The Centre for Innovation Law and Policy is excited to welcome Ronit Dinovitzer, Professor of Sociology, to talk about her research on the career paths of Canadian and American lawyers. The event is planned as a 20-30 minute presentation, followed by Q&A. Lunch will be provided.

Comparative Constitutional Law & Politics: Emerging Trends in the Field

March 20, 2015               10:30 AM - 4:00 PM             EM 119

Please join us for an engaging workshop featuring student work on emerging trends in Comparative and Constitutional Law.  See the attached poster for more details. Panels include:

Non-legal factors in judicial decision-making

The power and the people

Jurisdictions beyond the borders

All are welcome!

Funding for this workshop is generously provided by

the Canada Research Chair in Constitutionalism, Democracy and Development

Comparative Constitutional Law and Politics Poster

March 26, 2015, 10 -12 noon

Munk School of Global Affairs, Room 208N

1 Devonshire Place

Abstract: 

Dr. Kaushal's presentation explores gender equality in the immigration, citizenship, and integration spheres. She argues that these spheres are underwritten by growing conceptual and theoretical unity, and that they work together to articulate Canadian and non-Canadian values. She traces these dynamics through recent legislation and cases in each sphere, focusing on the encultured female immigrant. This paradigmatic figure presents a challenge to the conception of equality that is promoted in government initiatives. She is part of several identity groups at once, including the state, and her loyalties point in many directions. Some loyalties will base claims for equality; others will base claims for freedom. 

asha_kaushal_harney_poster.jpg

LAW & ECONOMICS WORKSHOP 

presents 

Alan Sykes
New York University Law School 

Economic “Necessity” in International Law 

Tuesday, March 17, 2015
4:10 – 5:45
Solarium (room FA2), Falconer Hall
84 Queen’s Park 

Recent investment litigation against Argentina focuses attention on the necessity defense in customary international law and related provisions in investment treaties. This paper considers, from an economic standpoint, the question of when exigent economic circumstances might create conditions of “necessity” that justify deviation from international obligations.  Although economic circumstances may arise in which the performance of certain international obligations might impose costs that exceed the benefits, it can be difficult to observe and verify those circumstances reliably.  It can also be difficult to assess whether conditions of economic necessity result from excessive moral hazard, and whether deviation from international obligations is the best policy instrument in response to conditions of necessity.  A possible solution to these problems is an appropriate compensation requirement. 

A leading expert on the application of economics to legal problems, Alan O. Sykes has focused his research on international economic relations. His writing and teaching have encompassed international trade, torts, contracts, insurance, antitrust, and economic analysis of law. He has been a member of the executive committee and the board of the American Law and Economics Association, and he currently serves as reporter for the American Law Institute Project on Principles of Trade Law: The World Trade Organization. Professor Sykes is associate editor of the Journal of International Economic Law and a member of the board of editors of the World Trade Review. He formerly served as editor of the Journal of Legal Studies and the Journal of Law and Economics.  Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 2006, Professor Sykes was the Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, where he also served as faculty director of curriculum. He is a former National Science Foundation graduate fellow in the Department of Economics at Yale University. He is a senior fellow (by courtesy) with the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Stanford Center for International Development. 

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

sykes-headnotes_10mar15.pdf

LEGAL THEORY WORKSHOP SERIES

presents 

Martin Stone
Cardozo Law School-Yeshiva University 

Interpretation: 
Everyday and Philosophical

12:30 – 2:00
Friday, March 20, 2015
Solarium (room FA2) – Falconer Hall
84 Queen’s Park 

I begin by comparing and contrasting some familiar settings in which interpretations are called for: law, literature, and artistic performance. The aim is to clarify the variability and unity of “interpretation” across these settings: How is interpretation of a literary text like and unlike the interpretations that are official applications of the law?  

There is today also a distinctively philosophical use of the term interpretation. An author speaks, not of the meaning of this or that thing, but rather of interpretation as the condition of the possibility of meaning or understanding as such. In the broadest formulations, interpretation is said to be present in every experience of the world. Nietzsche: “There are no facts, only interpretations.” No such question—‘how is meaning possible?’—seems to be in play when interpretation appears in its more quotidian employments. 

Wittgenstein encourages us to ask: Is this a significant use of the term interpretation? Or must the meaning of some things be available without interpretation if interpretation is to be possible at all? This question should be taken in connection with one of his larger themes: that of philosophical voice as speech dislocated from——yet still dependent on——its everyday contexts.

Professor Martin Stone joined the Cardozo faculty after 10 years at Duke University, where he held a joint appointment in the law school and the philosophy department and was an adjunct professor in the literature program. He has taught at Cornell University, Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Michigan and is currently an adjunct professor of philosophy at the New School University Graduate Faculty.  Among his many honors, he graduated from Brandeis summa cum laude with highest departmental honors, was a Marshall Scholar at Balliol College, was a fellow at the National Humanities Center, and won the George Plimpton Adams Prize for his doctoral dissertation. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. One of the nation's leading scholars of the philosophy of law, Professor Stone has written widely on torts, Wittgenstein, formalism, and interpretation. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Professor Stone is an accomplished pianist, having studied at the California Institute of the Arts and the Tanglewood Music Festival.  

