@MetMuseum's Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan presents: "Sreetips for Social Success"

Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer of @MetMuseum, will give a presentation at the University of Toronto Friday, April 10th, on getting the best use of your time online (and on your phones), how to build more fans and followers and how to do all this in a smart, strategic, sustainable manner.

Prof. Anita Anand - "New Canadian Securities Administrators rules would discourage takeovers"

Thursday, April 2, 2015

In a commentary in the Financial Post, Prof. Anita Anand analyzes new draft rules from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) about takeovers, noting that the new 120-day requirement for bids to remain open will discourage hostile takeover attempts ("New Canadian Securities Administrators rules would discourage takeovers," April 2, 2015).

Read the full commentary on the Financial Post website, or below.

 

SJD student Kyle Kirkup - "Solitary confinement: An abuse by any other name"

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

SJD student and Trudeau Scholar Kyle Kirkup has written a commentary in the National Post examining how solitary confinement is described and used in Canadian prisons, and why a constitutional challenge has been launched against this practice ("Kyle Kirkup on solitary confinement: An abuse by any other name," March 31, 2015).

Read the full commentary on the National Post website, or below.

 

Prof. Lisa Austin co-authors "How C-51 undermines privacy"

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

In a commentary in the National Post, Prof. Lisa Austin and other experts warn that the Canadian government's proposed national security bill, C-51, poses a significant threat to privacy and will be able to bypass the provisions of the Privacy Act ("How C-51 undermines privacy," March 30, 2015).

Read the full commentary on the National Post website, or below.

 

Ontario Bar Association honours Prof. Cossman for advancing women's equality

Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Professor Brenda Cossman

Prof. Brenda Cossman, LLB 1986, has been awarded the Ontario Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Forum’s Award of Excellence in the Promotion of Women’s Equality. This recognition honours outstanding contributions to social justice advocacy or substantive law scholarship made by feminist lawyers in advancing women’s equality rights in Canadian society.

How our law students are advancing human rights around the world: latest Rights Review is online

Tuesday, March 31, 2015
rights review cover

The new edition of Rights Review is now available on the International Human Rights Program website.

The cover story story by Lara Yeo (1L) argues that, now more than ever,  international human rights law is an important framework to respond to violence against Aboriginal women and children in Canada.

The issue also covers diverse topics from the right to health, to immigration detention, to the state of international justice.

Prof. Kent Roach co-authors "The government has not made its case for C-51"

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

In a commentary in The Globe and Mail, Prof. Kent Roach and University of Ottawa Prof. Craig Forcese analyze the Canadian government's proposed amendments to the national security Bill C-51 and conclude they do not go far enough to address the many concerns expressed about the legislation ("The government has not made its case for C-51," March 30, 2015).

Read the full commentary on The Globe and Mail website, or below.

Headnotes - Mar 30 2015

Announcements

Deans' Offices

Iacobucci’s Fiduciary Snack Duty - Wednesday, April 1

Please join Dean Ed Iacobucci at “Iacobucci’s Fiduciary Snack Duty” on Wednesday, April 1.

Location: Victoria University Alumni Hall

Time:  10 – 11 a.m.

Please BRING YOUR OWN MUG

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Student Office

April 2015 Exam Information
April 2015 Exam information
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Doggie Day - Tuesday March 31st

Doggie Day is back!

 

We will be hosting Doggie Day at the Law School on Tuesday March 31st. Individual or small groups of students can sign out a dog for 30 minute walks around campus between the hours of 9-5pm.

 

If you are interested in signing out a dog please email sara.hubbard@utoronto.ca 

 

As an extra treat, there will be a service dog in the student lounge in Birge Carnegie between 12-1pm for students who want to come for a cuddle with a beautiful Golden Retriever.

