THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY O F LAW
u tra vires ~ 5TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
VOLUME 5 ISSU E 6
_
MARCH 23 , 2004
WWW. ULTRAVIRES. CA
Enterprise.Legal Services shut down by Faculty "Shocked" directors decry lack of student consultation BY SIMREN DESAI 1\fter auditing the operations of Enterprise Legal Senices (EU.,), the Facultv of L!w announcc:J 111 early :\larch that th~ studentrun business law clinic for low-income entrepreneurs will close. Opened in 1994 by U of T law students, with review counsel supplied by BLtkc Cassels & Graydon LLP, the clinic's mand<ttc prevented it from ever beconung constituted under Legal Aid Ontano as a legal aid clinic, unlike the other climes where students receive creclit for participation. The liability implications of the clinic's status, a shortage of funcling, and a lack of control over programs for academic credit, were cited by the Faculty as the main CL":lsons for closure. In a memo from ,\cting Dean Brian Langille anti Assistant Dean of Career Sen·ices Bonnie Goldberg, dated ,\larch 7, 2004, EJ.S volunteus <tnd review counsel were informed that 1-.I .S would "cease formal oper.ttlons" at the end of the academic year. The memo noted that the decision to close the clinic had bcctt difficult, "given tts importance to tl1e student body and its value to the Faculty as a practical business law clinical expenence." ~onethcless, "la)s the clinic is currently constituted, the Faculty has no effective and credible Wa)' tO prO\'lde and monitor the quality of work at ELS or the work for which students receh·e academic creclit." The lerter \\ ent on to note that despite Blake~· gen~rosiry, the ftrm has "a much greater role m the curriculum component of the law school and much greater mteracrion with students than is permitted in other clinics anti programs within the faculty."
While the clinic's student directors could not dtspute the Faculty's reasons for closure, they felt that the tlecision came down too suddenly. when they were informed of it at a meeting with Langille. Goldberg, and Assistant Dean Lois Chiang in mid· February. "\'\'e received an email [before the meeting); from the way the letter was worded I thought we were gomg to get more money. ]magine my surprise when we were tolu it was going to be shut down. I could hardly contain my shock during the meet-
PLEASE SEE "FACULTY" ON PAGE 6
Law Ball 2004
Boys and th e ties that bind at Law Ball, this p ast M ar. 13.
P/J(J/o tvl•rfc{Y q/ Bfmina Butt.
Lome Sossin new associate dean Appointment comes in wake of controversial Duggan tenure BY BEN ARKIN Professor !..orne Sossin is set to take over the position of Associate Dean, JD Program, from Professor Tony D uggan, potentially marking the entl of a pcncxl of tense relations between students and the administration. Acting Dt.-an Brian Langille said that he was pleased to make the announcement since "Professor Sossin has the overwhelming support of ~tudents, staff and facull): I am confident tl1at he will do a terrific job." 'Ibe associate dL-an is responsible for dealing '"ith ~tuuents' academic difficulties b)~ for example, making disciplinary decisions. considering appeals of grades, or hearing applications to defer exams. Duggan is also responsible for such faculty matters as teaching allocations, acad~mic progmm development. and participanon in \'arious committees.
Duggan has lx:en at the centre of tension between students and the administration on a number of occasions thts past year. At a firstyt:ar academtc onentation sesston in late Oct. 2003, a student expressetl concern about not yet having started to prepare case briefs. Duggan responded, "There are still job openings available at McDonald's." Although the remark was met with laughter, many students were takm aback. Ros Sipos (1), in attendance at the ~ession, said, "I think it was meant to sound hke a joke, but there was an underlying harshness to it." Duggan later apologized to the ~tudent. Although Dllgbtan would not comment directly on this particular remark. he did suggest that it might have been exaggerated in the context of the 11..'11SC atmosphere. "It was felt by the faculty that the topic reaUy made students very eJg)~" he said. "They were fac-
ing their first assignments and were not very familiar with the requirements of law school [The session! wa~ dc::.igned to be constructive but for whatever rt.":Json it came through the other w-ay around." He saitl that the ~cssion would not hkcly be held in the future.
PLEASE SEE "SOSSIN" ON PAGE 9
UVINDEX • • • • •
MOOTING, P7 POll RESULTS, P12 EXCHANGE, P14 CHIEF'S FAREWELL, P17 CROSSWORD, P26