Ultra Vires Vol 2 Issue 2: 2000 October

The Student Newspaper of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law

17 October 2000 www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires

Professor Leaves for Osgoode

U ofT to Get J.D. Degree

Craig Scott seeks cultural fit at York

Opinions divided over whether new degree is forward thinking or a sign of Americanization

BY MELISSA KLUGER After 10 years as a professor of international and human rights Jaw at the University of Toronto, Professor Craig Scott left this summer for Osgoode Hall Law School.

"I was ready for a change," Srott explained "and I felt lucky to have an excellent law sc11ooi interested in having me and not having to leave Toronto." He said he will miss many things about U of T including "a great bunch of students."

So why did he leave? ''Certainly not the location," Scott mused. Instead, he found Osgcx:x:le a better Mcultural fit," more in keeping with his own goals regarding legal education.

Specifically, Scott cited Osgoode's approach to decision-making and human relations as being "diSttnctly different" than at u of T 1'-~~where

he said the contnbubons of -some of

his colleagues were "consistently undervalued and marginalized."

More generally, Scott was dissatisfied with the climate at U of T, one he characterized as "perpetual self-celebration". Scott stated that there is a difference between "confident recognition of how good an institution is and over-the-top hype." Scott also expressed concern about the direction the law school was headed, his sense being that i s was "unreflectively drifting towards an Americanization of legal education."

Scott warned that he is not alone in dissatisfaction with the school. According to Scott, there could be as many as 10 professors at the Faculty who have had similar experiences, many of whom "would be very attractive hires by other institutions."

Scott's departure coincided with the recent increase in faculty salaries to address concerns about recruiting and retaining professors. For Scott, salary was not the issue.

"I left U ofT knowing that I would be taking a salary decrease at Osgoode," he said.

"Osgoode's offer was more than adequate and, indeed, generous, but below, what is now, the U ofT starting salary."

When asked to comment on Scott's departure, Dean Ron Daniels said that Scott's decision "reflected his personal judgment that his professional aspirations would be better served at York University."

Scott's departure is seen by many as a loss for the law school. "Craig, like everyone who has left here, will be missed," said Professor Ed Morgan, who also specializes in international law. "Craig's field of public international law is right in the heart of international subject matters we're trying to build up here, I am sad to see him go."

Professor Jutta Brunnee, an internationally distinguished expert in international environmental law and policy, •will fill the vacancy created by Professor Scott's departure, • according to Daniels.

BY JosEPHA.

Grand Moot P~rtteip:mts and Organizers (from left to right): Tim Meadowcroft, Lisa Dufrairnont, Madam ]usuce Joan Lax, Andrew Gray, Stephanie Gibson, Dean Ron Daniels, Rita Maxv.ell Mister Justice Michael Moldaver, Misterjustice Louis i.eBel '

Insight

On-Catnpus Interviews: A first...hand account

BY BRAD MOORE

On-Campus interviews- think SpeedDating.

In an effort at modern-day matchmaking, Orthodox Judaism has introduced the speed date. Would-be daters gather expectantly.

They have seven minutes to get to know the current prospective love match before a bell rings and, round-robin style, they begin with another person. When finished, the participants rank each other in the hope of making that blissful love connection. Apparently, it works for some.

Coincidence or not, the new on-campus interviews (OCis) are just like that, except they're twenty minutes instead of seven.

For those who haven't heard, the Toronto firms, in response to competition from earlyrecruiting American firms, decided that getting involved in the autumn employment orgy

;a l lel!a:1lc•mJght xcep a 1ew top :;tucleDts north of the border th1s year. So they devised this scheme of preliminary interviews, whereby each firm would be able to interview more students, and earlier, to hopefully

get more students thinking about Toronto while allowmg the firms to make more informed choices about who to interview more seriously in November.

So what was it like? Well, it's a long story.

The process really got started when all the second-year hopefuls cranked out anywhere from one to thirty-five resumes and cover letters each, and then sent them in the general vicinity of Bay Street. Once replies were received and students knew who wanted to interview us, it was time to sign up for the time

see "Twenty" on page 4 also see OCI bloopers on page 10

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G. B ERKOVITS

The class of 2001 will be the first set of Canadian law students who will have the option of graduating with a Juris Doctor U.O.), the degree earned by American law students, rather than a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) ihe key difference between these two degrees ·,s that the J .D is a second degtee - meamng that students must ha\le an undergraduate ~- 'bea<e ~'-'<\'r\'11. \a..,.. 'M:.\\oo\, 'IN\\\\t \.\\e LL.B. ts recognized mternabonaJiy as a first degree. In Europe and Quebec, students earn an LL.B. stratght out of high school. In the rest of Canada, most students have one, 1f not two, degrees behind them when they enter law school; yet the designation has always

been Bachelor of Laws.

Assistant Dean Lois Chiang recently wrote a memo in Headnotes outlining the benefits of the Impending replacement of the LL.B. with a new J.D. designation. "Explaimng away the confusion," caused by the LL.B. in an era of "mcreased mobility," she promtsed, would soon be a thmg of the past. But there are those among the students and faculty who worry that the prestigious-sounding Juris Doctor degree will raise its own set of questions.

Professor Denise Reaume is among several faculty members who are skeptical of the move. She predicts that the "confusion" that Faculty Council had sought to avoid will be far from over once the change is complete. The LL.B. degree may be a second degree for most students, but the fact remains that it is a first law degree.

Students in the LL.M . program, for instance, may end up being perceived as getting more junior degrees than the Juris Doctors. And as for the Amencan market mistaking our LL.B.'s for first degrees, Professor Reaume finds •it hard to believe that employers aren't sophisticated enough to realize that. Canadians will have to explain themselves no matter what the initials are. No matter what, Canadians will have to prove they're as good as Americans and a change of degrees won't make that any easier."

She does not deem it "terribly important for our mission to protect" U.S.-bound careerseekers. Ultimately, "just because the

2

Ultra Vires

NEWS

In Brief

BY ANDREY ANISHCHENKO AND ] AMES HoFFmR

Denning's ghost haunts the Grand Moot Sept. 20. Grand Mooters Usa Dufraimont, Rita Maxwell, Andrew Gray and Tim Meadowcroft stepped up to the challenge and delivered a superb moot in front an impressive bench of Mister Justice Louis LeBel (S.C.C.), Mister Justice Michael Moldaver (Ont. C.A.) and Madam Justice Joan Lax (Ont. S.C.). This year's moot problem involved the issues of surveillance of emp~oyee e-mail communications and sexual harassment. It will be remembered that Gray outd1d Moldaver J. in the Dennmg department with the quip: "It was an ordinary day at LeCar."

Dean selection committee to convene The comm1ttee to select (or reselect) the next dean of the law school should convene by early November. With an Oct. 16 deadline for nommations for comm1ttee members, 50 had been rece1ved as of Oct. 11, Including both faculty and students. Cns dke, Assistant Vice-Provost for Professional Faculties, and secretary to the forming committee, says that "the response has been excellent''. and sorting through the nominations will be a tough job. Members Will be chosen under the guidance of University Vice-President and Provost Adel Sedra who will also chair the committee. A gender and constituency balance is being sought. One~ the commit· tee convenes, it will decide on the timeline for its work.

The most educated first ..year class ever?

The 2000/01 first-year class is now into the second month of its law school experience. Of 248 students given offers last sprfng, 173 registered. Members of the class had a LSAT median of 165, the same as last year, and an undergraduate average of 84.1 per cent, up slightly from the 83.7 per cent average last year. Their most popular undergraduate majors appear to have been English and History. One quarter of the new class has some graduate school experience, up from 17 per cent last year.

Summer job process busier than ever An unprecedented total of 36 Toronto firms now hire summer students under Law Society gUidelines and student interest JS enthusiastic. One large Bay Street firm reported that they received over 120 applications from U ofT students. According to Bonnie Goldberg, about SO% oi the seccnd-~ear class received one or more on-campus interv'tews w\th a Toronto law 11rm on Oct. 5 and 6 . However, at the summer job ta·tr \n September, wnere 34 ttrms participated, only slightly more than half of the second-year class attended while it seemed that a much greater percentage of Osgoode students were in attendance. This caused some firms to grumble about the increased American recruitment of U of T students.

Articling down to ten months Sept. 21. The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) voted to shorten the articling period to ten months with a two-week vacat1on, although 1t is not yet clear whether this will take effect tn January 2001 or after Phase I during that year. The Society had sent out a survey and both large and small firms in Ontario declared that they preferred a shortened term. Apparently major firms had in the meantime petitioned the soc1ety with a letter in June to the same effect. According to one LSUC official, the thinking was that firms could then get their students working as associates faster and there would be less temptation for students to go to the Untted States where articli ng is not required.

Consentino and Sandra appointed SLS VPs Jessica Connell was elected last year as SLS Vice-President but over the summer she got marned and moved to British Columbia. Hence, there was a vacancy at SLS. SLS advertised the opening in Headnotes but no one was nominated. SLS executives even approached people to run, but none came forward. Thus, Joe Cosentino, a third-year SLS representative and Alba Sandra, a second-year SLS representative, were thus appointed from within as co-vice-presidents. Apathy 1, student representation 0.

U ofT President Robert Birgeneau installed Oct. 11. Dr. Robert Birgeneau, who succeeds Robert Prichard as President of the University, was installed in a ceremony at Convocat1on Hall. Deputy Prime M101ster Herb Gray; Lieutenant Govenor of Ontario, Hillary Weston; and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman were among the honoured guests who participated in the ceremony. As the 14th President of U ofT, Birgeneau introduced his platform of "Excellence, Equity and Outreach" and announced that to reach these goals he is embarking oo $1 billion fundraising project. Will relations between the Faculty of Law and the University be any different without a former Dean of the Law School at the helm?

Pipe burst rains unsanitary fluid on lockers

American Recruittnent Appears Hotter than last year

SLS Deals with Budget Shortfall Law Games funding most contentious ClnusnNE Mn.Ls AND ]AMES HoFFNER The Students' Law Society (SLS) is in the process of allocat1ng funds to student clubs and organizations. The most contentious is· sue seems to be whether money should be given to Law Games - an annual competi· tion of law students from across Canada, this year to be held in Calgary. About $1,200 is being sought but this would defray costs only marginally, leaving the high cost of the event as a barrier to many. As well, there are con· cerns about whether the SLS should be fund· lng the event at all.

