley cases are in fact very dissimilar, or because they are distrustful of the use of thought experiments in ethics generally.
Something has been lost in the moral discourse between the optimists and the pessimists. We too think that we should be pessimistic about the ways optimists have leveraged Trolley Cases to draw conclusions about how to program autonomous vehicles, but the typical defenses of pessimism fail to recognize how the tools of moral philosophy can and should be fruitfully applied to AV design. In this talk we first explain what’s wrong with typical arguments for dismissing the value of trolley cases and then argue that moral philosophers have erred by overlooking the significance of machine learning techniques in AV applications, highlighting how best to proceed.

John Basl       
Northeastern University
Philosophy


Jeff Behrends       
Harvard University
Philosophy

 

04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin 

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Free and cheap concerts at the Faculty of Music, next door to Law

The Faculty of Music is right next door to the Faculty of Law and puts on an extensive program of free and low-cost-to-students concerts in many different genres throughout the school year. (U of T students are admitted free to many concerts with a valid TCard, space permitting). Check out Notes, the attached program!

From the Faculty of Music:

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. This year marks the beginning of our second century! U of T Music mounts over 600 events annually within its artistic and academic programs. We hope you will join us for many great moments as highlighted in the public events listed in Notes. We encourage you to check music.utoronto.ca for the many additional student recitals, lectures and special events posted throughout the season.

 

Notes - the Faculty of Music 2019-20 program
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Aboriginal Justice Conference Invitation: Indigenous Law Across Landscapes (free for law students)

Boozhoo! Aaniin! Wachay!

 

Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is proud to be hosting a conference for Canadian law students titled, 'Indigenous Law Across Landscapes: Languages, Land, and New Directions.'

 

The one-day conference will take place on Friday, November 15, 2019, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law (PACI Building, 401 Red River Road). The conference is geared specifically towards law students. It promises to foster fruitful discussion of Indigenous Law issues. Not only will the conference offer a chance to intellectually engage with these important topics, but it is also an excellent opportunity to visit Thunder Bay and to meet and collaborate with other Canadian law students.

 

Health breaks and lunch will be provided. Additional, optional events are scheduled for the evening of November 14 and the morning of November 16. We are in the process of finalizing the agenda and hope to share our listing of panels and speakers soon.

 

Registration is free for all Canadian law students and is open now - follow the link HERE. 

 

Please note that spaces are limited. We will monitor the registrations closely and advise if / when capacity has been reached and inform any students who may be placed on a waitlist. Please note that student attendees will be given opportunities to share knowledge and insights with their peers after the conference.

 

Attached to this email, please find an invitation from Director of Indigenous Relations, Robin Sutherland, including information about registration and travel assistance. Also attached, please find a save the date poster.

 

Miigwetch! We look forward to welcoming you to the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law!

 

Justis Danto-Clancy

Event poster
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Panel Discussion: Justice in an Age of Global Politics - The Case of Unit 731

Unit 731 was the codename for the Japanese Imperial Army’s biochemical warfare experimentation center located in China during the Asia-Pacific War. As a part of the forgotten history of WWII in Asia, and often characterized as the “Auschwitz of the East,” Unit 731 was the site of countless medical atrocities including human experimentation and field experimentation of biochemical weapons. Unlike in postwar Germany, perpetrators escaped legal punishment in post-war trials. This panel will discuss crucial issues surrounding the history of Unit 731, the American government’s cover-up of Unit 731 war crimes after the war, and how politics and justice interacted to shape war memory during the Cold War and beyond.

 

Panelists

Professor Takashi Fujitani – Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

Professor Yang Yanjun – Director, Unit 731 Research Center in Harbin, China

Dr. Gong Zhiwei – Shanghai Jiaotong University, China

Professor Katsuo Nishiyama – Professor Emeritus, Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan

 

Date: Friday, September 20th, 2019

Time: 10am-12pm

Location: Robarts Library, Blackburn Room (4th Floor)

 

Please RSVP: info@alphaeducation.org

Date of event:
Fri. Sep. 20, 2019, 10:00am
Location:
Robarts Library Blackburn Room (Floor 4)
Event conditions:
RSVP required
unit_731_panel_poster.pdf
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Centre for Medieval Studies lecture: Barbara H. Rosenwein, “Angry Words, Then and Now”

The Centre for Medieval Studies cordially invites you to a lecture by
 
Barbara H. Rosenwein
Professor emerita, Loyola University, Chicago
 
“Angry Words, Then and Now”
 
 
Thursday, 26 September 2019, 4:10 p.m.
 