A light lunch will be served.

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

stone-headnotes_10mar15.pdf

The SLS is running elections for all positions for the 2015-2016 academic year.

The following positions are available:

• Student Affairs and Governance (four (4) 2L Reps; four (4) 3L Reps) 
• Social Affairs (three (3) 2L Reps; three (3) 3L Reps) 
• Executive (one (1) President; one (1) Vice-President StAG; one (1) Vice-President Social Affairs) 

The SLS will also be having a Referendum regarding law students' membership in the University of Toronto Students' Union (UTSU). The Referendum questions will be published in advance and will be stated on the ballot.  

Voting will take place on March 17th-19th from 12:30-2:00pm outside the Birge Carnegie Reading Room. The campaigning period begins Thursday, March 12th. All students are eligible to vote for Executive positions and to participate in the Referendum. 

Candidates may nominate themselves by emailing andrew.hotke@mail.utoronto.ca a statement of no more than 150 words with the subject line “SLS Election Nomination” that will be distributed by listserv to the student body. Please clearly indicate which positions you are running for. Candidates may run for an Executive position in addition to a student representative position. Statements are due by Wednesday, March 11th at 8:00pm. Statements received after this time will not be accepted.

Candidates for Executive positions will make brief speeches and participate in a debate on Monday, March 16th from 12:30-2:00pm (VC101). Questions can be e-mailed in advance to the CRO. Candidates should print and sign a copy of By-law 500 indicating that they have read and understood it, and place it in CRO Andrew Hotke’s 3L Mailbox in the Birge Carnegie Reading Room (filing cabinet). 

**Please note the date for blurbs has been moved up from Sunday, March 15th to Wednesday, March 11th. We apologize for this inconvenience**

For more information about the SLS please visit: https://studentslawsociety.wordpress.com/about-your-sls/

By-Law 500

The Peer Mentorship Program (PMP) is looking for 4 new members to join our executive next year in the following positions: event organization (2), finance, and communication.

Please email a max 150 word statement of interest to utlawmentors@gmail.com by WEDNESDAY MARCH 18 at 9pm.

We will email candidates with interview times by Friday March 20; 15min interviews will take place Mon/Tues March 23/24. Please note that, due to time constraints, we may not be able to interview everybody.

What are the responsibilities?

The PMP exec matches incoming 1Ls with upper-year students. Event organizers are in charge of organizing several events in the year. Finance takes care of the budget and applying for grants. Communications fields concerns from mentors/mentees and sends out event notices via email and facebook.

What’s the time commitment?

Most of the time commitment is in August, when the matching gets done. After that, the commitment is relatively light (approximately 5-15 hours per semester).

What do I get out of it?

You can help the PMP foster new relationships, ease the incoming class’s transition to law school, and strengthen our community. The PMP historically has a 90%+ participation rate among the incoming class. As an exec member, this is a great opportunity to meet new members of our community and help them have a fantastic experience here!

PMP Poster

The special talk with Ontario’s first female Aboriginal lawyer, Delia Opekokew, has been rescheduled. The date will be posted shortly.

An incredibly inspired and successful sole practioner Delia will discuss her experience as the first Indigenous woman to be called to the bar in Ontario and Saskatchewan; and will share with students practical information to develop and maintain a successful practice as a sole practioner.

Delia Opekokew is a member of the Canoe Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. She was the first Aboriginal woman admitted to Ontario Bar; as well as the Saskatchewan bar. Delia was the first woman ever to run for leadership of the Assembly of First Nations.  Delia continues her success as sole practitioner at her firm downtown Toronto and is currently Deputy Chief Adjudicator for the Indian Residential School Adjudication Secretariat.

Delia graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1977 and served as legal counsel to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations from 1980 to 1985. Her proudest achievement was the successful resolution of the Canoe Lake Cree Nation land claim, regarding the termination of social and economic rights in the lands given under TREATY 10.

Delia was 8 years old when she learned English, making her current private law practice in Toronto a testament to her ability to adapt. Meshing urban lawyer and scholar with tradition, Delia has used her upbringing to ground her work as she furthers the cause of justice for Aboriginal people, and the civil liberties and human rights for all Canadians. Representing Dudley George’s family, fighting for the compensation and redress of First Nations land claims as well as First Nations war veterans, Delia’s  work speaks for itself in its scope for change.

RSVP to promise.holmesskinner@utoronto.ca requested, but not required.

Are you interested in leading a volunteer student working group with CILP? Learn about potential projects, application requirements, and important dates for the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year. Lunch will be served.

For more information click here or contact centre.ilp@utoronto.ca.

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.