Last year, an audit exposed a significant deficit when SLS budgeted more than what they had in student fees and ended up with a shortfall. This year the aggregate amount of club requests exceeds the amount SLS has available for distribution. The SLS takes in about $60,000 from the student levy and firm donations but roughly $44,000 of that is al· ready dedicated to the Career Development Office, the library, auditor's fees and other expenses.

In order to improve the budgeting alloca· tion process, the SLS held a meeting on Oct. 12, in which more than 25 student clubs and organizations explained the reasons for their budget requests. According to Co-Vice President Joe Cosentino, "the meeting gave each club the opportunity to present its case and helped clubs see what others are doing without the acrimony of previous budget

On Wednesday, Oct. 18, the SLS wi I hold a 30-minute open forum on the 1ssue of whether funding should be given to Law Games and then afterwards a separate budget meeting will be held. SLS Co-Treasurer Adam Maerov said that the SLS will review its pnnciples in allocating money, which in the past have included a presumption against funding travel expenses and food and drink as well as consideration about the number of students involved and the overall benefit of the activ· ity. Maerov said that consideration in fund· ing decisions may also be given to clubs' will· ingness to fundraise in co-operation with the SLS. With respect to fund raising, the SLS is also in the process of consolidating donation requests by student groups. The SLS constitu· tion states that only the SLS can solic1t donations from law flfms, but this is not ~e way it works in practice.

Often firms receive blanket requests from student groups, which can number between 15 and 30 a year. According to the SLS, "many of the law firms have expressed their extreme dissatisfaction in receiving dozens of unco-ordinated requests for money."

Thus, the SLS is attempting to assert its representative function and bring all requests under its discretion with the hope of increasing the aggregate amount of donations through better co-ordination. Cosentino states that the goal is not to affect situations where firms have historically funded specific events or where there is personal connection bring· ing in the funding. Rather, the new SLS strat· egy is aimed at eliminating the blanket requests.

3

NEWS

17 October 2000

San Francisco firms join NY, Boston BY

TIM MEADOWCROFT

If it's autumn, it must be time for the dog-and· pony show that we call recruiting season.

Spurred by a runaway legal market south of the border, American firms again descended en masse on U of T this year in search ci keen legal minds to join the ranks ci their associates.

Last year was a breakthrough year for U of T in terms of success in the American job market. A record 29 students spent all or a part of last summer with New York and Bos· ton firms. This year looks equally if not more promising. According to Bonnie Goldberg, the Director of Career Development at the law school, about 75 students applied to U.S.·based firms this fall; a modest increase from the number of applications last year. The interest from American firms in U of T stu· dents has also increased to 22 firms this year from 19 firms last year having conducted on· campus interviews. While in previous years Dean Ron Daniels had to actively promote U ofT to Amencan firms as a potential recruit· ing resource, the word apparently is out among large U.S. firms that U ofT can be a strong source of new talent. "The firms that were new here this fall came to us unsolicited," Goldberg notes.

And it's not only New York and Boston firms.

This fall, Shearman & Sterling became the first firm to recruit Toronto students for their San Francisco office. The New York-based

firm hired eight U of T summer associates last year and is looking to recruit on a similar scale this year.

Katie Rittenberry, who is with Shearman's Professional Recruiting office and co-ordinates the firm's oncampus interview program, affirmed that the hiring needs of large New York firms are as high as ever this year.

"We're looking to hire around 100 summer associ· ates for next summer" she said.

"In terms of the number of To· ronto students we're lookmg for, our hinng process isn't num· bers-driven per school, but we are certa1nly committed to hiring Canadian stu· dents. And U of T is our biggest source for getting Canadian students. Its has been a big part of our hiring strategy for years."

And should anyone be surprised at the in· crease in student interest in American firms?

The New York/Boston summer associate life· style has much to recommend it. The self· indulgence and decadence that goes with a summer south of the border is well docu· mented and a strong incentive for students contemplating making their very own contri·

bution to the brain drain. Free lunches and dinners at gourmet restaurants, prime tick· ets to sporting and cultural events, and all other manner of revelry await this year's crop of U.S.-bound summer associates. And let's not forget the compensation (hey, we've got to offset those tuition fee increases somehow).

With most firms forking out some· where in the range of $2,500 us per week (that's about $40,000 to 50,000 Cana· dian over the summer), Ca· nadian stu· dents have the potential to significantly reduce their debt.

The result is that many students who might not have prev1ously considered leaving the country are beginning to re-evaluate their options. Fourth year Law/MBA student Barry Shin recently accepted an associate position at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault in Boston, having spent last summer working for that flfm.

"When I first started at U ofT, I had no incli· nation that the possibility of gettmg a job with an American firm even existed" Shin says. "I was pleasantly surprised to see the extent to

which firms were recruiting here last fall."

Shin cites both the professional opportuni· ties of working in the States, along with a personal desire to live and work in another city as reasons he made the decision to head south. "I started to look at the possibilities that existed in Boston and New York and eventually made up my mind that the oppor· tunity was too good to pass up."

However, the scale of the southern defection has not been total. Despite the various lures of an American summer, some second· year students have elected to stay at home.

"The extra zero on your salary, or the extra zero on the deal isn't enough to make me uproot my life," said second -year student Trish McMahon, who cited family ties to Toronto as a major reason for her opting to work in the city next summer. "It's a question of where I want to end up. If I go to New York, even for a summer, the odds of my ending up there full time are a lot greater." Some students have expressed a concern that, from a professional viewpoint, time in the States may not always be helpful. McMahon points out that the skills picked up in certain practice areas, like litigation , are not as transferable between jurisdictions as those developed in other areas like corporate/commerc1al.

Students may also have some misgivings about the scale of the American invasion given this year's changes to the Toronto summer recruiting process. Second-year students now face the prospects of two rounds of Toronto interviews to go along with the two rounds of New York/Boston interviews. Throw in the compulsory moots, and many second-'fears are beginning to 1eel the stress.

meetin gs."

~========~==~====~~------~-

What's Hot Hot

& What's Not Not

The J.D.

The J.D.

Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP - for contributing $500,000 to a new home for the Downtown Legal Services and other student clinics.

The physical plant - what's going to leak next?

Professor Alan Mewett - for accepting a birthday cake in dass with his usual panache.

Lois Chiang - a friendly addition to the administration.

Professor Lorraine Weinrib - for getting national media attention twice 10 one weekend, by praising Pierre Trudeau and lambasting the Supreme Court's approach to the Charter Professor Tony Duggan - don't take the comments 1n the "What's Not" section seriously. We actually like you very much.

Dean Ron Daniels - For his openness with the press. He scored back-tcrback points by publishing his administrative priorities for this year in Headnotes, and agreeing to an extensive interview with Ultra Vires (see page 7).

Emily Winter and Antonia Vee - for handling superbly the Herculean task of corralling disaffected third-year students to help with the second-year mooting program.

New York and Boston firms - thanks, guys, for breaking up the local cartel.

Joe Cosentino and Alba Sandra - for stepping m as Co-SLS-Vice-Presidents, Oct. 11. Plumbing on the second floor of Flavelle burst causing significant damage to the when no one else had the wherewithal to building including a number of first-year lockers located accross from the cafeteria. Assistant volunteer.

Dean Lo1s Chiang said that the belongings of about 20 students were affected and that their damages will be covered by insurance and the University. Students were heard grumbling Speculation about the Dean - will he stay or will he go? that, gee, maybe Flavelle really IS an old building.

I

Practise law that matters

Student apathy - it would be nice if at least somebcxly was nominated to be SLS vice-president.

at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

BLH -note to Dean, there are more than a few broken chairs in this classroom.

First year

yeah, we all know it sucks.

First term of second year - no explanation needed.

Articling - instead of reducing it to ten months, why not scrap it altogether?

Lexpert/American Lawyer 2000Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada once again cites Osiers as one of the two market benchmarks in Toronto for executing significant deals and a leader in the area of securities law, mergers and acquisitions, tax, litigation and a variety of specialized practices.

The Socratic Method -can't third-years live in peace (Professor Duggan)?

Headnotes - we're still waiting for the LlstServe promised in September.

Compulsory moots - "show us the credits," Dean.

Student legal clinics - apparently they don't provide Faskens w1th "star talent," the Dean implied at the reception for the Faskens' gift to the legal clinics. Maybe $500,000 will change all that.

Obnoxious law students - one or two years studying the common law does not make you an expert in fiduciary duties. You know who you are. Or, well, maybe you don't.

The Varsity -stop poaching our stories.

Vending machines- surely $1.25 for a chocolate bar violates the principles of fundamental justice.

OSLER, HOSKIN& HARCOURT Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt

Nancy Stitt, Director, Student Programs, Toronto

416.862.6527

Diane Cornish, Chair, Student Programs, Ottawa

613 .787.1079

Andrew Little, Chair, Student Programs, Calgary

403.260.7063

oslerstudent. com

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4

NEWS

Dean enthusiastic about J.D. designation continued from page 1 Americans are doing it doesn't mean we should do 1t. At a conference I attended recently someone described 20 Canadian law schools plus one off-shore American Institution [U of TJ. This is not terribly healthy for the reputation we are garnering for ourselves in the Canadian context." "To my mind," Professor Reaume concludes, "the arguments put to Faculty Council were weak at best."

From his perspective as a member of the faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School, Professor Lorne Sossin sees the new designation as part of an inevitable Americanization of legal education. "Faculty and students at Osgoode are viewing this development at U of T with great interest. Some quarters see this as a longer term response to an Americanization trend and a globalizing market. Others viet~ it as a shorter term and opportunistic response to Wall Street recruiters. Most are waiting to see the reactions cl students and faculty at U of T and the larger legal community in general before they pass judgment."

Dean Ron Daniels is enthusiastic about the J.D. designation. As far as he is concerned, there is no downside to the change. "The student body is quite excited" about the new degree and it is "a wonderful way of signalling that law is a second degree. It is simply designed to enhance the status of the U of T degree and make it absolutely clear that it is a second degree."

