Ultra Vires Vol 8 Issue 5: 2007 February

Profs steal the show at Law Follies someone should really forward them "Dick in a Box". Follies photos in our colourful centre spread!

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 5

s ttme to start asking: "Why doesn't increased tuition buy students small class sizes?"

See story on p. 3

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Stewart talks Star Trek and Sopranos, p. 13 Amina Sherazee leaves DLS; see story p. 5 and a tribute, p. 22

FEBRUARY

13, 2007

WWW.ULTRAVIRES.CA

Up, Up, and Away NY Salaries, Student Recruitment Up in '07: Toronto Articling Salaries to follow?

UVSTAFF

The Big Apple better live up to its name, because U of T students are about to take one giant bite out of it this summer.

2006 saw a sharp increase in the number of U of T students accepting summer positions at New York law firms.

Thirty-two students accepted positions with American employers, a dramatic increase over the seventeen students re-

cruited from the class of 2007. A recent hike in salaries that translates to first-year associates in the Big Apple being paid $160 000 base salaries, coupled with expectations from the Career Development Office that more New York firms will be coming on campus in the fall of 2007, suggests that the march to Manhattan will likely continue in future years.

A number of issues are raised by this development: Why are students choosing

to work in New York? Is it the money? Is the increase in summer hires demanddriven or supply-driven? Should the CDO be encouraging the migration and the school be promoting these numbers in an effort to attract incoming students?

And for first years who still have all their career choices before them: what are the keys to landing a job in New York?

AWAY continued on p. 4

YOU'RE ABOUT TO START YOUR LAW CAREER LET'S TALK RETIREMENT.

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OSLER

Thursday night showed off the law school's collective sense of humour in the annual production of Law Follies.

This year's show, directed by second year student Emrys Davis (2L), was themed after the Pirates of the Caribbean, and provided many opportunities for laughter. Along with students from all years, the cast of the show was also made up of several faculty members, including Dean Moran. As is the case with a lot of good comedy, the show generated a lot of the biggest laughs by spoofing a range of really dark topics. Specifically, there was a scene involving the DLS "ship" sinking under the weight of it's own mutiny while one of the pirates, sounding suspiciously like Dean Moran, denied the problem and refused to disclose any information. The pirate, played by Kathryn Bird (3L), eventually left the stage, covering her ears and singing "na na na na, I can't hear you and I don't care". The scene killed.

Laughter really is the best medicine.

Here at Ultra Vires, we encourage laughter. However, laughter alone won't solve the problems in our world. It won't solve the problem at DLS. It won't solve the problems with high tuition, and it won't give us direction for the future of our law school. At best, it will act as a temporary salve. As encouraging as it was to see Dean Moran participating in Law Follies, this is really the smallest contribution we should be expecting from her. After all,

she is supposedly sailing this ship. Is it really too much to ask her what direction we are headed, how we are setting our sails and why? To make this ship analogy painful, are we not part of the crew?

Should we not be pointing out icebergs and manning the lifeboats?

This issue of Ultra Vires features articles about many of the more unsavoury aspects of our law school, some of which are not indigenous to us. As the student protests from the last few weeks should indicate, high tuition is endemic in Canadian society. Having said that, is it not in our interest to scrutinize just what we are getting for our money? What does $18,000 a year actually buy us? We're not so sure.

This is a Faculty that doesn't spend enough time talking about its students.

It's a faculty that's increased tuition fourfold in a decade while keeping class sizes the same. The tuition increases are justified by the 'fact' that everybody leaves here a big wage earner. Attend a welcome day to see for yourself by counting how many times the incoming students are told that the investment is all worth it because they are going to be "rich" one day.

Five years ago, then-Dean Ron Daniels set this school on a path that was all about building the U of T Law brand.

Build the name, hire the faculty, get the building, build the brand and they will come. Oh yeah, and raise the tuition ... significantly. Now, five years later, we

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should be looking to see what impact these changes have had. What has happened to students who left with six figure debt-loads, but have yet to crack a $50,000 wage? What has happened to the students who want to practice law in a small town? How has the school's "international ambition" affected the dreams and desires of those types of students?

Daniels did a lot to raise the profile of our school, to be sure. But, as his move South proved, he wasn't all that committed to making this a great Canadian Law School. It's time we remembered that the product this school is selling (or at least the one we are paying for) is a Canadian legal education. And it's time to start improving the product. This is not to say that students who want to explore internationallegal markets shouldn't also be supported. Rather, the point is that these options shouldn't be made available at the expense of students who want to stay in Canada and move beyond the confines of the GTA (gasp).

It is Academic Planning time and here is what we don't want: We don't want to

be told how great we are, or how great our school is, or how great it's going to be. We don't want to be told that we are following some future path to excellence because two American Ivy Leaguers told us that if we follow it, we might one day be like them. We don't want a seventy page document full of fluff that talks about the future; we want a short document in plain English that addresses the present, and addresses us.

Give us smaller class sizes, give us quality instruction and feedback and experienced professors who provide Canadian law students with an education suitable for the vast Canadian market we serve. Most of all, give it to us at a price that tomorrow's generation can afford, a price that allows for socio-economic diversity in the classroom.

Contributors Saad Ahmad, Andrew Binkley, Danielle Code,Abby Deshman, Lara Gertner, Natasha Giuffre, Jeremy Glick, Robert A. Gold, Zvi Halpern, Kim Haviv, Tim Ho, Daniel Holden, Eric Lavers, David Macfarlane, Kasra Nejatian, Jess Norman, Yvanna Myck, Lance Paton, Adam Shevell, Amy Smeltzer, Daniel Stern, Sayran Sulevani, Cory Wanless, Enuna Williamson

Ultra Vires is an editorially autonomous newspaper. We are open to contributions which reflect diverse points of view, and our contents necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law, the Students' Law Society (SLS), or the editorial board. We welcome contributions from students, faculty, and other interested persons. Ultra Vires reserves the right to edit contributions for length and content Advertising inquiries should be sent to the attention of the business manager at ultra.vires@utoronto.ca.

The next issue will be published on March 20, 2007 and the deadline for submissions is March 14, 2007. The submission limit is 800 words.