Centre for Medieval Studies, Room 310
Lillian Massey Building
125 Queen’s Park

Trained as a medievalist, Barbara H. Rosenwein is a historian of emotions as well.  Her new book, Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion, will be out next year.  Tracing the story of anger from the Buddha to Twitter, it provides a much-needed account of our changing and contradictory understandings of that emotion--including our definitions of and responses to angry words.

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"More Human Than Human" Hot Docs screening and panel with Prof. Ben Alarie - student discount
" More Human Than Human" movie screening

Explore the emerging opportunities and challenges surrounding artificial intelligence with this Hot Docs for Continuing Professional Education accredited screening and discussion for lawyers and business professionals. The program will feature the Hot Docs film More Human than Human as a case study. It will be followed by a panel discussion featuring leading experts and scholars who will provide an overview of current and upcoming AI technology innovation and will address growing impact of algorithms, automated decision-making, and other AI innovations on the work of legal and business professionals.

September 11, 2019
@6:30 pm
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
506 Bloor St West
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1Y3

Speakers:

  • Benjamin Alarie, Lawyer; Professor & Osler Chair, University of Toronto; Co-Founder & CEO, Blue J. Legal 
  • Sylvia Drag (CPA, CA), Bateman MacKay LLP 
  • Erik McBain (CFA), Assistant Director – Financial Services, Mindbridge Ai
  • Maya Medeiros, Member, Law Society of Ontario; Partner, Lawyer, Patent Agent, Trademark Agent, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

50% off discount for U of T students and other members of the U of T community: https://aipromopage.udocsfilm.com/uoft50off

Date of event:
Wed. Sep. 11, 2019, 6:30pm
Location:
506 Bloor St West
Event conditions:
Registration required
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External Announcements: Opportunities

Call for Proposals: The Ethics of Pedagogy (Deadline Sept 9)

**Call for Proposals**
Ethics of Pedagogy
Speaker Series 2019-20
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto

Applications Due: Monday, September 9, 2019 

The Centre for Ethics is hosting a speaker series on the Ethics of Pedagogy. We invite proposals for talks, trainings, or workshops on how to make our classrooms accessible to equity seeking groups. These groups include (but are not limited to): students with disabilities, lower-income students who work several jobs, students who have experienced sexual assault or other trauma, students of color who have traditionally been excluded from the academy, and immigrants for whom English is a second language. In addition to focusing on diverse groups, we also hope to cover a range of different issues that arise in the classroom—from laptop use, to assignment design, to leading class discussions, to developing a more inclusive syllabus. The talks will take place in the Centre for Ethics approximately once a month, usually on a Thursday from 4-6 pm.

We are looking for proposals that combine theory and praxis. Each talk, training, or workshop should feature some ideas for concrete changes that could be implemented in the classroom, as well as some discussion of ethical issues that justify or arise from the proposed changes. If you are interested in applying, please email the following information to Emma McClure (emma.mcclure@mail.utoronto.ca):

  1. Name
  2. Email Address
  3. A short (2-4 sentence) description of your proposed talk, training, or workshop

We welcome applications from graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, or staff. Please share widely with your networks (PDF version of call for applications).

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Toronto Lawyers Association Program: Legal Writing for Students and New Lawyers: Writing Effective Memoranda of Law

New lawyers are frequently asked to write memoranda of law for lawyers and/or their clients. The purpose is to answer one or more questions based on a specific set of facts arising from the client’s situation. A memo thoroughly analyses the germane law, applies it to those facts and arrives at a conclusion. The ability to write an effective legal memorandum is an essential skill early in one’s legal career.

 

Of course you know how to write a legal memo. But writing a clear, useful and powerful memo is more challenging and presents an opportunity for you to excel and stand out. The Toronto Lawyers Association invites you to join us and learn how to improve your memo-writing skills in this hands-on program which will include time for Q&A at the conclusion.

 

Speaker:

Neil Guthrie, Director, Professional Development, Research & Knowledge Management, Aird & Berlis LLP, Toronto

 

Program details:

Thursday, October 3, 2019

5:15 – 6:30 p.m. (Registration at 5:00 p.m.)

Toronto Lawyers Association - Lawyers Lounge, 2nd Floor, 361 University Avenue Court House

 

Registration:

https://tlaonline.ca/viewEvent.html?productId=6309

Complimentary tickets are available for Law School Students. Contact Sandra Porter at events@tlaonline.ca

Event poster
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New Reading Group: "The Ethics of Translation: Thinking With and Beyond Jewish Difference"

Reading Group
The Ethics of Translation:
Thinking With and Beyond Jewish Difference

Deadline: Friday, September 13, 2019 

A reading group on The Ethics of Translation: Thinking With and Beyond Jewish Difference will be held over the fall and winter terms 2019-20 at the Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto.