He rejects any claims that the J.D. would be an Americanization but rather insists that it is a function of "the law school recognizing the international standard." He also strives to make clear that the school has not sought

Ultra Vires

Twenty minutes can be a flash or a lifetime

nor received accreditation from the Amerisational, a kind of personality test. Topics of continued from page 1 can Bar Association and that the J.D. is neiconversation could range from fashion modther a change in admission policy nor curelling to Canada's Olympic men's basketball riculum. The school is simply trying to be reslots. Th1s at times was a bit of a fiasco, team, from figure skating to tree planting. sponsive to student concerns, especially gradulargely because we're a bunch of law stu- One lawyer asked me for my advice on the ates of the faculty. dents, and law students take everything way best red wine for under $25, another gave ''Students will be better off by the choice," too seriously. Most of the frustration came suggestions on how I should propose to my he predicts. "The J.D. will be well received from the antics of people who lined up at the girlfriend. Have you ever counted the number and well regarded by the public and the profes- door like groupies at a Guns 'n' Roses conof mosquitos you could kill with one swat to sion." As a graduate of the law school himself, cert, determined to be first. And all this JUSt your leg? It may come up.

Dean Daniels indicates that he will convert his to get a priority number. Why the intensity?

Depending on how the interview is going, old LLB. degree to a J.D. Law students ... enough sa1d. twenty minutes can be over in a flash or it Students are generally positive about the So we all signed up, and the big two-day can seem like a lifetime. One thing that can changeover to the J.D. designation. Edan extravaganza started Oct. 5th at the Metro make things slow down is a bad interviewer.

Howell, a third-year student representative Toronto Convention Centre. All the firms had A bad interviewer can make a twenty minute on Faculty Council, feels that 1t in a globaliz- their little interview tables set up in one auinterview feel like a three-day convention of ing market, "the J.D. opens up doors and ditorium, separated from each other only by your ex-girlfriends: nothing but awkward simaximizes options for students. The J.D. de- blue curtains. At nine o'clock Thursday mornlences and clenched-teeth smiles. A good gree will boost the international stature of ing the doors swung open and the first group interviewer, on the other hand, makes you the degree, especially in the United States. of students swept in. After 19 minutes, a wish the megaphone man could just hold on The overwhelming motivation for the new des- . person with a megaphone announced that for a few more minutes. It's a total crapshoot, ignation," he feels, "is simply to remove the the interviews were over in one minute, then so you just hope for the best. impression that for most of us the law degree is after that minute had elapsed, another more When it's all over, there are mixed feelour first degree." For his part, Edan will be choosing stern announcement came: "The interviews ings. There's a certain amount of relief in the J.D. degree when he graduates. are now over." And they were. having run the gauntlet and emerged intact, First-year student Jeremy Streeter wonders So what went on in the interviews? I guess and some satisfaction over the better interif students who chose an LL.B. might ap- it depends on who you ask, because people views. But there's also that dirty feeling that pear to be "dated" in the future. He is also had differing experiences. Some firms asked only prostitutes and law students encounter concerned that canadian clients who are used a lot about why you were interested in them on a regular basis: that you've just spent hours to dealing with lawyers with an LL.B. m1ght specifically, and some never asked. Some of your life being someone that others want not understand what the J.D. means. He wanted us to carry the conversation and ask you to be. But don't worry, if a quick shower would prefer it if all law schools in Canada the questions, others wouldn't shut up. More doesn't cleanse you of the dirty feeling, you got together and made a joint decision. than anything, the interviews were conver- .can wipe it off with $100 bills this summer.

First-year student Michael Hong thinks the J.D. is "a nice option to have because I do CONFUSED? ANGRY? SLAP-HAPPY? believe that because my friends have the J.D. designation it puts them at a perceptual adThen send a l~er or story idea to ultra.vires@utoronto.ca vantage or even a perceptual par if you are interested in doing something outside of This paper is o forum for student voices and we want to hear yours. canada.

Dealine for submissions for our next issue is November 1, 2000.

DAVIES,WARD &BECK LLP BARRISTERS

&

SOLICITORS

Widely regarded as Canada's leading business law firm

17 October 2000

CLUBS & CLINICS

David Corbett Gets Attention of First-Year Class

BY BEATRICE vAN DIJK

"Anal intercourse is a good thing," former Torys lawyer David Corbett informed the class of 2003. Corbett delivered the Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) Orientation Week speech at a luncheon sponsored by Cassels Brock and Blackwell. He quoted his own submission to the Ontario Court of Appeal, and made many first-years suddenly sit up very straight.

The rectitude of an older age of consent for anal intercourse was at issue in the case Corbett cited. His reason for citing his crude submission was to show that public interest and pro bono work are about "advocacy, not nobility of purpose." Sometimes law students see their professional choices as limited: either become a corporate sinner, or forego worldly mdulgences and become a public interest saint. Corbett's message for law students is that there are no such clear distinctions. Engaging in public interest work, and offering legal services for free are options for both saints and sinners. The good things 1n life are not always free, but all lawyers can do good things for free. ===;;:::;: Dean Ron Daniels Introduced the PBSC speaker. The Dean articled under Corbett's tutelage at Torys. Why did a former footsoldier for corporate commanders deliver a speech promoting public interest volunteerism? Believe it or not, Corbett is better known for his work to improve equality rights than for his contributions to capital markets.

It is harder to believe the reason Corbett suggested Daniels left private practice to administer academia. While Daniels articled under Corbett, Corbett explained that the Dean "had time to reflect on the finer points of civil procedure while he went to p1ck up the salt he had forgotten for my french fries."

Corbett takes credit for impelling Daniels out of private practice, and insisted that but for

the mentorship he offered his underling, the Dean "would still be slaving away in the bowels of Torys on trust indentures."

Nether regions of the digestive system were not the primary focus of the PBSC speech. Corbett described the professional recognition and social fulfi llment pro bono cases have brought him. He also told how his work has propelled incremental improvements to equality rights.

Corbett's speech lacked any hint of the puritanical whine sometimes affected by social idealists. His tales about shocking judges and sending the faculty's head honcho to

5

Law Student Spends Summ.er in Hong Kong law and the connection it has to freedom, stability and prosperity.

Martin is a tireless fighter for democracy This past summer, along with fellow second- and accountable government in Hong Kong. year student Gail Wong, I was fortunate to Despite a system thatis rigged agamst him, spend my time working under a remarkable Martin and the Democratic Party of Hong man m a fascinating setting - Martin Lee in Kong, which he chairs, continue to advocate Hong Kong. implementing Lee was all the values the Goodman of liberal deFellow at our mocracy: l aw school equality of votlast year. The ing rights, refellowship, spect for the awarded by rule of law, the Faculty of accountabl e Law to an government , eminent perfree speech, son conand free marnected with kets. While the law, could there, I was not have been ab le to conawarded to a tribute in my more approown small way Benjamin Shinewald with Martin Lee in Hong Kong priate person to his cause - in addition by putting my to being a former chair of the Hong Kong legal skills to use for him and the party. What Bar, Martin is the leadmg figure for increased is more, I left with a far better understanding democracy, civil society, and rule of law in of a fascinating part of the world- and of the Hong Kong and beyond. rule of law.

Hong Kong is a strange hybrid - elements of freedom and democracy co-exist with authoritarian government, cronyism, and lack Anyone interested in purstJing a summer in of transparency. It is in this setting, and not Martin Lee's Barrister's Chambers may ein any class at law school, in which one remail benjamin.shinewafd@utoronto.ca or ally can understand the value of the rule of visit www.martlnlee.org.hk.

BY B ENJAMIN SHINEWALD

fetch french fries were infused w ith \cono-

clastlc glee. Irony ana humour are useful shields against the sudden barrage of WASPy firm names and logo-plastered paraphernalia that hammers new students. Corbett's pragmatically progressive and irreverently elitist speech provided both, and no doubt some relief to many first-years.

The notion that a lawyer can apply lessons learned m ivory and gold towers to onthe-street idealism is an important one to emphas1ze m Orientation Week. Corbett is a partner at Eberts, Symes, Street and Corbett, a small firm that operates "on the cutting edge of law and the ragged edge of credit. â&#x20AC;˘ Lucky for him, and for students who attended the PBSC luncheon, many good things in life are free - and Corbett's orientation week speech was one of them.

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6

FEATURES

Ultra Vires

undergrad). Not much, when compared with The most interthe Harvard student, but doubtless an amount esting is the backHow does U ofT's Back-End Debt Relief that will only increase in the future. end debt relief proProgram (BDRP) and Harvard's In..

Needless to say, as U of T competes for an gram (BDRP) that excellent faculty and student body, prices will swung into action come Protection Plan (LIPP) compare? go up. On numerous occasions we've heard last year. It is unuthat U of T, ranked as the No.1 law school sual, because U of - To be eligible for LIPP assistance, Harvard Law School J.D. in Canada, is not competing against other T is the only Canagraduates must be working full-time in law-related employCanadian law schools - but against the top dian law school to ment that meets the income level requirements (outlined beU.S. law schools. It therefore goes without offer this type of aslow). Harvard states that some ineligible jobs would include saying that tuition fees will rise in order to sistance. Universikeep up with the competition. What's to be ties in the United political journalist, high school teacher, and business manager.

States have had done about this?

- The U ofT debt relief program, by contrast, does not specify

BY D INA B OGECHO the program in that graduates must be working in law-related employment.

The Faculty of Law financial aid mission states: "To ensure diversity, the Faculty of Law place for a number -For Harvard graduates, the threshold income level is $31,000.

Today, as tuition rates increase without abateat the University of Toronto shall be accessiof years, and so it If a graduate earns this amount or less, LIPP fully covers their ment, one of the most fundamental quesble to the best and brightest students in is to these universiloan repayment. tions that crosses our mind before deciding Canada irrespective of those students' finant ies that we must to come to law school is - how much will it cial wherewithal". The law school seems to turn to for compari- - The BDRP states that 30% of income above the threshold is deemed to go towards the loan; the UPP system, however, cost? want to help. The question is, is it helping son.

The answer: depends on where you want enough? A brief look at the other Canadian Generally speak- states that the higher your income, the greater the percentage to go. If you're thinking of applying to the law schools reveals that most offer compretng, the BDRP is you're expected to put towards your loan.