FEBRUARY

13 2007

3

NEWS

Professor hopes to see first year class sizes reduced STEPHEN BIRMAN

Academic plans are usually painted in broad strokes, fluffed in hyperbole, draped in visions of grandeur. One can expect the law school's upcoming planning document to contain dozens of refto "excellence," and erences "international vision" among pages of self-admiration.

Where former Dean Ron Daniels's controversial2002 Academic Plan gained attention for its dramatic tuition increases combined with unprecedented increases in Faculty salaries, this goaround is unlikely to waste too much ink on the once hot-button topic.

For one, tuition is already sky-high for an academic program demanding less than 15 hours of in-class instruction per week. And, it doesn't take much ink to see that tuition will soon reach its stalled target of $22,000 per year, so what's the point of using the planning exercise to fuel further debate? Moreover, the currently regulated tuition environment operates as something of a superficial check on unconstrained increases. It's superficial, because an allowable 8 percent fee increase for debt-ridden students can hardly be viewed as government regulation stepping in to save a vulnerable societal group. Stay tuned for next month's tuition announcement but don't expect it to be the focal point of the planning document.

Professor Jim Phillips says the plan should pay special attention to the educational program as measured in class sizes, programming, professor hiring and an educational experience that despite a near 60 percent increase in faculty size hasn't changed in his 20 years at the school.

Phillips has seen firsthand the scandals, the Dean changes, the polarization and fragmentation of faculty groups caused by divisive management styles and fundamental political differences on issues like fee increases and professor salaries. What concerns Phillips today is that quality teaching and the value of the academic program have taken a backseat to other priorities.

"You go to the website and it says that we have got this faculty student ratio of 10-1, well in the early 90s we had 35 faculty members and the question is what have you used all of these resources on?

Where is it going? And it seems to me we have done practically nothing to improve the basic programme," says Phillips.

One would think that the previous Plan's call for dramatic increases in tuition and professor salaries would mean something for the paying customer (a.k.a. students). But according to Phillips that isn't the case, "The first year program is almost exactly the same in 2007 as it was in 1988, when I joined the faculty. The first year sections had 70 to 80 people and that is what they have now."

The Law School's administration says

its faculty are focussed on research now more than ever. Associate Dean Sossin notes that, "the same rise in faculty has come with a rise in the research intensive nature of the faculty .... in any given year there aren't 55 people here to teach (as) we have a faculty engaged more than ever before in intense research."

But should students be paying more and more tuition dollars to fund faculty resources where Faculty are often on sabbaticals, visiting other institutions and engaged in intense research? The issue is far-reaching because it has merry-goround implications that have been used to justify an expensive new building. The logic is that more hires means increased space demands, which translate into the need for a bigger building. But while the architects look at the building's exterior, Phillips wants an examination of the interior.

Among other things, he wants to see the quality of teaching and programming addressed in the Academic Plan including smaller first year classes. While Phillips recognizes that the faculty's research and academic publishing are important priorities he says it's necessary to determine the appropriate balance. "It's an issue in how important the quality of the basic program is versus how important it is to have a high profile in terms of publishing...We have all these new faculty, why aren't we having more people teach first year classes, what difference would it make if we had two sections or three sections or four, is there a difference? I think so."

Associate Dean Lorne Sossin isn't sure that adding an extra section would make a meaningful difference for first years. "I don't think there is measurable difference when you are talking about a group of 60 versus a group of 80," says Sossin.

Phillips also wonders why some current professors and new hires aren't teaching first year classes: "[the] argument is we don't have people to teach courses and my response is why not, the answer is that we don't put enough priority on it [teaching first year courses]."

Phillips can only speculate as to where the increased resources are going. "I think some of it has gone into increasing the number of courses on the margins that nobody takes," he says.

Sossin claims that new hires are teaching first year classes. "I can think of one in the past three years who doesn't [teach a first year class] but 90 percent do, and [as for)]the one who doesn't, it's because we needed him too much in the upper years."

Meanwhile, Professor Phillips hopes to see his ideas considered in the upcoming Academic Plan. He doesn't pretend to be a great visionary, and he doesn't appear to be losing sleep over the Faculty's international reputation. There are more pressing issues. He doesn't want a self applauding, visionary document because

he says that "part of the problem is that all we have is a vision." Phillips also doesn't want to see the Academic Plan use last summer's External Review as a justification for proposing increased internationalization and tuition increases. "I find it obnoxious that people who come from a fundamentally different system with fundamentally different value comes to us to preach about why we should be more like the Americans," says Phillips.

When it comes to choosing new faculty in the future, Phillips says, "The Administration should show some interest in diversifying areas of interest." He continues, "The school needs to stop worrying about building a profile in certain areas that are transportable to American academia and start asking who and what is important from a Canadian perspective." Phillips wants an Academic Plan that stops catering towards areas of law which are likely to attract interest from American Law Reviews. "We now pay too little attention to Canadian specific things, preferring areas like legal theory and law and economics which are transportable and will help us be known in the U.S. We care too little about our own society. I am not suggesting we should be insular but I think we need a balance and our balance is way out of whack here."

While Phillips has ideas for the law school's future, the Academic Planning Committee hasn't exactly tapped into his extensive experience and knowledge

base, which includes service as Associate Dean. "The committee has not sort of sent out a letter saying please submit your views," says Phillips.

And if that email ever arrives or the Planning Committee is interested in tapping in to his two decades of institutional memory, Phillips has a message. ''What I am saying is that if we have gone from 35 to 55 faculty and we boast about our [faculty to student] ratio then how is it that we haven't changed the program?"

Former UV editor launches "Precedent" DANIEll...E STONE Melissa Kluger is sitting at a tiny coffee shop between the towering law firm buildings on Wellington Street. The lawyer and former U of T law student sips an herbal tea and peruses the magazine she grabbed from the counter. She has no factums to write, no hearings to attend.

"I turned 30 and quit my job as a media lawyer," Kluger laughs. "Just decided it was time. I started eating red meat again, did new things, met my fiance. It was scary because law is very much like you get on a path and you keep following it. The longer you're on it, the harder it is to take a chance.

But I knew I had to do this."