Statement of Purpose

Our principal aim will be to examine the ethical dimensions of translation in Jewish thought with an eye to their salience for the globalized situation of culture today. We will look at multiple ways in which linguistic exchanges in translation — between an original text and a translation, between a home language and a target language, between the writer, the translator, and the reader — have been theorized. Some topics include: the role of the Hebrew Bible as a paradigm for the ‘language of origins’ and problems of translation; post-structuralist and phenomenological notions of untranslatability, alterity, and difference; and power relations of ethno-nationalism and colonialism relevant to engagements with a ‘native language’, a ‘foreign text’, or a ‘homeland’ in translation. Though our reading group takes its point of departure from the significant role of an ethics of translation in Jewish culture, this initial standpoint of attention to Jewish difference is meant to call into question our ‘natural attitude’ of anglophone monolingualism in order to open up multiple perspectives on concepts such as creation, revelation, redemption, the name, the Other, border-crossing, diaspora, and nation across manifold languages, cultures, and traditions.

For further information, including a tentative reading list, please visit https://ethics.utoronto.ca/reading-group-the-ethics-of-translation-thinking-with-and-beyond-jewish-difference/

☛ If you’d like to participate, please email natasha.hay@mail.utoronto.ca by Friday, September 13.

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Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) Three-Minute Video Contest

CIAJ’s Three-Minute Video Contest
Law Students Are Invited to Share Their Thought s on a Key Issue

 

In 2020, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) will host its 45th Annual Conference in Vancouver on “Indigenous Peoples and the Law.” CIAJ wishes to hear the voices of law students on a subject so fundamental to Canadian law and governance.

 

Students are invited to submit a three-minute video to answer the following question: “What will be the most important legal issue for the next generation regarding the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canadian institutions?”

 

Participants must present their argument to the camera in the style of the “Three Minute Thesis Competition.” The strongest videos will be presented at CIAJ’s 2019 Annual Conference in Quebec City, October 16–18, 2019. They will also be presented at CIAJ’s 2020 Annual Conference in Vancouver, where the winning video will be incorporated into the Student Panel.

 

Details: https://ciaj-icaj.ca/en/featured-3-minute-video-2019/
Deadline: September 30, 2019

Contest Details
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External Announcements: Calls for Papers

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS — WESTERN JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS — WESTERN JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES

Do you have an “A”-level law paper? The WJLS is seeking academic research papers, white papers, opinion-editorials, and book reviews. All submissions received by noon on Monday, September 16th, 2019 will be considered for publication in our Winter 2020 issue. We assess submissions using a two-part blind peer review, and as such, all submissions will remain entirely anonymous throughout the process. Submissions received after this date will be considered on a rolling basis. Please visit https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/uwojls/submissions to submit articles for consideration. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely, 

The WJLS Editorial Board (wjls@uwo.ca) 

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Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues call for submissions

The Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues (“Windsor Review”) is now inviting contributions for Volume 41, to be published in Summer 2020. The Windsor Review has an open call for submissions until October 1, 2019.

Any questions should be emailed to wrlsisolicitations@uwindsor.ca, directed to the Solicitations Editor, Ali Tejani.

 

Call for Submissions
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Registration for Session 5 of Race and the Law discussion group

This event has been cancelled. 

Register below for Session 5: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 (previously scheduled for Mar. 26), 12:20-2:00 p.m. of  Bleached out: A Race and the Law discussion group. See information and the schedule here.

Note that you can register for individual sessions without taking all of them.

Registration for Session 4 of Race and the Law discussion group

Register below for Session 4: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 (previously scheduled for Feb 27), 12:20-2:00 p.m. of  Bleached out: A Race and the Law discussion group. See information and the schedule here.

Note that you can register for individual sessions without taking all of them.

Registration for Session 3 of Race and the Law discussion group

Register below for Session 3: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 (previously scheduled for Jan. 23), 12:30-2:00 p.m. of  Bleached out: A Race and the Law discussion group. See information and the schedule here.

Note that you can register for individual sessions without taking all of them.

Registration for Session 2 of Race and the Law discussion group

Register below for Session 2: Thursday, October 31, 2019, 12:30-2:00 p.m. of  Bleached out: A Race and the Law discussion group. See information and the schedule here.

Note that you can register for individual sessions without taking all of them.

 

Innovative new IHRP clinical course is part of a global partnership to protect media freedom

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is joining a global campaign for media freedom and will play a leading role in developing legal tools to protect journalists and defend freedom of the press alongside project partners, including a panel of legal experts led by Lord Neuberger, former President of the Supreme Court of the UK, and Amal Clooney, special envoy on media freedom to the UK Foreign Secretary.

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