University of Victoria la w school, estimate hensive financial aid packages which include designed pnmarilyto - The 2000-2001 LIPP salary cap is $ 72,000 (US). At this on spending $3,000 per year on tuition alone; short term and long term loans, bursaries, assist eligible gradu- income, one can no longer be eligible for LIPP assistance. By McGill University's tuition ranks tn the same scholarships, and interest-free loans, all in ates with the repay- contrast, the BDRP has no salary cap. area too (or 1s $ 1,668 for in-province stument of loans that addition to government assistance. Queen's - Finally, LIPP considers factors other than salary when lookdents). For those thinking of attendtng University law school boasts that 50 per cent were Incurred while ing at income. A spouse's income, and any assets can affect Osgoode, expect to be about $8,000 out of of its students receive bursary assistance in law school. one's LIPP qualifying salary. Additionally, housing allowances, pocket, while new U of T students face a (compared to the 39 per cent of U of T stuGraduates who earn bonuses and other enhancements to one's salary are also in· less than the eluded as income. threshold income ~.----------------------------------------------------, level (currently set - The BDRP at U of T, however, calculates the graduate's Law School Tuition Across the Board at $25,000) are eli- income by only looking at: net income, registered Pension Plans gible for full assist- and RRSP contributions, and gifts and inheritances (subject to ance from the pro- an annual exemption of $1000). gram. The student Ioa ns eli gi b Ie for '---------------~~~~----__,._~........_~.._._----__,.........__, BDRP benefits include federal and provincial the program at U of T (see insert above).

Whether it will remain this way as applicants loans taken by a student while at the Faculty of Law, Scotiabank/Faculty of Law Interestto the program increase, remains to be seen.

Free loans, and any loans (other than emerKeeping in mind the statistics that show gency loans) made to a student from U of T that the average Harvard law school graduate leaves school with a $70,000 (US) debt, while at the Faculty of Law. These loan and that tuition alone is around $26,000 amounts are added up, amortized over ten one may ask - do the high tuition fees get years, and, provided that one earns less than you that much more? The short answer is the threshold income level, the loan payments 20000 yes. The Harvard law school Dean's letter to are forgiven. (This means that if you earn the students in September of last year, for less than $25,000, every year, one-tenth of ISOOO example, lists the numerous multi-million your eltgtble law school loans are fully paid dollar improvements made to the law faculty by the faculty of law. This way, w1thin ten buildings.

These include adjustable chairs in years, your entire debt wtll have been paid 10000 r-the classrooms, athletic facilities, and much by the law school ). If graduates earn more more. However, the real awe htts when you than the threshold, they will be expected to sooo ~ learn that the Harvard Law School fundraising contribute 30 per cent of the excess income ~ to reduce their loan payment. (More detailed campaign that concluded in 1995 raised $182 information on this can be found in the Backmillion (US). The significance of this sum is ... uv.c M<Ca usc a....<s OaQoode UciT Valli emphasized when one compares it to U of CoUnbiil NYU End Debt Relief Program booklet available T's endowment of $16 million (CON). from the Financial Aid Office).

Yale law school, on the other hand, states Edan Howell, a third-year student repre$10,000 bill (this is for tuition alone, and dents who receive bursaries), whtle Osgoode sentative on Faculty Council who has been that since 1949, alumnae contributions have does not take into account ancillary fees) . provided more than $120 million for the supadvertises its on-campus housing as a great working with others on structuring the proSound expensive? Not if you're a student in way to save money. Last year, U of T gave gram for the past two years, explains that port of the Law school. With alumnae donathe Umted States. If you're interested in studytions reaching such high levels, it is no surout $694,373 tn the form of bursaries, with the foundations for the BDRP were created ing at any of the top ten U.S law schools students recetvtng an average of $3,552. Staby looking at similar programs at universities prise that schools like Harvard and Yale can (such as Harvard, Yale, NYU, or Columbia), tistics from the Dean show that in total, the provide more for their students. By contrast, in the United States. An attempt was made you'll be spending anything from$ 26,000 to statistics show that the U of T Faculty of law school wtll spend $1.6million on student to make the debt relief program at U of T $29,000 (US), ($41 ,000- $47,000 CON) awards and financial aid this year (a figure even better than those elsewhere.

Law's total revenue for this year came to about on tuition fees alone. Even a state university, $13.3 million- with the largest share ($5.1 that makes up about 12 per cent of the law Nevertheless, compared with the U.S. such as the University of Michigan (ranked school's total expenditure). million) coming from the Province, and only schools, how does the financial aid package seventh in the US News 2001 list of top 40 about $1 .5 million coming from gifts.

The Financial Aid Officer, Aladdin at U ofT measure up? Yale law school states law schools) charges in-state students Mohaghegh, states that the aid offered at on its web site that 75 per cent of the stuAs a result, one can imagine that incen$ 21 ,000 (US) per year, and out-of-state stuthe Faculty of Law is comprised of several dent body receives financial aid, with 40 per tives must exist to raise tuition. Can this redents $27,000. What can one expect from options. These options are clearly laid out in cent receiving loan assistance only. At ally be done without sacrificing accessibility all this? the booklet entitled University of Toronto FacHarvard, the figures are 80 per cent and 52 and diversity- the very goals of the law school Well, expect to come out of law school ulty of~ Financia!Ak/2000-2001-Programs, per cent respectively. Harvard also states that as stated in the financial aid mission statethe average loan taken out by a student per rlient? Taking on increased debt is a risk that with a highly respected degree; expect to Policies and Ptocedures. The options are: year is$ 20,000 (US). To help students out, have a world of job opportunities open up in 1) Government Assistance will be felt disproportionately by students.

Harvard spent $6 million (US) on grant asHow can the Faculty of Law continue to ra tse front of you. And of course, expect to end up 2) Scotiabank/Faculty of Law Interest-Free heavily in debt. The average Harvard law stusistance alone last year - a far cry from the tuition higher than $10,000 without affectloans ing equality of opportunity? dent comes out with a law school debt of $ 3) Bursaries $694,373 spent by U ofT- but keep in mind, of course, Harvard's tuition is much higher.

70,000 (US); the average U of T student 4) Emergency loans In addition, a quick look at the facts shows that applied for back-end debt relief last year 5) Scholarships and Prizes We want to hear your responses to these that Harvard's back-end debt relief program ended their law school experience with a debt 6) Scotiabank's Scotia Professional Student questions. E-mail ultra.vires@utoronto.ca (known as the Low Income Protection Plan, of $22,575 (CON) (and that's not including Plan or contact Dina Bogecho (til). Deadline or LIPP) seems to have more restrictions than any debt one may have racked up while in 7) Back-end debt relief tor cootnbutions is November 1, 2000.

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FEATURES

7

Dean Expects Tuition Fees to be ''Significantly H igher''

The Econotnics of Law School In a time of raising tuition fees and government cuts, what is the Faculty of Law doing to help students meet the bill?

17 October 2000

The past few years have been significant for the faculty as it has sought to realize a new funding model based upon decreased government support and increased alumni and student support. Ultra Vires recently had the opportunity to discuss these developments with Dean Ron Daniels. lNTER.VIEW BY }AMES HOFFNER UV: To what extent is the new funding model a response to government cuts in the 1990s and to what extent is it part of a new strategy to maintain and enhance the quality of legal education at the faculty?

RD: I think the truth is it's a bit of both, ... when we developed our five-year plan for the faculty, (thiS goes back to the task force report that was adopted tn 1996), the plan was motivated by the need to deal with the various significant shocks we were experiencing as a result of the 'Common Sense Revolution'. This revolution contemplated a 50 per cent cut to the University's operating grant from the Ontario government, and those grants were approximately 75 per cent of the University's total revenue. That was a very significant shock we sustained at the time. [ However]. I think in large How could we be an mea sure t he shock moti internationally prevated the idea eminent law school ~-=--"that - as a nain a world where tional and pre· our tuition letJCl was em nent law school seeking frozen at $4,000? to rea lly enhance our international stature, not only did we want to mai ntain the level of activity that we had done in the past, but given the quality of the student body, the quality of the faculty, the aspirations of the students, and the changes in the legal profession, we felt we wanted to do much more.

Havmg said that, we of course had to be cautious of the fact that not only was our revenue low and diminishing, but it was diminishing at a very rapid rate as the result of the Common Sense Revolution cuts. How could we be an internationally pre-eminent law school in a world where our tuition level was frozen at $4,000, where our government funding was being reduced rapidly, and where our alumni were providing very modest support for the program?

UV: It has been said that the Faculty's peer group are the top schools in the United States. One of the arguments for this peer group is that ~e lose students and prospec· tive faculty to U.S. schools like Harvard. Is this a fair assessment, and how many stu· dents are we looking at?

RD· Let me give you some context at the outset. We really watch very closely our yield rate, that is our percentage of offers to students that are accepted , and it is important to note that over the last five years, while tuition gone up, so too has our yield rate. It's gone up from about 55 to 56 percent, to about 64 to 66 percent over the last couple of years.

So yield rate has increased, but having said t hat , what we're dotng is watchi ng very closely where students go when they turn us down to go to another law school. This past year, of the students who turned us down (a

diminishing number), 15 went to another Canadtan law school, and only four went to another Ontario law school. 25 turned us down to go to the top five law schools in the United States. I regard that, and have always regarded, thts trend in terms of the kinds of choices students are maki ng as This past)tar, ofthe studmts very impor- who t11med 11s down (a dimintant market iJ"hing number), 15 went to aninformatton otherC.madiaJI lou' J.lml, and for us . So why do I on!J4 wen flo another Ontario think we're law school. 25 turned us thwn a top f ive to go to the top 5 law schools in law school? the United State!.

Why do I take very seriously there's competition from the United States? I do tt in part because of looktng at trends in terms of what's happening at the recruitment end. I do it because of the quality of the student body. Our student body, as measured by their LSAT and GPA stand head-tohead with the top five law schools in the United States, and are better by a wide margi n than any other Canadtan law school.

I do tt on the basis of the qual ity of our faculty, on the quality of their scholar~hi p and teaching, on the ki nds of offers th ey're getting from top international law schools; and I do it on the basis of the quality of the program we're offering.