"This" is a change in professions. After four years as a media lawyer representing journalists, Kluger has decided to lock up her briefcase and become a publisher and journalist herself. ''As a media lawyer, I really liked the kind of law we did and the people we worked with," Kluger says. "I started to think that I wanted to be the person who one day needed the lawyer, rather than be the lawyer."

But every great journalist lives by the mantra "write what you know."

That's where Kluger's idea for Precedent, a magazine for young lawyers in Ontario, began. Two years later, Kluger says she's

aiming to create a publication that is "fun, smart and stylish- that understands what it's like to be a young lawyer, asks tough questions about the profession, and strives to entertain and enlighten."

She says Precedent will do this with law and style articles. Readers will learn everything from what it takes to become a judge in this province, to what glasses look dapper with that new pin-stripe suit.

The idea that lawyers needed such a magazine came to Kluger during her own experiences starting out in the legal profession.

"As a young lawyer, I felt very lonely," Kluger says. "I think a lot of associates feel lonely and exhausted and without the community that would probably really help them in their practice and their lives...Young lawyers tend to learn from the people around them and there's not a lot of guidance coming from anywhere else."

Although she saw many legal magazines during her time as an associate, Kluger says she never felt like any were talking to herthe young lawyer starting her career. Kluger hopes Precedent will help young lawyers see beyond their office walls and form a greater legal community. She says Precedent should show young lawyers what others in the legal profession are doing and how their life and work experiences compare with others.

PRECEDENT continued on p. 4

4 AWAY continued from p. 1 In order to help answer some of these questions, UV conducted a survey of students who accepted employment in the US for this summer. We also spoke with recent graduates who are working in New York, as well as Canadians who are attending top American law schools. Finally, we corresponded extensively with the CDO. These are their stories.

The recent raises in NYC: Last month, Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett, a major New York law firm, raised base salaries for first-year associates from $145 - $160 000. Nearly all other top firms soon matched, and those with regional offices in cities such as Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. hiked base salaries there as well. In recent years, these firms have also paid year-end bonuses, often upwards of $20 000.

Salaries at major US firms have been rising steadily since the technology boom of 2001, when first year pay ascended from $100 to $135 000 within a year. The recent raises have been attributed to a strong economy, as well as the fact that many early and mid-level associates have been leaving firms, either because of dissatisfaction or to jump into the lucrative world of hedge funds and investment

banking.

Lianne Krakauer of the CDO cautions any student who thinks that higher salaries don't come with added responsibility: "Students should keep in mind what the added pressure on a student will be and what you will be expected to do to earn your keep at that level It's not free money... The pressure on a young associate to perform and earn their keep will be tremendous."

Citing the disconnect between the 2L summer associate programs at New York firms, many of which are known for including significant quantities of fine dining and entertainment, and the lifestyle of a returning first year associate,

PRECEDENT continued from p. 3 This isn't the first time Kluger has felt the need to start a publication to build community. As an undergtad at Queen's University, Kluger started Ultra Violet, a magazine where students and members of the community could publish their literary works.

When she came to U of T Law, it wasn't long before the publishing bug bit her again.

"I sort of got [to law school] having known what it was like to start a newspaper and thought, 'how is it that there's no newspaper here?"' Kluger says. "There are so many reasons to have a paper, so many things that needed to be shared and discussed...And I remember sort of thinking: 'Oh no, I have to start a newspaper."'

She campaigned for funding, organized a meeting for people interested in helping out, and used the computers in the school library to create the first issue of Ultra

NEWS Krakauer notes: ''The summer is a great experience for most students, but as we hear from some alumni, it's really tough in the first few years of practice. The difference in what is expected of you inNew York in terms of billable targets [compared to Toronto] and what that translates to in terms of lifestyle is pretty significant."

An Increase in Toronto Salaries in the Near Future?

Articling salaries in Toronto have been stagnant for seven years. While the salary bands for associates by year of call have been rising, a corresponding increase has yet to manifest itself in articling rates.

Current articling salaries at the major corporate firms are $67 000. Krakauer suggests that the stagnation may abate in the near future, saying "All of the associate salaries have been going up, while articling salaries have not. [!'he firms] are aware that they have not gone up in some time. I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase next year."

Reasons for the Higher Recruitment The CDO points out that the increased number of New York hires is attributable to the increased number of offers made to students this fall.

Krakauer says that recruiting is a "cyclical phenomenon" and expects that the number of US firms coming on campus next fall will exceed the twenty-one who recruited this year.

Most of the students surveyed, while acknowledging the cyclical nature of hiring, pointed to another key factor which they believed contributed to the increased interest from down south: the effect of recent graduates currently working at the firms themselves. Students were effusive in their praise of the U of T graduates they met during their call-back interviews. Said one student; "NYC firms were definitely impressed with past students from U of T and, in turn, decided to offer more positions to

Vires. Seven years later, the paper is still thriving.

Her work on the newspaper enhanced Kluger's interest in legal issues involving freedom of expression and access to justice.

"Ultra Vires confirmed for me that this was the stuff I really care about," Kluger says. "It's like I loved law school, I really cared about my peers and the law school community.. .! felt that having a newspaper really enhanced the community. It could help people commiserate and I found it was community building and that was powerful."

Gradually, she says she felt compelled and inspired to start building that community for lawyers as well.

"Being in the profession, I felt that same absence I felt at law school when I started Ultra Vires," Kluger says. ''There wasn't a place building community, especially among

ULTRA VIRES

Canadians. We are very lucky that past summers were able to lay the groundwork for us and give U of T a great reputation in the eyes of New York firms."

In terms of what made them choose to work in New York, the number one factor cited by students was the "unique opportunities" offered by the financial capital of the world. Over half of therespondents said that they had planned on working in New York before starting law school or at least "for some time". The CDO notes that often students will stay in New York even if some of the anticipated excitement never materializes in between the long work hours because of "the ease of staying in New York compared to the hurdles of coming back."

Debt and Rising Tuition: OverEmphasized Factors?