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Academic Events

Law and Economics Workshop: Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

LAW & ECONOMICS WORKSHOP 

presents 

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan
University of Pennsylvania Law School

The Common Sense of Contract Formation

Tuesday, March 31, 2015
4:10 – 5:45
Solarium (room FA2), Falconer Hall
84 Queen’s Park 

Unlike torts or civil procedure or any area of public law, the rules of promissory exchange apply exclusively to parties who have manifested their assent to be bound. What parties know, and what parties think they know, about contract law affects their contract behavior and in some cases the legal status of their agreements. Drawing on a series of new experimental questionnaire studies, this paper does two things. First, it lays out what information and beliefs ordinary individuals have about how to form contracts with one another. These studies suggest that the colloquial understanding of contract law is almost entirely focused on formalization rather than actual assent, though the modern doctrine of contract formation takes the opposite stance. The second part of the paper tries to get at whether this misunderstanding matters. Whether and when do beliefs and misunderstandings about the nature of legal rules affect parties’ interactions with each other and with the legal system? We find that indeed information that a contract has been legally formed has behavioral effects, enhancing parties’ commitments to a deal even when there are no associated formal sanctions. However, we also document a series of situations in which misunderstandings have limited practical repercussions, because even parties who believe that legal obligation is about formalities take seriously the moral obligations associated with informal expectations, promises and exchanges. We conclude with brief speculations about the implications of these results for consumer contracts. 

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan studies the psychology of legal decision-making. Her research addresses the role of moral judgment in legal decision making, with a particular focus on private contracts and negotiations. She uses experimental methods from psychology and behavioral economics to ask how people draw on their moral intuitions to motivate or inform legal choices. Recent research topics include mortgage borrowing and default, retirement planning, contract precautions, and the cognitive and emotional response to breach of contract. In 2012 she was awarded the A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course. 

For more workshop information, please contact Nadia Gulezko at n.gulezko@utoronto.ca.

wilkinsonryan-headnotes_16mar15.pdf
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Osgoode Society Legal History Workshop

Osgoode Society Legal History Workshop

Wednesday April 1, 6.30 p.m. 

Myra Tawfik, University of Windsor

The Impact of Canada's First Copyright Act (Lower Canada 1832) on Authors, Publishers and Schoolbook Production

For a copy of the paper, and for the location, please email j.phillips@utoronto.ca  

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Student Activities

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: Willms & Shier Firm Tour

The U of T Environmental Law Club is delighted to invite students to a firm tour at Willms & Shier LLP.  As one of Canada's leading environmental law firms, Willms & Shier practices in the areas of aboriginal, energy, northern and environmental law. The details of the event are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, April 1st
Time: 2:30pm
Location: 4 King Street West, Suite 900 


Please RSVP by emailing utenvirolawclub@gmail.com, if you would like to attend this event. Space is limited!!

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Security and Civil Liberties: A Candid Debate about Bill C-51

The U of T Criminal Law Student's Association and Students of Osgoode Hall Law School are proud to host: "Security and Civil Liberties: A Candid Discussion About Bill C-51" Date: Monday, March 30th at 7pm Location: Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs Our Expert Panel will explain their concerns or support for various aspects of the Government's controversial anti-terrorism legistlation. The panel includes: Professor Ron Atkey - Former Chairmen of the Security Intelligence Review Commitee, Osgoode Hall Law School Sukanya Pillay- Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association Professor Lisa Austin- Univeristy of Toronto, Faculty of Law Professor Faisal Bhabha- Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Ziyaad Mia, Osgoode Hall Law School Discussion and Q & A with the panel will follow each of their brief presentations. This event is open to the public. Tickets are $5 and will be available from Eventbrite. This event will also be livestreamed. Any questions may be forwarded to Leah Sherriff, CLSA President at: leah.sherriff@mail.utoronto.ca

http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/security-and-civil-liberties-a-candid-discussion-about-bill-c-51-tickets-16246016272

Event Poster
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Centres, Legal Clinics, and Special Programs

Cognitive Computing and the Future of Legal Research (New Room & Registration Requirement)

Cognitive Computing and the Future of Legal Research
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 - 12:30pm
Location: Victoria College Chapel (VC 213) 91 Charles St. West, Toronto (map)

What does winning Jeopardy have to do with legal research? Will a computer program created at UofT replace junior associates as claimed in the Globe and Mail? Come listen as the creators of new prototype legal research tools, ROSS and Blue J, and a panel of experts discuss what it means to train an IBM supercomputer to answer legal questions, and what automating research means for lawyers, the legal profession, and others. Lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register here.

Sponsored by the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy
For more information, please contact centre.ilp@utoronto.ca.

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Asper Centre and IHRP Student Appreciation Lunch

The Asper Centre and IHRP would like to invite all volunteers, clinic students, fellows and interns to a lunch to celebrate another successful year!