UV: When tuition fees are set, who sets them and what factors determine the levels?

UV: What is your estimate of tuition fees for the next few years and when do you expect it to reach some kind of equilibrium?

RD: The decision as to the level of tuition that is charged by the University for a given RD: It will be significantly higher than it is program, ts made by ThiJ' i!IJ'Iilution btu not k tn, .md right now. How high, it's prethe University's Govmature to say. We still need to I'm ((}nfidtnt net!N'will be, tht ex- think about wh ere the proerning Council. Govdlln'Ve proem of the a../Jbtml. emtng Council has to gram is going. approve all tuition levUV: Can I nail you down on what a signifi· els, but at the level of second degree professional programs the University has greater cant increase is? $15,000? $20,000? flexibility as to how it sets the tuition level in comparison to the undergraduate degrees that RD: When I look around at other programs within the university presently, Management it c:tfers.

What are the mechanics? In the past, is on the fast track to get within three years the level had been set based upon my recto a tuition level of $25,000. Medicme is ommendation to the province and the provcurrently at $14,000 or $15,000. It is my ince's recommendatton to Govern ng Counsense that in order to keep the program that cil. .. .Going forward, the issue of increases we've got and to provide further enhancein tUition will be much more a matter that ment, that will require more revenue. Do I have a fixed number? No. But I don't think the kind ci increases we've seen in the past- $2,000 a year - are out of the question going forward.

UV: It is fair to say that Canadians believe in equality of opportunity as a political value.

High tuition fees can clearly be a barrier to this equality. How has the faculty responded to this barrier?

RD: At the start of my deanship, well before we'd been i n a period of rising tuition levels, ... 1 [already] felt that our financial aid program was not allocating the funds in the way that was most responsive to student pressures. We spent a fair amount of time with a financ1al aid task force - a student-led task force - that developed a report that was reviewed and ultimately adopted by i aculty counc1\. \\ was a 1abu\ous report \na\ provided a fundamental rethinking to our financial aid program and essentially set-up the financial aid program framework that is in place today. If you look at the report that we furnished to Faculty Council earlier this week, you will see the extent to which that framework has held. [Nevertheless], the framework doesn't do much unless it is accompanied by a significant infusion of new resources.

Again, you see the extent to which [things UV: Does it matter have improved) - five years ago we allocated that we're a Cana· $100,000 [to financial aid); today we're aldian school, not a locating well over $1 million.

U.S. school?

In the financial aid report there were some very interesting statistics in terms of the conRD: Absolutely it centrated level of funding that some students matters that are receiving. I take it as a great source of U ofT Faculty of Law: How much does excellence cost? we're a Canadian pride that there are 16 students who are school , and I think going through t he law school tuition free. it animates all parts of our program. But as the emanates from the dean and from the prov29 per cent of the students who are receivince. Here, I have several different princitop Canadian law school that aspires to high ing financial aid wi ll be paying 40 per cent or ples that I will use in making my recomstandards of international excellence, you have less of the prescribed tuition level, evi dence mendations to the province. to be responstve to what your international peer of the htghly progressive nature of our fi nangroup is doing. We have to take seriously what First, I regard tuition as the last resort cial aid program. We're i n a position now top American law schools are doing; but I [also] ... [l ]'d want to look to government, to that we can provide far greater levels of astake very seriously what the University of Melalumni, and to foundations for supsistance to Do I hat-e afi:ad n11mber? No. B11t I those who bourne ts doing; I take very seriously what Oxport before [I) actually went to stuford is doing; I take very seriously what Camdents. Second, we bear as an instiare truly in don~ think the kind of inmases weitt tution the burden of justification to bridge is doing. I think it is about thinking about teen in the past • 12000 a) 'tar - arr f i nanci al our choices in an international frame, or our our students ...If you're going to raise need . orif of the qliestion gui11g joru•ard. competition in an international frame, because tuition levels to students, they have That's JUSt to see the benefit of those increased increasingly, that's exactly the way our students in part a levels in the form of concrete product of our fundraising, but in part it is are thinkt1Jam mort than prept:rrd tq talk to rt11dents, programmatic improvement. also a product of the fact that there is a i ng about t h e i r Jam/{;\ and sldktholdtr.r generaljy aho11t the caJe Third, in thi nki ng about tui- significant level of cost subsidy going on within choices for the tuition increaJe and listm to argumenll tion, is the issue of fi nancial the student body. [Our financial aid] program aid and accessibility. This ini n terms has been studied by other universities in the both for and a,gainst that imnase. stitution has not been, and I'm country, indeed it has been studied by our of where confident never will be, the exdusive preserve they go to law school. They're looking for a university as a template for how you would of the affluent ... Fourth, consultation. I ... am really high quality education that meets their think about financial aid generally. It's been more than prepared to talk to students, faculty, aspirations and talents and so we have to be something that we have felt has been absoand stakeholders generally about the case there with a program that is responsive to their lutely indispensable for the case we make for for the tuition increase and listen to arguments expectations. risi ng tuition levels. One can't have one withbdh for and against that increase. out the other.

' Ultra Vires

EDITORIAL

8

Editorial

Letter to the Editor

Are we a Discount Harvard?

I write with reference to the article on faculty salary increases in the September issue of Ultra Vires. I'm pleased to see your newspaper taking an interest in this. However, I must take 1ssue with some of your facts. The article clearly implies that two faculty members have left the U of T for higher salaries in the United States, and that three others are "on leave visiting U.S. schools and considering offers". The combined effect is to suggest a crisis with five faculty members leaving or about to leave for higher American salaries. It is true that two faculty members have left and one to the United States. One of them did so, for a high~r salary, eight or nine years ago, which says nothing about any current crisis, and the other did so, more recently, because of disagreements over faculty policies. Of the three on leave, one of them went on leave a couple of years ago when her spouse took a position in the New York office of his law firm. She has not, to

Increasingly, U of T law students are being told that they ought to expect higher tuition fees because the school's mam competition - or, to use more collegial language, our "peer group" - really consists of the top-five U.S. law schools, including places such as Harvard and Yale.

At one point, higher tuition fees, along with increased alumni support, were deemed necessary as a consequence of drastic government cuts in funding. But it would seem that our new funding strategy is not geared simply at compensating for the cuts or at augmenting our standing as an upper tier Canadian law school. Rather, the point is to play in the big leagues down south. The justifications that are currently on offer for this move are questionable on a number of levels.

Most promi nently, there is the argument that law students themselves are increasingly going "international" and that th1s requires U ofT law degrees to be more readily transferable and marketable. The suggestion is that we must incur the enormous expenses involved in getting U of T up to top-five snuff. This is to keep more of those prospective students who otherwise turn us down to go, mainly, to Harvard and, more important, in order to make it easier for all graduates to secure positions in U.S. firms. One can immediately see why we may be drawn to do this: By going south, U of T graduates could end up earning double or triple the salaries of their counterparts in Toronto, while having only a fraction of the debt level of their American colleagues (even if our tuition fees tripled). U ofT could become a kind of bargain-basement Harvard.

But we must ask, just how many U ofT graduates are we looking to send south? A quarter?

A third? One half? And then, is it fair to impose higher tuition fees on all of us just to increase the chances that some of us will be able to reap the considerable benefits of a U.S. practice?

That's in addition to more obviously important questions such as: Why, if so many of us are heading south with newly minted J.O.s, should we bother studying thmgs such as the Charter or federalism? Indeed, once we take such steps, why should it continue to matter that we happen to be located in a Canadian jurisdiction at all or that, given th1s, we are supposed to meet the distinctive needs of the Canadian legal community? And why should Canadtan law firms and alumni continue to support U ofT, just to see top students go for U.S. salaries that they can't hope to match? (As any student who participated in on-campus interviews will testify, Toronto law firms are already resentful about this.) Ultimately, it's difficult to see how

BY JosEPH A. G. B ERKOVITS a substantial emphasis on meeting the requirements and standards of the U.S. market wouldn't result in a correlative underemphasis on the uniquely Canadian aspects of our legal education.

If we are now going to compete directly with top U.S. law schools in order to meet student After being a student for so long, I suppose 1t demands for "international" career opportunities, we shouldn't have any illusions about the was bound to happen. The scary part about underlying reasons for doing so. For one, there is ample reason to believe that "international" it was how it happened so unexpectedly. In really means "New York" or "Boston," as that's where the high salaries and amenable state August I was still in the graduate program, bar admission rules are. The fact is that the law remains a fairly sedentary profession; you're about the same age as everyone else, and by ) norma\\':f 'oouno \o practice, a\ lea'!.\ ini\ial\y, in \he jun'i>dic\ion where you studied, and if you September my classmates were apparently a want to practice abroad, you're better off studying there. Conversely, studying in Canada group of people from a whole different generaentails a desire to practice here. The concerted effort to situate U of T in the upper echelons tion. I was still a student, but I sure felt like an old of U.S. legal academia can only be driven by a desire to circumvent jurisdictional constraints student. Was it possible, I asked myself glumly, to on career mobility and to place greater numbers of U of T graduates in the comparatively become a mature student without leaving school? more lucrative U.S. market; i.e., to market-hop.

Never mind, I reassured myself, being a There is, however, the rather different argument that we should emulate top U.S. law mature student means that you are more exschools not simply because more and more students are keen to practice there, but also in perienced . Then I started listening to some order to improve our stature generally. The emphasis might not be on meeting U.S. market of the twenty-somethings talk: "I just came needs in particular but on maintaining our Canadian identity while adopting a model of excel- back from Kenya, where I spent a year helplence that would help us accede to a higher reputational standing, for example in the Com- ing save the elephants. I didn't mind the conmon Law world. This is an obviously laudable goal, but achieving it would be costly. Compet- ditions; it wasn't much worse than the year I ing in those terms would require us to increase faculty salaries and staffing levels, to improve spent in Haiti working on a new AI DS vacfacilities, to launch additional law reviews (Harvard has at least ten) and so on. The accom- cine." OK, so I wasn't more experienced. panymg increases in tuition fees would inevitably render the studying at U of T an exclusive But certainly I was smarter. Then I heard a affair. We still have to ask whether it's really worthwhile transforming U ofT law degrees into group of not- yet- ready- to- shave classmates luxury items of th1s rank. If being "excellent" means paying $30,000+ in tuition fees, then talking about the easy money they had earned perhaps there is a point beyond which greater "excellence" can only be achieved through the teaching one of the many LSAT preparation sacrifice of accessibility. courses that I had paid big bucks to take.