Though a popular storyline has Canadian students accepting New York jobs as a quick ticket towards paying down an imposing law school debt, this year's crop of summer associates do not fit squarely into that narrative. The majority of respondents said debt did not factor at all into their decision to accept employment in New York. Many of those with debt echoed one student who said "if I had no debt I would've wanted to work here, but since I had debt it was an additional factor." Not surprisingly, given these sentiments, nearly 80% of respondents disagreed with the proposition that 11If tuition at Uofl' were substantially lower, I would have been less interested in pursuing employment in New York.11 Similarly, Krakauer believes that, though debt might drive some students to pursue New York employment, "it is not the dominant factor."

Overall, only two student respondents listed "money'' as their key factor driving that decision. This is a good thing since Krakauer warns that ''The ones that only go because of the money, that won't give them career satisfaction. They will be coming back''

young lawyers.

That's when Kluger started talking with other young lawyers and developed the concept for Precedmt. She began taking

''I REAil...Y CARED ABOUT MY PEERS AND THE LAW SCHOOL COMMUNITY.• .! FELT THAT HAVING A NEWSPAPER REAil...Y ENHANCED TilE COMMUNITY. IT COULD HELP

PEOPLE COMMISERATE..."

courses at Ryerson University on how to start a magazine. Then, she made the move and officially quit her job. She now works part-time while finalizing the details for Precedent magazine.

What you need to get to NYC: Advice to Future Applicants First things first grades aren't everything, but they help...a lot.

The data from the UV survey strongly suggests that grades are a significant factor in landing an NYC job. Most students had GPA's above a B+ average, with a number of students nearing the top of the 4.0 grade scale.

Another key factor seemed to be a student's ties to the US and A. Numerous respondents, when polled for advice they would give to future applicants, were quick to suggest that students ''have a clear answer to 'Why NY?"' and that such an answer go beyond "Carrie Bradshaw's life looks cool" or "I am coming to America to make Pamela Anderson my wife."

Students also said it was important to "talk to the young associates as much as possible" and "read the Vault surveys" in order to acquire firm-specific info going into the interview process.

Finally, students made clear that even if one isn't sure whether they want to work in New York, the interview process is worth going to because it "helps prepare for Toronto, and is generally more fun than Toronto OCI's."

Should the CDO encourage students to go to NYC? When asked whether the CDO should be encouraging students to seek employment in New York, a vast number of respondents believed "they should make them aware of the opportunities, the same way they make students aware of careers in international human rights, or clerkship opportunities - its just another career option."

The CDO by and large agrees, with Krakauer saying, "We encourage students to pursue all opportunities. We are just as interested about opportunities in Northern Ontario, and we are currently doing some outreach to employers in Asia as well.

There are more employers from the US

Until the launch of Precedmt in the fall, Kluger has set up a blog as a test site for the magazine. Every day she and a handful of former Ultra Vire! colleagues post legal stories and lifestyle tips at www.lawandstyle.ca.

The site gets 1000 individual hits a day. Stories reveal everything from precedent-setting court decisions to how much a young associate actually has to work in a week to reach the required billable hours for a year.

For her, billable hours are a thing of the past-at least for now.

"I think I'll always be a lawyer in some way;• Kluger says. ''The law will always be there for me. I might not get the perfect, exact job that I want down the road, but if I want to be a lawyer, and I feel fortunate about this, I'll get to be a lawyer. On the other hand, if you have a dream and there's something else you want to do, then you have to do it soon. Otherwise, you'll never go for it."

FEBRUARY 13

2007

5

NEWS

Another one bites the dust STEPlffiN BIRMAN

A third Downtown Legal Services review lawyer, Amina Sherazee, has left the clinic alleging that she was defamed in response to a request made for a meeting with Dean Mayo Moran and constructively dismissed by the events that have taken place over the last few months. In a January 23rd letter to Associate Dean Lome Sossin, Sherazee says "the request (for a meeting with the Dean) fell on deaf ears in November and with it, the constructive dismissal of the clinic's lawyers given what transpired following this refusal to meet, the defamation, and the intolerable work environment that has ensured."

In the letter Sherazee says, ''It is obvious that the administration has no intention of any bona fide review of the situation. This became concretely clear at the January 12th, 2007, (general) meeting.n Sherazee has informed the administration that she no longer wishes to be contacted by Sossin, Executive Director Judith McCormack or Dean Mayo Moran and instructed the trio to direct all future communications through her Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati.

She specifically asks Sossin to "please cease and desist from requesting a meeting over my concerns" saying that ''because the Dean's office has made it blindly and deafly clear that 'all is fine,'

ments (FWAs), which are explicit conditions of employment that adjust hours, scope and place of work for a sustained period of time.

While the report found that 24 percent of lawyers use some form of FWA, including 28 percent of women and 21 percent of men, the respondents to the survey also made it clear that the perception of FWAs in the legal profession is not necessarily a positive one. 65 percent of respondents agreed that making use of an FWA would lead to the perception that they are less committed to their firm and 63 percent DANIEL HOlDEN agreed that they feared that they would On January 17, Catalyst Canada pre- not be seen as a fully contributing memsented its report entided ''Beyond a ber of the firm.

Jenner described how these percepReasonable Doubt: Lawyers State Their Case on Job Flexibility'' at the Faculty tions have dire consequences for the viof Law. The presentation was organized ability of FWAs in the legal profession.

She asserted that "lawyers questioned by the Women and the Law Group.

The report is the third and final in- whether colleagues who were using stallment in Catalyst's research series en- FWAs could fully satisfy client needs" tided "Flexibility in Canadian Law and asserted that "reduced hour Firms," designed to build a business arrangements may exist on paper only'' given that lawyers will case for flexibility continue to put in the in the legal professame time to satisfy exsion and to explore OVER HALF OF WOMEN pectations, only for how lawyers' perWHO USED FWAs SAID less pay. ceptions of worklife balance and THAT THEIR PARTICIPATION The report also showed, however, that flexibility affected IN THE AGREEMENT the lack of viability of their commitment, LIMITED THEIR PROPESFWAs in the legal prosatisfaction and asSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, fession is not just pirations for partfor nership.