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

EM302

12:30-2:00pm

For more information, contact: renu.mandhane@utoronto.ca

 

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Career Development Office and Employment Opportunities

Theory and Practice – Promoting LLM Research to the Profession - FOR LLM STUDENTS

Theory and Practice – Promoting LLM Research to the Profession

 

About the programme

The Career Development Office is offering LLM students in the thesis-intensive stream an innovative programme, “Theory and Practice – Promoting LLM Research to the Profession”. This programme is presented in collaboration with leading Canadian law and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG). The purpose of this programme is to promote networking and provide educational opportunities for both LLM students and lawyers at partnering organizations. The programme represents a valuable opportunity for LLM students to meet lawyers practicing in their area of research, to receive practical insight into their research, and to promote a specific topic that they are currently writing about.

 

Areas of research

We try to offer this programme to students working in diverse areas of law. We partner with a few full service Canadian law firms, a boutique IP firm, and the Ontario government, and are as a result able to provide opportunities for participation to students focusing on different areas of law. If you are unsure whether your area of focus would be a good match for this programme, please contact Ivana Kadic to discuss in more detail.

 

When the programme will run

The discussion meetings will be held in May and June 2015.  The scheduling of potential meeting groups and the selection of students will be conditional on the availability of practitioners in specific areas.

 

How to apply

If you are interested in participating in this programme, please send your application to Ivana Kadic, Graduate Studies Career Advisor at ivana.kadic@utoronto.ca by Monday, April 13th. Applications should include:

  • Title of your thesis;
  • Very brief description of the topic you are writing      about (not longer than 5 lines);
  • ½ to 1-page outline of your thesis;
  • Resume; and
  • Indication of general availability in May and June, and      any timing preferences/restrictions, including specific periods during the      day (e.g. mornings vs. afternoons).

 

Students will be notified about the results of the selection process in the first half of May. If you have any questions about this programme, please feel free to contact Ivana Kadic at ivana.kadic@utoronto.ca or at 416 978 2743.

 

 

 

announcement.docx
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Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Awards

The ADR Institute Essay Prize in Alternative Dispute Resolution

The ADR Institute Essay Prize in Alternative Dispute Resolution is awarded annually awarded to an upper year JD student at the Faculty of Law who produces an essay of exceptional merit on any issue relating to alternative dispute resolution.

The prize of $2,000 was established in April 2012 through the generosity of the ADR Institute of Canada to stimulate interest and improve research and scholarship in the area of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

For the 2014-2015 Academic Year, essays written between June 2014 and April 2015 will be eligible for consideration for the award.

Please submit your essay to Sara-Marni Hubbard, sara.hubbard@utoronto.ca by Thursday, April 23, 2015.

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Nathan Strauss Q.C. Essay Prize in Legal Ethics

The Nathan Strauss Q.C., Essay Prize in Legal Ethics is awarded annually to a full-time student in the J.D. or graduate program at the Faculty of Law who produces an essay of exceptional merit on any issue relating to legal ethics and/or professional conduct. The prize of $1,000 was established by Lilly Offenbach Strauss to honour the memory of her late husband Nathan Strauss Q.C., a Life Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a distinguished member of the Ontario Bar, whose name was synonymous with integrity and exemplary professional conduct among fellow lawyers and generations of clients.

The intent of this Essay Prize is to promote student interest in legal ethics and to stimulate debate about conduct proper to the practice of law as an honourable profession and a force for the good in the community at large.

Previous winners of the award are:

  • Adam Dodek, "Canadian Legal Ethics: A Subject in Search of Scholarship"
  • Benjamin Shaer, "Pro Bono, Legal Aid and the Right to Legal Services"
  • Michael Rosenberg, "Shoot the Messenger? An analysis of the Cravath objection and its implications for neutral partisanship"
  • Gail Ellen Elman, "Overlap and Empty Spaces: The Judiciary and Law Societies' Simultaneous Regulation of Lawyer Misconduct"
  • Megan Ann Vuksic, "Legal Duty or Ethical Obligation? Evaluating the Competence of Counsel at Criminal Law"
  • Laura Johnson, "Reconceptualizing Legal Professionalism"
  • Michael Da Silva, "Lawyers as Ethical Actors and the Scope of the Cab Rank Rule Exception"
  • Justin Nasseri, "Class Counsel's Ethical Obligations to the Class: A look at the inadequacies of the current ethical regime in addressing class action lawyer's duties to class members"
  • Lauren Epstein, "Privilege and Responsibility: Addressing Rising Levels of Incivility among Litigators"

Essays written between September 2014 to June 2015 will be eligible for consideration for the next award.
 