Either way, we have to be clear about what it is that should animate our efforts. While the All right, I wasn't smarter. But don't they say concern With excellence, properly qualified, is inherently credible, the desire to accommodate that the older you get, the more at ease you the U.S. legal market, and the drive to make U ofT a conveyor belt running into it, are less are with yourself? That observation died an so. There is much to be said for the view that a Canadian law degree carries great independ- early death as I watched several budding ent value, i.e., mespect1ve of whether it can be converted into cold U S. cash. We shouldn't presidential candidates whizzing around the be looking to bolster its convertibility over and against its independent worth. halls introducing themselves to everyone, with a smile and a joke for all. Then I overheard As we are at a crucial juncture with respect to decisions about the future of the law school, people cheerfully indicating how law firms this entire issue is in need of further debate. Ultra Vires invites a// students, student would interview prospective employees at groups, faculty, staff and members of the community to contribute their views by submit- parttes and then get together afterward and

my knowledge, taken a position elsewhere, and remains on leave. The other two, one of whom came to U of T from an Amencan school, do have VISiting pos1tions at U.S. schools. In short, the current situation as far as the law school losing faculty members to the United States because of the higher salaries there is that we may lose two people.

That would be unfortunate, but higher salaries in the United States have not, and are not, causing a crisis.

The debate over whether law school faculty should be paid very substantially more than other faculty in the University is a difficult one with smcerely and strongly held positions on both sides. It would be a better debate if we ensure that we get our facts right. The article presents them in a way that exaggerates the problem.

Jim Phillips Professor, U ofT Faculty of Law

How I Catne to Be a 'Mature' Student

ting letters or article suggestions to the Editor. E-mail ultra.vires@utoronto.ca.

Editor·an.Cnief Melissa Kluger

ULTRA VIRES is lhe sludent newspaper of the Faculty of Law atlhe University of Toronlo Our goal ls lo provide a forum In whiCh students can 8lcchange their idP.as. We hope to lOsier a sense of communaty Within the Faculty of Law, the University as a whole, and the greater Toronlo area. Our ~lon is to n'Crease student awareness of legal and SOCial ISSues and. 1n tum, 10 encourage our peers to conlrlbute 10 tho many commut1ltaes of which we are a part.

Business Manager Eileen Costeno

News Editor Jal!llls Hoffner

Edrtotlal Page Editor Atlala Ataner

Diversions Editors Noah Ginerman

legal Issues Editor

ClubS & Cfinics Editor

Dan MurdOch

Jen l<humna

Features Editor Dana Bogecho

Production & Design Antonia Yee

Advertising Manager Dan Murdoch

Copy Edi!Of Samer Muscati

On-line Ed~or Andres Pelenur

PhOtography Melissa Kluger

compare notes about their social skills. Well, I could always go into teaching....

Fine, I concluded, I wasn't smarter, wittier or more experienced than anyone here. But maybe I could try to blend in. Wrong again!

During the bus ride to an orientation event, one of the upper- year co-ordinators decided to play a game. If you could be one of the Back Street Boys, which one would you be and why? "Back Street Boys?" I asked myself, "Are they like the New Kids on the Block?" Very well, I decided, I couldn't blend in, so when 1t came to my turn, I tried to hide under the seat. But that didn't work either. Fortunately, somebody graciously answered on my behalf. I was apparently most like the Back Street Bay who was getting married.

1 am ashamed to admit that I started to feel panicky, particularly during the orientation boat cruise. It was during this event that my Fa1ry Godmother miraculously appeared (she's posing as a blond-haired student in Section I) and I poured my heart out to her.

"Somebody mistook me for a professor!," I blubbered. "Everyone here is so energetic and entertaming! I'm tired and I want to go home to bed." "Relax!" she instructed me with a kindly smile. "First of all, you are not quite as old as you feel right this minute. And you may not realize it, but everybody here is just as anxious as you are. You're the more quiet type and I happen to like quiet people. They are so dependable, plus they don't suck up all the oxygen in the room. If I can give you one piece of advise it is to just be yourself!"

So that's exactly what I decided to do. And I guess that's when I truly became a "mature" student.

Ultra VIres is an editOttallyautonomous newspaper. Ultra VIres 1s open to contribUtions whicl1 reflect diverse points of view, and its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law, the Students' Law Society (SLS) or the editorial board. The editors welcome contributions from stu· dents, faculty and other interested per· sons, but reserve the right to ed•t submissions for lenglh and content.

Communications Centre Falconer Hall 84 Queen's Part< Crescent Toronto, Ontario M5S2C5 ultra. vlresCutoronto.ca www.faw.utoronto.ca/ultrawes Advertising InqUiries should be sent to Dan Murdoch at danmurdoch@utoronto.ca.

Ultra Vires Is published monthly, and is printed by Wefter Publishing in Toronto Circulation 2.000.

The noxt Issue IS November 21,

• 2000.

LEGAL ISSUES

17 October 2000

9

The Legal Legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Reflections from the Supreme Court Symposium B Y KATIE SYKES

The death of Pierre Trudeau was announced on the first day of the Supreme Court of Canada's 125th anniversary symposium in Ottawa. Most of the delegates heard the news in the two-hour break after the presentations and before dinner. A moment of silence was observed before dinner began a small way of remembering the man who orchestrated the patriation of the Constitution and the adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, thus setting the stage for the emergence of the modern, Charter-era Court.

After that brief remembrance, the business of the symposium continued. The Judges and chief justices who had come to the symposium from around the world got up in turn and spoke of the role our court, particularly through its Charter jurisprudence, plays in inspiring and guiding them as they interpret their own basic laws.

In a profound sense those speeches were much more of a tribute to Trudeau than the moment of silence. They are a tribute not to him as an individual, but rather to the ideals for which he stood : the age-old striving toward justice of which his life formed one brilliant part.

1 arrived in Canada too late for the Trudeau years. I got to know him second-hand. Although I was removed from the epicentre of his extraordinary impact, I too was shaped by htm. As a Canadian by transplantat ion, I

Trudeau on the Role of the Court

trying to perfect it because it is constantly have him to thank in large part for the richvulnerable to the dangers of reaction, ignoness, the complex nutritional balance, of my rance and complacency. As his son said, now new soil. He was an embodiment of the conit is up to us. He meant us, here, too. tradictions of this country, as lovely and tentative as an idea, and standing in stark oppoIn 1991, Pierre Trudeau accepted an honKatie Sykes was one of two student represition to the thin, banal, beer-commercial verorary Doctor of Laws from U of T, and spoke sentatives from U of T at the SCC Symposion of our identity. He led a hesitant nation to the graduatmg class here at the Faculty sium. that was a grand experiment in Improbable of Law. The occasion of the speech was co-existence: a mixture of colonial hierarchy also the opening of the Bora Laskin Liand pioneer egalitarianism, of metropolis and brary, and Trudeau broke his "self-imwilderness; at once sophisticated and naive, posed rule" never to give convocation ironic and Ingenuous, cosmopolitan and paspeeches as a tribute to the late Chief rochial , self-deprecating and proud. He conJustice. In a preamble to his talk on the stantly reminded people that its survival could Patriation Reference of 1981, in which not be taken for granted. He tirelessly insisted he praised the Laskin dissent and chalthat it must surv1ve. lenged the conventional wisdom that Most important, though, I and all of us who Quebec was victimized by the constituhave chosen a life i n the law have a particutional process leading up to patriation, larly significant connection to him because of Mr. Trudeau made the following comthe way he shaped our legal culture. I do not ments on the role of our highest court. know of a leader in our time who stood more emphatically for the liberty of the individual "In constitutional societies, the rule of and for the rule of law - or who experienced law - to borrow Dicey's well-known exmore dramatically the conflict between those pression - applies to the state as well as two foundational principles of a just society. to the individual ; and courts of last reCertainly he never shrank from conflict, and sort, when called upon to interpret the part of his indelible imprint on the political constitution, must determine the rights and legal culture of this country is continuing and obligations that governments and conflict. In his life, conflict was the price of people possess in relation to each other. action and of conviction. The reward was a In that sense they become part of the legal system as vibrant and as robust as any process of empowenng people and instiin the world. We have an exemplary, although tutions, that is to say they become part of course not ideal, record of honouring huof the process of politics. man dignity, of protectmg liberty, and of reThus our Supreme Court, when it acts solving conflicts peacefully. in constitutional matters, is of necessity This is a tradition to be proud of, and one -=:::;:=-- - -- - - - -- - - - - - that all of us in the legal community have a The law school community paid tribute to the memory participating in the governance of Canada.

This is not a new development, someduty to cherish and to preserve. As Trudeau ofTrudeau by leaving flowers and notes below his how made necessary by the adoption of said himself, we can never perfect it, because portrait in the library. The portrait was painted by the Charter of Rights, and which - as we are mortal and imperfect. As we should Duncan MacPherson and recently donated to U ofT rome critics have wron&l~ a\\ei,ed -would not need anyone to tell us, we must keep bvrriend~andco\\e:>.guesofthc\:>.tePrimeM\nistet. tend to "americanize" us. The Supreme

Hoffmann v. SAA: Hutnan Rights and HIV in South Mrica Court finds job discrimination on basis of virus unconstitutional B Y T IM W ILBUR

A recent decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Hoffmann v. South African Airways, released Sept. 28, signals an important advance for the human rights of individuals with HIV in South Africa. It is also an important advance in the fight against the spread of AIDS. South African Airways (SAA) refused to hire Hoffmann as a cabm attendant solely because of h1s HlV-positlve status. The Court ruled that SAA should instate the appellant as a cabin attendant on the grounds that the airline's refusal to employ an mdividual with HIV amounts to unfair discrimination contrary to s. 9 of the South African Constitution.

Hoffmann overturns the decision of a lower court that found that in favour of SAA. I was working with the AIDS Law Project m South Africa - an intervenor in Hoffmann - when the lower court dec1sion came down, and wrote an article that appeared in the Human Rights Tribune detailing the flaws and dangers mherent m that judgment. I now wish to revisit those arguments, pointing out the

potential progress in the fight aga1nst HIVI AIDS that the latest Hoffmann decision brings.