WHILE ONLY ONE IN FIVE problematic lawyers; but is also A survey of MEN WHO usED FWAs problematic for their 1439 respondents FELT SIMILARLY. firms. Previously, Catfrom over 100 alyst calculated that the firms across average cost to a firm Canada supplemented by interviews and focus groups of an associate's departure is approxiled to the two previously released re- mately $315,000. Coupled with the fact that associates with positive perceptions ports in the series.

The final report was presented by of their firm's work-life culture are Laura Jenner. She began by explaining more likely to stay longer than associthat the report had focused on lawyers' ates with less positive perceptions, and perceptions of Flexible Work Arrange- given that 62 percent of female associ-

No, flexibility in the legal workplace is not an oxyiDoron

(and) 'there is nothing wrong,' I see no need for a private meeting with you and Dean Moran on my own."

Sherazee also notes that, "in the entire time I have worked at DLS, I have never seen, spoken to, nor been spoken to by a Dean at, or with respect to the clinic, and the work here."

Sherazee's resignation follows the resignations of Mary Misener and Richard Litkowski last month and makes Claire Hepburn who started at the clinic last summer, the longest serving review counsel at DLS despite having less than one year of experience at the clinic.

Sherazee didn't leave at the same time as Misener and Litkowski to avoid the "calamity of some clients being deported." Sherazee says that when Mary and Richard were forced to resign, "the ED immediately forced them off the premises. The shocking result of that action was that at least one court date was missed ... I, for one, could not, given the type of clients I represent, go down that dangerous path."

Sherazee spoke about structural problems at the clinic back at the December 1 Executive Meeting, when she said that supervising lawyers didn't have anywhere to go when they had a problem with management. She noted that the lawyers chose to go to the Dean because, according to the personnel and complaint policies of DLS, the Dean is supposed to conduct an impartial investigation. According to the minutes of that meeting, Sherazee found the Dean's response to the meeting request extremely insulting to lawyers who had worked there for 12 years. Sherazee said at the time that she felt there was nowhere to go, which is a problem with structure in the context of intolerable working conditions.

Meanwhile, a consultation on the task force to review the Clinic was hdd with Dean Moran and Judith McCormack on February 1, 2006. The meeting began with a student requesting that any decisions regarding the task force be put

aside until a General Meeting is called. It was argued that the DLS Executive should have called a General Meeting as had been resolved by members at the December 5, 2006 General Meeting.

However, a General Meeting was held on January 12 by a petition of members, which the DLS Executive decided had negated the need to call the General Meeting as resolved on December 5.

One student, used his moment before the Dean to register protest said, ''We did call a General Meeting, a General Meeting was to be hdd in the third week of January [and] two days1 notice for this meeting is inadequate [and] the time set aside for this meeting is inadequate."

The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to discussing issues like the mandate and composition of the Task Force. It appears that the Task Force will focus on the scarcity of resources at the clinic and the optimal allocation of resources before taking aim at the structural and management issues which led to the breakdown of working conditions and the resignations of Misener, Litkowski and Sherazee. Some attendees fdt that the Task Force needs to look at how the clinic itself is set up, including the general structure and whether there should be a Board of Directors. Dean Moran did not want to make a structural review of the clinic the primary focus. ''That's the kind of thing the Task Force should say we should look at [or] could use future attention," she said.

While no final decisions have been made on the Task Force's membership, Liam McHugh-Russell (2L) wanted the discussion focussed back on the clinic's structural problems and not the resource allocation problems that should have been addressed well before the resignations. ''It's a real problem we are now focussed on resource allocation and not structural issues ... we now have a task force focussed on resource allocation and structural issues aren't going to be resolved."

ates and 47 percent of male associates intend to stay with their firm less than five years, the lack of viability of FWAs means that firms are missing a golden chance to increase associate retention.

The problem becomes more acute when considering female lawyers. Over half of women who used FWAs said that their participation in the agreement limited their professional development, while only one in five men who used FWAs fdt similarly.

Overall, the report showed that firms that fail to respond to the adverse effects created by lack of flexibility and worklife balance will pay the price by losing key associates and will incur concrete fi-

nanciallosses as a result.

Andrea Chow, a member of Women and the Law's executive, commented on the report after the presentation. She felt that the most important parts of the study were its ability to highlight "the problem of how the 'Bay Street lifestyle' does not fit with young lawyers' lives, whether female or male" and its ability to make a solid business case for the costs of failing to address this problem. Chow was also encouraged by the number of men in attendance at the presentation and asserted that "our generation cares about having a life outside of the firm regardless of gender."

FASKEN~ MARTINEAU~

www.fasken.com

FEBRUARY

NEWS

13 2007

7

Faculty drafting new academic plan SAADAHMAD

A committee of faculty, staff and students is currently in the process of drafting a new Academic Plan. which will set out the Faculty's objectives and priorities for the next three years. Expected in March, it will replace the contentious five-year plan introduced in 2002

by Dean Ron Daniels. The new plan represents an interim arrangement to guide the Faculty until the next University-wide plan, expected in 2009-10.

Past Academic Plans have had a gjgnificant impact on the Faculty, perhaps none more than the 2002 plan, which envisioned raising tuition from $12,000 to $22,000 ovtt a five year period. That plan, entitled "Strengthening Our Community," gained national attention as Faculty and student groups debated massive tuition increases. The plan was approved by a 37-13 vote at Faculty Council.

Looking Back The 2002 plan was driven by the underlying goal of ensuring the Faculty's recognition as one of the world's leading law schools.

This ambition would require maintaining and strengthening the school's faculty-a goal that would not come cheaply.

An external review conducted in 2000 helped set the stage for Daniels's main arguments in suppon of the Plan. The review noted! ''A]s the Faculty helps its professors to become 'players' on the world stage, it also invites efforts from top competitors to woo those professors away from Toronto ... To be blunt, law professor salaries at Toronto are, at every level, not competitive with the salaries offered by Toronto's world class peers."

The 2002 plan called for adding at least 30,000 square feet of new space, the "timely" construction of a Law Residence, and "significant new investment in people." The plan envisioned that this latter "investment'' be funded by a $5.68 million increase in annual funding. It earmarked $1.7 million for a faculty "Recruitment, Retention and Reward" fund to raise faculty salaries and hire additional faculty; an additional $1.7 million for financial aid; $1.45 million for student services and programs {including increased staffing in Financial Aid, Records and the CDO, as well as increased funding for clinics, academic computing and curriculum enhancement); $500,000 to off-set projected budget-cuts and $335,000 for infrastructure support.