Please submit your essay (in hard copy, not by email) by June 26, 2015 to the Records Office, Falconer Hall room 109.

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Journals, Research, and Scholarship

Journal of Law & Equality: Applications for 2015-2016 Senior Board Members

The Journal of Law & Equality (JLE) is a peer reviewed, student-run journal at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. Our mandate is to promote critical and informed debate on issues of equality, with a special emphasis on the Canadian context. The JLE publishes research articles, case comments, notes, and book reviews by a diverse group of commentators from across Canada and internationally, including professors, practitioners, and students.

We a currently soliciting applications for Senior Board members for the 2015-2016 academic year.  What do Senior Board members do? They:

  • Receive training in September and October about how to edit papers and communicate with authors
  • Run three cell group meetings over the course of the year where they have the opportunity to facilitate discussion within the group about equality issues
  • Attend two Senior Board meetings (one each semester) where Senior Board members discuss and vote on the merits of submissions
  • Work with authors to craft papers that will published by the JLE

Are you passionate about equality issues? You should apply.

To apply please submit your resume and a brief statement of interest to jle.editor@utoronto.ca by April 7th, 2015 with "Senior Board Application" as the subject line. Feel free to contact us with any questions about the position or application process.

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Bora Laskin Law Library

Law Library extended hours and services

Dear Law Students:

 

As exams approach, here is a reminder about the increased Library hours and additional services the Law Library is offering.

 

Extended Library Hours: Begin on Monday, March 16 and continue to Wednesday, April 22. During this time, the Law Library in Birge Carnegie will close later as follows:

 

·        Monday through Friday: 8:45 am until midnight

·        Saturday and Sunday: 10 am until 10 pm

The Robarts library offers 24 hour access Sunday night to Friday night. Details here: http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/extended-hours  

Hours for all campus libraries can be found here: http://resource.library.utoronto.ca/hours/?source=icon

 

***All Night Law Library Opening on the Eve of the Deadline for Written Work***: The Law Library  will remain open all night on Wednesday, April 22, with librarians on duty, so that students have access to research help, resources, computers and printers ahead of the deadline for written work on Thursday, April 23 at 10 am. We will send out more details closer to the date.

The Library will close at 5 pm on Thursday, April 23, and Friday, April 24.

 

Please note that the Library will be closed on Friday, April 3, for the Statutory Holiday.

 

Library Security: It is important to remember that the law school buildings, including the Library at Birge, are open to the public. As such, please keep your valuables with you or ask a friend to watch them if you need to leave your study area even for a minute. Thefts have occurred in campus libraries and the weeks leading up to exams sometimes see a spike of activity across campus. Please report any incidents to the Campus Police at 416-978-2222.

 

Research Help:  As deadlines for papers approach remember that the librarians are available to advise you on research strategy, databases and citation style. Please feel free to contact John Bolan, Susan Barker, or Sooin Kim.

 

Study Rooms: The UofT Library has a list of bookable and non-bookable study rooms available at libraries across campus: http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/group-study-rooms

 

Exam Preparation - Past Exams: The past five years of exams are available on e.legal: https://www.law.utoronto.ca/library-resources/past-exam-database. You will need to enter your e.legal password and follow the instructions on screen to access the exam database.

 

Library Services:

 

For details on additional Library services please follow the Bora Laskin Law Library Reference Services Blog: http://bllreference.wordpress.com/

 

We are also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BoraLaskinLawLibrary and Twitter: @LaskinLawLib

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Bookstore

Bookstore Hours

Hours for the week of March 30th, 2015

The Bookstore will CLOSE for the term on THURSDAY, APRIL 2nd. 

                    Monday:            9:30 a.m.   –   3:00 p.m.

                    Tuesday:                     CLOSED

                    Wednesday:       9:30 a.m.   –   3:00 p.m.

                    Thursday:          9:30 a.m.   –   3:00 p.m.