Hoffmann argued that SAA infringed upon his constitutional right to equality, human d1gnity and fair labour pract1ces. SAA countered this cla1m by arguing that its d1scrim1nat1on was justified on safety, medical and operational grounds. Evidence forwarded by Hoffmann, and even experts brought forward by the airline, clearly contradicted SAA's claim that hiring an HIV-positive person is unsafe before that infection has progressed to the Immunosuppression (AIDS) stage. This left SAA arguing that the discrimmation was justified on commercial grounds because of public attitudes toward HIV, and the fact that other airlines do not hire HIV-positive cabin attenda~~

.

The lower court judge stated that "[SAA's] competitors apply a similar employment policy which does not permit employment of HIV infected persons as flight-deck crew. [SAA] would be seriously disadvantaged as agamst 1ts competitors if it were obliged to employ HIV mfected individuals as flight-deck crew members." In other words, hiring individuals with HIV would hamper economic competition and development.

In response to this statement, Justice Ngcobo of the Constitutional Court said "legitimate commercial requirements are, of course, an Important consideration in determining whether to employ an individual. However, we must guard against allowing stereotyping and prejudice to creep in under the guise of commercial interests."

Apart from highlighting the prejudicial behaviour faced by individuals with HIV in South African society, the statement of the lower court judge reflects a misunderstanding of the economics of the HIV ep1demic.

Experts estimate that almost 20 per cent of the adult population in South Africa are HIV pos1t1ve. While the spread of AIDS is slowing in industrialized countries, the rate of HIV infection is rising at an alarming rate in South Africa. In fact, it has the highest rate of in· fection in the world. Thus, even 1f SAA were to test applicants for HIV, it 1s still not possible for South African Airways' staff to be totally free of HIV. With such a high rate of mfection, if SAA did want to exclude all HIVposltlve mdividuals, the airline would have to test all employees at least every three months.

Obviously, such a policy would be neither economically nor morally acceptable.

The lower court judge's statement also fails to recognize how prohibiting discrimination can help decrease the infection rate of HIV, and help further the goals of economic development.

Discrimination against people with HIV causes a culture of secrecy, where the fight against AIDS is made much more difficult.

To exclude people with HIV from employment is to push these individuals further to the margins of society, where they are unable to pay for proper medical care and are discouraged from disclosing their HIV status to others.

Under SAA's policy, individuals who work for the airline would not want to be tested

Court of Canada, and before it the Judicial Committee of the Pnvy Council, have been engaged in law-making or in adjudicating power for Canada, its people and its provinces since the first constitutional decision rendered after the adopt1on of the BNA Act." The full text of Trudeau's speech can be found in the library at KF 4483 A4 T76 1991

because of the risk of losing their jobs. Therefore, they would not be properly managing the disease to help increase their life expectancy. Also, a person who is aware of his or her HlV status is much less likely to infect others.

The goals of public health, human rights and economic growth are all better served in a culture of non-discrimination. Individuals with HIV who can afford the proper medication generally live at least 10 years after the onset of AIDS, and often much longer. ln societies in wh1ch individuals who are HIV positive face less discrimination, people are much more likely to be tested for HIV and to disclose their status to others, including the company for wh1ch they work. This makes 1t possible to better manage the disease.

The Constitutional Court decision in Hoffmann not only helps to protect the rights of individuals with HIV, it will also help South Africa to lower the infection rate by promoting openness and acceptance. Discrimination against those with HIVIAIDS will not end with one progressive Court dec1sion. But the prohibition of discrimination by public organizations is a positive step. And to rebut the argument of the lower court, th1s will make better economic sense for everyone.

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The full text of Hoffmann v. SAA i s at www. concourt.gov. za/summaries/2000/ saasum.htrnl

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10

Ultra Vires

DIVERSIONS

Ultitnate: Law loses Soul

Overheard at the Second-Year On-Cam.pus Interviews ...

Unpredictable glitches chronicled for posterity BYADRIAN DI G IOVANNI AND ANNE GRAHAM It has been said that 'to err is human'. For two days, on Oct. 5 and 6, many of the second-year law students descended on the Toronto Metro Convention Centre for a series of 20-minute on-campus interviews with some of Bay Street's top law firms for summer jobs.

As always, Ultra Vires was on-hand to get the inside story. In general, the two days went fairly smoothly. For many students, however, the experience was not without the inevitable, yet ever-unpredictable, glitch. Our dedicated· reporters were able ·to chronicle for posterity - perhaps as a cautionary tale some of the more bizarre and sometimes traumatic moments. Here for your reading pleasure is a less serious look at the first ever second-year OCI's.

Where Am I Going, Where Have I Been?

-- "I walked into the wrong ntervtew booth, and looked confused for a moment. Then I heard a reassuring voice call my name from behind the next curtain." ·- "I mistakenly thought my interview was the next day. Bonnie and Cory came running out mto the lobby yelling my name ..• I was seven minutes late and spent the next thirteen minutes apologizing."

'

You Want to Talk About What?

-- "My interviewer asked me, 'You seem to have gotten good marks all the way through school, but what happened with the Biology of Sex?"'

BY MARcus SHANrz Interviewers from Mars?

-- "One interview was like talking to ash ... someone had smoked the interviewers and all I was lookmg at was the residue."

-- "My interviewer used the word 'throbbing egg-head."'

So Did I Get the Job? -- "Half-way through an interview, I realized that the interviewer was not entirely Questions? interested in what I was saying, so I asked •• "I asked the interviewer a question and he said 'I don't think I quite understand that him, 'You're not going to hire me are you?'

To which the mterviewer responded, 'No.' questton', to which I replied, 'I don't think I 'Okay,' I replied, 'I've got a hockey game to understand that question either.' Then we talked about baseball." go to."'

-- "My interviewers told me halfway through the interview, 'If you don't get a summer Comments & Suggestions position, it's not the end of the world."'

"I went through 15 interviews before I "We were talking about the interview got any good free stuff." process and the interviewer told me that the "I told the interviewer that I found the whole thing was a waste of time. I replied, OCI process alienating. She replied, 'That's 'Well I'm an alternate so what are the too bad ... I wrote the proposal.'" chances of me getting a second interview.'

'Alternates?' the interviewer answered back, And the Moral of the Story is •.• 'I didn't know we had alternates' ... the rest -- "If you put karaoke on your resume, be of the interview was quite uncomfortable." prepared to sing."

UV wants you ... to be our photographer.

Enthusiasm more important than experience.

E-mail ultra.vires@utoronto.ca or contact Melissa Kluger (III) by November 1, 2000.

A long-simmering dispute has divided Law's championship team into two hostile camps.

"Law" remains under the firm grip of its GM •.

Nick "Godfather" Adamson. "New Law", t he breakaway team, describes itself as a "progressive, consensus-based, free association" of players who are fed up with Adamson's increasingly business-oriented approach.

Judging from early-season play, the two teams are evenly matched on the field and will likely face each other during the November playoffs. But this writer believes that "Law" has already lost the more important battle for the hearts and minds of Ultimate fans.

One source of tension was Adamson's decision to adopt a zone defence. Fans of last year's championship team fondly remember the exciting, give-and-go game that resulted in heart-stopping, come from behind victories. This year's game, although efficient, produces a much slower, soulless brand of play.

A second problem is Adamson's willingness to bench veteran players in favour of newer, first-year stars. Crowd pleasers like "Domi" Grazer and "Chewbacca" Shantz have been ruthlessly sidelined in recent games. More generally, many fans are outraged by Law's attempt to boost its popularity through cyni· cal publicity stunts.

Adamson, who arrived at a recent press conference riding a personal watercraft, shrugs off critics. In a typically terse defence of recent decisions, he said, "We'll see about getting Domi on the field, but Shantz is old and tired.

We have a championship to defend, after all."

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Law

A Meditation on Stall #3

BY D AN M URDOCH The Dtversions section, on the rare occasion directs its attention to the more sophisticated arts, generally travels off-campus to nearby museums, galleries and concert halls. However, I feel it is appropriate to devote some attention to what is clearly the cultural centre of The Faculty of Law - Stall Three of the Men's washroom near the lockers tn Flavelle.

Why Stall Three? Stall Four is hindered by its grand size, and the distance from the commode to the wall. Stall One suffers from a lack of audience, being the first stall. And the development of a Stall Two community of artists has been stunted by a defecttve locking mechanism.

So it was Stall Three which rose above the others- where the outcasts write of their woes, the activists scribble their protests, the poets jot their verses and the artists sketch their nudes.

For those who have not had the occasion to visit Stall Three (women come to mind as such a class), I will detail some of the genius revealed on its walls. Most significant is the open discussion on the East Wall, which I think of as the written version of a Paris Cafe in the 1840s. It begins with the satiric literary reference - "Kill all the Lawyers," but

Stall Three is where the outcasts w rite of their woes, the activists scribble their protests, the poets jot th eir verses attd the artists sketch their nudes. quickly descends mto a plea for censorship"Kill Quoters"- as so often occurs when the establishment feels threatened. The next addition, "Kill Killers", may offend the Central Canadian audience with its capital punishment message, but strikes this critic as a technical marvel through its variation upon the set theme. The latest contribution is a brilliant stream-of-conscious meditation upon censorship in which the reader follows the artist on a path of self dtscovery - "Kill all writers on bathroom walls - oh wait, scratch that.'' The manner in which the writer explores the idea of censorship, and rea lizes that such a knee-jerk reaction will hurt only himself must surely resonate with us all.

The West Wall, to the new visitor, may appear undistinguished. However, if one looks closely, they will notice the remains of the "Rate your Dump" chart. Here, in the tradition of all great art, laypersons have been granted the opportunity to explore the beauty and complexity of a subject that society has deemed taboo. The interactivity of this work is fascinating, and I would like to use this occasion to request funds from the SLS to support the restoration of the fading "Rate your Dump" chart.

In the past few months, visual artists have joined the Stall Three community. The female nudes on both the East and West walls are, I fear, undistinguished. They are at best aesthettc, and at worst pornographic. But t he male nude on the inside door is captivating.