To raise these additional funds, the plan called for tuition to $22,000 in $2,000 increments avtt a five-year period. However, this timetable was never fully implemented, as a newly elected liberal Government imposed a tuition freeze that applied in both 2004/05 and 2005/06. When the freeze was finally lifted last year, tuition for 2006/07 was raised by the maximum allowable amount for professional faculty's of 8 percent ($1,280) for first year students and 4 percent {$640) for upper years.

A "self-study" of the Faculty submitted to the Provost in October 2005 found that money for faculty salaries was still a major constraint, stating: "It is clear that improvements we have made to our salary structure, including the raising of our starting salary to $100,000 in 2000, are no longer sufficient to the task at hand." The "self-study" also focussed on the "appalling inadequacy of our

facility."

Unlike the 2002 plan, the "self-study" did consider other Canadian law schools, but only in two areas. Alumni donations were compared across Canadian law schools. Disturbingly, it turned out the Faculty of Law had the lowest level of participation among Canadian law schools.

on the faculty's priorities before the plan is finalized. ''It's important to me that when students see the priorities in the plan they

The Road Ahead

On January 26 and 27, the Indigenous Law Journal hosted their inaugural conference entided "Indigenous Law and Legal Systems: Recognition and Revitalization." Speakers came from across North America, including Professor S. James Anaya (University of Arizona), Professor Sakej Henderson (University of Saskatchewan), Professor Brian Slattery (Osgoode Hall), and The Honourable Frank Iacobucci. Artwork provided by the Metis Arts Collective transformed the lower rotunda into an abstract Louis Riel exhibit.

For two brief days, Aboriginal Law and indigenous legal systems were no longer "traditions, customs" anderpeel), "perspectives" (Deigamuukw), or a last minute addition to a first year programme. Many attendees reveled in their first opportunity to discuss and debate Aboriginal Law as a legitimate field of inquiry alongside the traditional areas of legal study.

In a well attended reception following the keynote address, Court of Appeal

The new plan will be drafted by a 25member Academic Plan Committee, chaired

by Dean Moran, and assisted by many committees involving other faculty members and students. Efforts have been made to gauge student views through a survey, focus groups and a town hall.

David de Groot {3L), who helped design the student survey, describes the Academic Plan as "one of the most important issues facing students because it guides what our priorities as an academic community are." He stresses the importance of students "who want to influence the future direction of the Faculty'' coming forward to express their opinions.

Of course, what everybody is asking is what are the Dean's intentions are for the Academic Plan? When asked about her key priorities for the new plan, Dean Moran's first response was the building. She hopes sufficient progress will be made to ensure it would not feature prominently in our next plan.

Moran also appears focused on the Faculty's "academic priorities," encompassing further internationalization, improving the student experience, and ensuring different kinds of learning experiences, including both "hands-on" clinical experience and research are available.

The Dean says she wants "to really deepen and strengthen" internationalization efforts for both faculty and students. This focus extends to faculty hiring, which she describes as "more fluid and more international" than every before. Moran explains that just as the Faculty is now getting applicants whom we would not have gotten fifteen years ago, Canadian applicants were also looking beyond Canada. When asked whether hiring would be focused on more Canadian-specific subject areas in the future, the Dean said that "we try to find the very best people," and that hiring was generally driven more by the calibre of the candidate then by a desire to fill positions in a given area of law.

Dean Moran also stresses the need for pedagogical and curricular enhancement, and her aforementioned priorities of providing opportunities for legal research and writing as well as incorporating professionalism and legal ethics into the broader curriculum. Regarding the latter, she states: "Our profession faces some challenges and it would be nice to help students think more deeply about those issues while they're in law school."

And then there is tuition. When asked whether tuition would go up under the new plan, the Dean said it was "very hard to say'' in light of the political environment, but that she was "assuming a pretty well steady state" of "modest, but not major increases in tuition." While the Dean did not provide any specific details about tuition, after talking with her, one is left with the distinct impression that "modest, but not major'' means something similar to this year's maximum allowable increases.

Dean Moran wants students to weigh in

have a sense that those priorities would enhance their experience here," she says.

Indigenous laws and legal systems AUSTIN AcroN

ry

through the world of First Nations jurisprudence. Although First Nations law is deeply embodied in words which have no English translation, rituals which have no European equivalent, and a world view almost beyond Western comprehension, Professor Henderson provided us with an enticing glimpse into another legal world and a spark of potential for understanding.

The final event of the Conference was the Launch Party for Volume 5 of the Indigenous Law Journal. Held in the Hart House East Common Room with live music provided by aboriginal artist Marc Nadjiwan, the Journal launch was attended by the Editors in Chief from Issues III, rv, V, and VI as well as faculty advisors, associate and senior editors and conference participants. The party offered an opportunity to reflect on the development of the Journal and discuss the future role of the Journal in the Indigenous legal community.

Several leading academics from across Canada were overheard declaring it one of the best conferences they had ever attended. This was in part due to the no1

Justice Harry LaForme acknowledged many of the speakers in the room, noting that when they were in law school themselves the thought of an entire conference on Aboriginal Law would have been unimaginable-let alone a single Aboriginal Law class. He offered encouragement to the students in the room, stating that they were the scholars of the future and should learn from those that came before them and build upon their successes. He also thanked University of Toronto Faculty of Law students for providing him with support and encouragement when he was chosen to be the first Aboriginal person to sit on an appellate court bench in North America-a bench he referred to as "a pretty lonely place to be at times."

The presentation by Sakej Henderson was a unique and special gift: an attempt to walk the English common law mind

table roster of speakers and the excellent planning and execution on the part of the organizers (Kathryn Bird and Karen Drake, 3L) and volunteers. However, the key to the conference's distinction was in asking the audience to consider the fundamental assumptions upon which the common law of aboriginal rights and tides rests. The gravity of this question is evident from some of the titles on the progranune alone: ''An Overview of the Implicit and Explicit Recognition of Indigenous Law in Canada," "The Crown and Aboriginal People in Canada: A sui generis obligation to restore the meaning of honour'', "Indigenous Nations and the Legal Relativity of European Oaims to Territorial Sovereignty in North America", "Indigenous Law and its Contribution to Global Pluralism". We've come a long way since "savage tribes" (Johnson u M'Intosh), haven't we?