                    Friday:                         CLOSED

 For updated information and for all price lists, please remember to check the Faculty of Law Bookstore website at: 

http://www.law.utoronto.ca/student-life/bookstore

 

The following books are now available in the Bookstore: 

For First Year Students: 

Legal Process, Ethics & Professionalism Casebook (Stern) (available by print on demand only) 

Property Law Casebook, Volume 1 & 2 (Drassinower) (available by print on demand only)  

For Upper Year Students:

Civil Law Casebook (available by print on demand only) 

Please remember to pick up all prepaid orders.

headnoteswinter2015-13.pdf
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External Announcements

Cadario Lecture featuring Atif R. Mian

There has been an incredible rise in the size and scope of the global financial system over the last few decades. Has the growth in finance been good for the economy? Has it made us more productive? Does finance help protect the middle class against economic shocks? If not, what can be done to make finance more useful? 

 

Professor Atif R. Mian, co-author of House of Debt, will answer these questions in his keynote lecture, followed by a conversation with CBC's Amanda Lang.

 

Date: Thursday, April 2

Time: 5:30-7:00 pm

Location: Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St West

Admission is free by registration.

Click here to RSVP

This event is possible because of the generous support of Paul Cadario, SPPG Advisory Board member and Senior Fellow at UofT.

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Scholarship - Law Society of Prince Edward Island
An Invitation to a Two-Day Series on the Social Determinants of Health, April 13-14

The Comparative Program on Health and Society is pleased to invite you to a two-day series on the social determinants of health that will take place on 13-14 April 2015 at the University of Toronto.

On Monday, April 13th, Dr. Nancy Krieger from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will give a keynote speech entitled “Bending the Arc to Health Equity: Social Justice and the People’s Health.” The event will take place at 4-6 pm at University College, room 179 (15 King’s College Circle). The reception will follow the lecture in UC 183 (Croft Chapter House).

Dr. Krieger is Professor of Social Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and Director of the HSPH Interdisciplinary Concentration on Women, Gender, and Health. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989. Dr. Krieger is an internationally recognized social epidemiologist, with a background in biochemistry, philosophy of science, and the history of public health, combined with over 30 years of activism linking issues involving social justice, science, and health. Informed by an analysis of the history and politics of epidemiology and public health, Dr. Krieger’s work addresses three topics: (1) conceptual frameworks to understand, analyze, and improve the people’s health, including the eco-social theory of disease distribution she has been developing since 1994 and its focus on embodiment and equity; (2) etiologic research on societal determinants of population health and health inequities; and (3) methodologic research on improving monitoring of health inequities.

To attend the lecture, please register here: http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/18131/


On Tuesday, April 14th, the CPHS program will host a panel discussion on the topic “What Do We Mean By the Social Determinants of Health? Exploring Theoretical and Practical Challenges.” The panel will convene at the George Ignatieff Theatre between 12 and 3 pm. It will explore the social determinants of health, and bring together scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines and sectors to explore key questions and challenges in conceptualizing this concept and in implementing interventions and policies.


Chaired by Lisa Forman, Assistant Professor at Dalla Lana School of Public Health and CPHS Program Director, the panel will feature the following participants:

  • Gary Bloch (Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto)
  • Ruby Lam (Manager of Access and Equity, Toronto Public Health)
  • Arjumand Siddiqi (Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto)
  • Anne-Emanuelle Birn (Professor, Critical Development Studies, UTSC and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto)
  • Faraz Vahid Shahidi (CPHS Research Associate, PhD student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto)

 

To attend the panel, please register here: http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/17880/

The series is sponsored by the Comparative Program on Health and Society and co-sponsored by the Dean's Office and the Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.

 

We hope you will join us at this event.

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The Right to Strike - What will this mean for Labour Law? Join the CLCW for a 1/2 day workshop April 24th, 2015

Prof. Michael Trebilcock and JD student Duncan Melville - "Ontario’s bizarre ‘privatization’ plan for Hydro One"

Thursday, March 26, 2015

In a commentary in the National Post, Prof. Michael Trebilcock and JD student Duncan Melville identify flaws in the Ontario government's proposal to sell a 10-15% stake in the provincially-owned utility Hydro One via an initial public offering (IPO) ("Ontario’s bizarre ‘privatization’ plan for Hydro One," March 25, 2015).

Read the full commentary on the National Post website, or below.

 

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