A simple, inexact, barely perceptible outline of a man's body contains an intensely detailed sketch of the ma le genitalia. The captive defecator is confronted with the question: Is there anythtng more to man than his sexual and hedonistic nature?

But whi le this work screams out the "No" answer, it is contradicted by the artistic and political genius that surrounds it.

11

DIVERSIONS

17 October 2000

Hart House vs. the Athletic Centre Both facilities have much to offer us. Let's start off with the obvious - Hart House is across the street whereas the AC is at least three blocks away (which is damn far in FebMany of us are faced with the fear that as ruary!) Both facilities offer a variety of classes we spend hours pouring over cases, or pourin dance, yoga, pilates, tennis, squash etc. ing cases of beer into ourselves, our postenOf course you have to pay extra for these ors will expand at faster rate then our tuition sessions, but I understand that the belly dancfees. Here at University of Toronto we pay ing classes at the AC are well worth it (Hart out of our posteriors to support two athletic House no longer offers this class after Profesfacilities to get fit and fabulous. The question sor Roach tore his lateral obli que in last year's cl ass performa nee).

Both buildings have de· cent equ ip· ment. Last year t he AC opened a new weight room on t he main floor. Keeping in step, Hart In addition to blow dryers, full-length mirrors and automatic flushing toilets, House brought the Athletic Centre provides its members with free towel service. in new weight lifting machines upstairs. The change rooms at the plaguing most of us as we lay down to sleep AC are very impressive with blow dryers, fullat night is, "Should I work out at Hart House length mirrors and automatic flushing toilets! or the Athletic Centre (a.k.a. the AC)?"

One important thing to remember is that at

BY JULIE MACLEAN

Hart House locks are provided but you have to buy tONe! service, while at the AC to.vels are provided but you have to bring your own lock.

One of the biggest distinctions between the two facilities is the "athletic culture". Some say the most important part of your decision will be your "fit" with the gym. The AC can best be described as "hard core," while Hart House has the reputation of being "laid back and quirky." At the AC one will find a litany of hard bodies and super athletes. Personally I find this atmosphere inspiring as I strive to take my fitness to the next level (not to mentton all that eye candy). Hart House, on the other hand, is a place where young and old gather after work to run a couple of laps, chat by the water cooler, and pump a little i ron . Many of our esteemed faculty members frequent Hart House. There you can discuss your thoughts on the "it all depends" theory of contracts with Professor Langille while warming up in step class or while lathering up in the shower.

In the end the proof is in the pudding. Money talks and time is money. Hart House is closer and it's free in the summer. Most of us who have any time left in between OCis, mooting, class, DLS, receptions, esteemed .speakers, checktng e-mail, intramurals, etc. can only squeeze in a couple of hours a week at the nearest treadmill. As such, Hart House gets most of our support.

Advice from. a Mashed Potato Gourm.et BY ] UUANA SAXBERG I eat sushi. I live in Toronto, so I eat Thai. I

Now I know there are those of you who want to indulge your inner white trash princess but want to look classy when you 1:1o it.

am going to be a lawyer, so I eat oysters. But when I am longmg for home, when the first

For lunch, a side o~ mashed at Go\dtish ~372 Bloor West) arrives in a moulded dome

Canoe (66 Wellington Street W., top of the TD tower). There you will find, apologies to Grandma Audrey, the very best mashed I have ever eaten. So smooth , so buttery, so dell· cately seasoned, you might want to practice having quiet mouth orgasms at home so that you don't jeopardize your professional development. You'll be drooling over the memory for weeks.

adorned with a sprig of herb; ask for butter autumn chill blows in the air and it starts to though because these taters are on the thin get time to worry about all the reading I have rather than the rich side. On a date, suggest left for 'later,' nothing comforts except some the Courthouse (57 Adelaide Street) - it's real ethnic food. Now, I am from Thunder less pncey than the Rosewater (nice, if it's a Bay, and I grew up on beans-and-wieners, first date), located tn the formerly glorious canned meats and bleached flour. When I call Royal ·York Hotel myself "white trash" it is a point of pnde, So smooth, so buttery, so delicately (haute dining with all much in the spirit of seasoned, yol4 m ight want to prac- the trimmings) and 1t is the site of the last "queer" to the gay comtice having quiet m outh orgasms. public execution per· munity- no apologies. formed in Canada (an My three favourite foods Interesting starter of conversation, particularly are mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese if he is non-law). Best of all , the basil goat casserole, and roasted chicken. Since "white cheese mashed is served as a side to your trash" hasn't caught on in the same way as choice from the grill but is big enough to say, fusion or Ethtopian, you have to do some make a dinner. At $3.95 you can afford to research if you don't want that homesick leave what you couldn't finish, but I chal· hunger to be disappointed. I have eaten lenge you to leave even a mouthful . And if it's mashed potatoes at some of the finest resMashed potato connoisseurs beware: on the firm, direct the cabbie st~aight to taurants in the downtown core, as well as Swiss Chalet's come from a box some of the more "authentic" white trash venues, and I can tell where to go, and where to skip.

Nothing enrages me like instant, so I will Come to the Movies with McCarthy Tetrault start with a precaution. The mashed at Swiss Chalet (232 Bloor West) come out of a box, First year law students arc invited to a screening of and they are usually cold. If you are at school and you just need a fix, go straight to FuThe Contender tures Bakery (483 Bloor Street West). For at the Varsity Theatre, Manuhfc Centre, $2.50, you get a steaming plate of lumpy mashed smothered with vegetarian mushon Thur~day, October 26, 2000, room gravy and a couple of pieces of bread. I and you are welcome to join us after the movie for refreshments. have heard you can even get green gravy on St. Patrick's Day .. . My favourite mashed fix, however, comes from the Bedford Academy (36 Prince Arthur). Here's a secret for my white trash Iovin' sisters. Order the Steak Frites, but ask for mashed instead of the fries.

For nine bucks, you get a ntce thin steak and a generous serving of real mashed potatoes, mixed with pretty parsley and mild garlic, to sop up th e j uices. Oh yeah. A pint of Strongbow and you'll be one of my kind.

Space is limited -

the first 50 replies are welcome.

Watch your mail sloes for our flyer, and then ~SVP quickly to confirm your attendance.

McCarthy Tetrault www.mccarthy.ca

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12

Ultra Vires

DIVERSIONS

Ultra News: Not-So-Real News From. Around the Law School U ofT law is shortest

BY NOAH GITIERMAN The law school was recently ranked # 1 by Maclean's as having the shortest faculty, on average, in ~nada.

"Th1s IS a tremendous achievement," a press release sent out by the administration stated.

"We can now compete with some of the shortest faculties from the U.S. and around the world" It is not clear exactly when the school made the commitment to hire only shorter profes· sors, or why. While there are a number of professors who have been teaching for years and who m1ght be considered tall, such as Professor Jamsch, a recent fundraising campaign has a:lowed the school to drastically Increase the number of short professors. Some of our shorter professors mclude Professors Benson, Ripstein, Roach, Schneiderman, Morgan, Davis, A and l. Weinrib, Shaffer, and Iacobucci.

Many students have only recently realized now short their professors really are. "last year, I was Just sitting in class, and I suddenly had a small epiphany and realized, 'Wow, everyone teachmg me is short,"' said secondyear student Frank. "I then pointed it out to my fnends, who were all quite intrigued."

Since many of the taller professors are approaching retirement, the administration feels that the school's position will almost certainly Improve.

"We will continue to pursue our goal of hlflng lots of new, short professors/ the press release said "Being # 1 m Canada IS a tremendous boost to our reputation among short 'academiCS internationally."

Academic orientation goes back to basics

Dean Ron D to nm}enny Crnig BY }ACOB GLICK Following in the footsteps of celebrities Monica Lew1nsky and Sarah Ferguson, Dean D has signed on to be Jenny Craig's new spokesmodel. Under the arrangement Dean Ron 0, renowned for his 28-inch waist and gnlfsh figure, will be g~ven a significant amount of control over the company.

His first move will be to triple the cost of losing weight. Those who follow the Dean's

orders successfully, complete the program and lose we1ght w1ll be offered high-paying jobs.

Those who remam fat will get nothing ex· cept a sw1ft k1ck in the teeth and the ridicule of their peers.

Although potential dieters are skeptical of this new hyper-competitive model for weight reduction, Dean Ron D assures all that his method has worked wonders in the United States.

Pigeon stands its ground, humiliates student

BY NOAH GITTERMAN A pigeon stood its ground outside of the law school last week, the latest in a wave of in· c1dents involving pigeons who simply refuse to move out of the way.

Penny (II) was walking in front of the Royal Ontario Museum on her way to class when she came across a bold and stubborn pigeon bobbing its head in her path. As she got closer, the pigeon did not move aside, as most humans rightly expect pigeons to do. Penny was forced to walk around the pJgeon. "It was humiliating," she said.

An expert on urban pigeon behaviour, reached at her home in Washington, D.C., warned law students not to take such assertive behaviour too lightly. "The disrespect

shown to pedestrians, and, Indeed, to the whole natural order of things, is disturbing."

Even more disturbing are recent sightings of pigeons consorting with squirrels in the alley behind the Children's Own Museum. The squirrels have also been showing strange, aggressive tendencies as of late.

"It is possible the pigeons are in league with the squirrels," our expert said. law students are warned to remain vigilant, and to report any suspicious behaviour to the U of T grounds department.

BY }ACOB GLICK First-year students are giving high marl<s to the academic orientation design~ to bring them up to speed with the stuff they need to know to excel in law school. Students from a variety of academic backgroonds praised the clarity and simplicity of the sessions, which have included: lntroouction to the Legal Process, How a Bill Becomes a Law and Conjunction Junction.

During last week's session, Professor David Schneiderman read to the first-year class from E. B. White's timeless class1c Charlotte 's Web . Many students were saddened by the ending but encouraged by Schneiderman's car· ing hugs for all who were melancholy.

The academic orientation concluded w1th a pep talk from Dean Daniels who reminded students that they were the best of the best, the excellentest of the excellent. Dean Ron D then closed the session by reading a selection from Yurt/e the Turtle while students sat on mats and ate paste.

Pigeons on patrol

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