8

NEWS

ULTRA VIRES

A Discussion on Pedagogy with Associate Dean Lorne Sossin and Assistant Dean Bonnie Goldberg The Pedagogy Committee led by Associate Dean Lorne Sossin and Assistant Dean Bonnie Goldberg is exploring ways to enhance the quality of learning at the Faculty. Ultra Vires sat down with Sossin and Goldberg to discuss their work and other issues of importance to students.

When wiDyour committee have its recommendations? WiU the recommendations have an impact on the upcoming academic pian? Can we expect to see changes in the faU?

Governing Council.

and constraints on available people.

And thefirstyearprogram specificaJ!y Under what circllmstances wouldyou reCOIIIIIJend BG: ''When you are a first year student that a student appeals a grade? you will have the opportunity to learn in LS: Whenever a student feels a grade was unfair or unreasonable.

a whole variety of sizes, 15-20 in small group, 40 is the elective, 60 students in Legal Process and 180 is the bridge group."

How come awards and prizes are not generaJ!y madepublic? Is this apoJiryyou would consider re-examining?

What about a third sectionfor largergroup first LS: "From our point of view there is no year classes?

Suggestions from the Student Body On February 5, Associate Dean Lorne Sossin and Assistant Dean Bonnie Goldberg met with upper year students to seek input for their Committee on Pedagogy. Here is a sample of what some students had to say:

* The first year program is far too com-

ontent.asp?contentiD =442&item- able to get feedback.

Path=2/2/12/0/0. In brief, stage 1 is for w~ has faculty increased I:!J over 60% in the a student to ask her professor to re-read past 20 years while class sizes remain constant an exam or assignment to determine if in the first year program? Is this an issue you the original mark was correct. Stage 2 inare attuned to? volves contacting my office to arrange a LS: This is also one that we are generally second read of the exam or assignment. very much alive to; it's why we are offerThis is done anonymously and involves ing three sections in (some) upper year another professor. Stage 3 involves an classes sections instead of two and we appeal to our Faculty Appeal Committee, think there is a difference between learnwhich looks to see if Faculty policies ing in an environment of 60 versus 90 were applied fairly and appropriately. Fiperson classes ... [but] there are problems nally, stage 4 involves a further appeal to of constrains on available classrooms the Academic Appeals Committee of

years who doesn't (teach a first year class) but 90 percent do, and the one who doesn't is because we needed him too much in the upper years ... It's also true that the same rise in faculty has come with a rise in the research intensive nature of the faculty and we have a lot of faculty members who are on significant grants undertaking research abroad or visiting other institutions and they bring back the fruits of that research to the faculty.

pact and as a result it's placing incredible strain on some students with noticeable effects on their family and social lives.

One student proposed that the first year curriculum needs to be decreased by 30% including the subtraction of one full course. * One student said that a major problem with the curriculum is that some faculty aren't committed to teaching. * Feedback on academic performance must be improved. One student said his small group paper had the following comments, "there was a checkmark, a 'not so convincing' and a B at the end." * One student suggested that class participation become mandatory and valued as high as 60% of course marks. * It was recommended that grade distributions be posted on ROSI to give students perspective on their mark and help employers make sense of the grading system. One student was concerned that employers were valuing an A- at Queen's over a B+ at U of T. * Students mused about the benefits and drawbacks of including minus grades in the grading scheme and moving to a 'Yale-like' pass/honours/fail system of grading.

the monitoring process reveals."

Concern was also raised about faculty members voting on a plan that called for their own salary raises. Professor Phillips said at the time that the process was really about "grubbily [demanding! more money for ourselves ... no other unit in the University made getting more money for faculty the centrepiece of its academic plan."

Concern was also raised about former Dean Ronald Daniels's management as Chair of the Task Force on the Academic Plan and Faculty Council Former professor Hudson Janisch noted that, "the structure is inherently wrong," and that "young, untenured professors are not prepared to speak out."

tait1ing and recrt~itingfocul!J is real and goes to the core of the institution."

Faculty Salaries in a Canadian Law School

-Professor Brian Langille ''I think a salary increase of this magnitude

Professor Jim Phillips weighed in with an editorial on faculty salaries arguing there was no evidence for why the school needed a "faculty retention fund."

Phillips said only three faculty members had left for the U.S. since 1988, while one American came to U of T and five other faculty went elsewhere in Canada.

Phillips said the choice was between "teaching very gifted students and earning well in excess of $100,000 a year while living in a great city in a country which still has, among other things, outstanding public health and education systems and a commitment to ethnic diversity. Or you current more in a society which is, in a number of key respects, very different."

Phillips acknowledged that salaries might need to be increased to recruit faculty from American schools. Phillips said, ''I accept that we need to pay more to get many of them [but] I don't accept that we need to have them."

institutional value that is being served from not disclosing it other than responsiveness to student priorities so if students say there is real interest in having that disclosed I don't think there would be a lot of pushback.

Lorne Sossin: This is a separate initiative (the Academic Planning committees) that has had a component that has been already underway in terms of engagement with the faculty and now is broadening to get input from students towards Is itpossible tofail apass/fail course, and what the whole of increasing the learning ex- percentage of students fail them eachyear? perience and the classroom experi- LS: ''Yes. A handful do fail every year'' ence .... that will feed into the academic W~ don t we get exams/materials back after plan to some extent.

LS: "[With] the number of small groups and sections we have, no, we would be hard-pressed to find a third section. I think there is a big difference between a small group of 15 and a small group of 20. I think there is a much smaller difference between a section of 60 and section of 80: I don't think there is measurable difference when you are talking about a group of 60 versus a group of 80.

What about the argument that thefacui!J is hirour exams are marked?

A Jot of students are talking about grades at LS: ''This is something we are going to ing all of these new professors and the fir.rtyear this time ofyear; canyou fiU students in on the look at I would emphasize this issue on &lass si~p are slf!Jing the same size? How would process for appealing a grade? research papers where there is an element you respond to con&erns that new hires aren t LS: The process is set out in detail in the of supervision leading up ... that's the taking a sufficient interest in the core firstyear academic syllabus at area that is most significant to be able to &Urriculum? http: I ~law:utoronto.ca/stud.ents c get a detailed set of responses back to be LS: ''I can think of one in the past three

5 Years ago in Ultra Vires Faculty Council Prepares to Vote on 5 Year Plan The plan recommending a faculty salary increase and a tuition rise to $22,000 also included the establishment of a committee dedicated to monitoring and reviewing the faculty's accessibility performance. Two members of the Task Force on the faculty's five-year plan, including Professor Martha Shaffer, did not support the final draft. They explained that "the Task Force spent almost no time deliberating, whether the financial aid programme, as it stands or as it will exist under the Plan, meets actual student needs."

Shaffer also noted in her dissent to the Plan that it would take years before any clear picture of the effects of higher tuition emerged, and ''by this time we will be committed to staying the course despite any negative impact on access [that]

Faculty Debate Their Own Wage Increases There was no shortage of opinions on the "Recruitment, Retention and Reward" fund. Here is a sample: ((No one is askingforparity but I wnh people

were more generous about how th~ think about faculty compensation... I think the idea of re-

is difficult toj11Siify. I doni accept the arguments about retention and recruitment. I think fewpeople wiD leave U of T because of salary. People leave for a 11111Jtitude of reasons. When you go into academiayou make a choice,you doni work Bf!Y Street hours. Were not beholden to clients.

We can researrh whatever we want It~ a differentjob."

-Professor Martha Shaffer ''I left teaching because of the mon~ ... I'm not pleading poverty now. When my kids were tJety young, mon~ was more important, which is w~ I am concerned now about the younger members of the faculty. HatJing been apartner in a large downtown firm, noboefy should be an academicfor the mon~. "

-Professor Ed Morgan ''I wouldn't say that salary never matters, Salary does matter. But we're never going to have the salaries of people in private practice or in the top-tier U.S. schools."

-Professor David Duff

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10 KOSOVO continued from p. 9 1997,therefore, marked if not the end, then at least a concluding phase, rather than the beginning of a struggle.

In the early 1990s international leaders failed to treat the Kosovo situation seriously even after many Albanians grew impatient with their campaign of "passive resistance" to Serb aggression and instead supported a new tactic of armed resistance. All this is to suggest that no conclusion to the conflict was forthcoming prior to the NATO intervention.

JS: During the 1999 NATO war against Yugoslavia in support of the KLA, I remember it was said at the time that NATO was waging a humanitarian war to stop genocide. Was that an accurate explanation of why NATO sided with theKLA? SP: One should be careful about unequivocally characterizing the 1999 NATO intervention over the Kosovo crisis as the ''war against Yugoslavia" and "in support of the KLA''. Montenegro was not a part of the war plan even though it was a part of the FRY (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). It might be more accurate to describe it as an intervention against Slobodan Milosevic's policy of territorial expansion by military means, which created a significant humanitarian problem. I am not suggesting that the KLA acted solely in a defensive posture but their aggressive military actions cannot obscure the reality on the ground: an overwhelming Serb military presence in Kosovo that manifested itself through repressive and sometimes even brutal treatment of the Albanian population.

Indeed, Vaclav Havel argued that NATO acted "out of respect for human rights." If only this were true. The fact is that the Clinton administration justified the NATO intervention as securing regional stabilization, preventing the massive refugee crises, and also protecting the NATO's reputation.

LEGAL ISSUES ical framework that was centered on a concept of autonomy. Furthermore, they argued that while the conflict was an internal matter for the FRY, it nevertheless threatened international peace and security, justifying action. The NATO intervention had the support of a number of the UN delegates, who are usually opposed to the US military interventions.

JS: What evidence has emerged, then and since, regarding allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing by Yugoslav forces?

SP: I am in favor of a selective usage of the term genocide, and would be reluctant to use it in a liberal fashion in the case of the Kosovo conflict. Shortly after the fall of Milosevic, it became clear that sometime in early 1998 a political decision was made in Belgrade to solve the '~banian problem" once and for all. To that end, a significant contingent of the Serb special police and Special Forces was dispatched to Kosovo. Prior to the NATO intervention there were detailed daily reports from the office of the UN

figures like General Wesley Clark. the former commander of the 1999 NATO campaign, have argued that the Kosovo Force (KFOR) is an example of successful internationalist military occupation.

How safe and secure has Kosovo been under .KFOR auspices? And is the immediate region more stable as a result?

SP: Well, I would respectfully disagree with General Clark. The NATO troops occupied Kosovo and cemented the divisions in the region. Rather than seeking a solution to a crisis, NATO was simply managing it in hope that some kind of political solution might appear on the horizon. I would not consider Kosovo to be either safe or secure at present.

JS: How is it that Kosovo is neither safe nor secure?

SP: The NATO intervention failed to prevent a flow of refugees from Kosovo, and also to create safe and stable conditions for a political settlement to take place. As we have witnessed many times before in many areas of the world, there was an immediate upswing of the Alban-

ULTRA VIRES the interest of the US government and those of the other major NATO countries in Kosovo?

SP: It would seem that Kosovo is being used as a tool in the process of pacifying radical political elements in Serbia. There is also the issue of recognizing and accepting the reality on the ground.

One cannot help but sympathize with the western diplomats trying not to pronounce what everybody knows: 99% of the population of Kosovo is of Albanian origin and desires independence.

JS: Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power on October 6, 2000. How has Kosovo affected Serb politics since then, and what have successive Serb governments hoped to achieve regarding Kosovo?

SP: I could not foresee any action on the part of the Serbian government resulting in Kosovo remaining an integral part of Serbia. Aside from political rhetoric and verbal (and written) claiming of Kosovo, the government in Belgrade could do little to change the equation.

The international community and NATO could, without a doubt, exert some pressure upon the leadership of Kosovo Albanians but I see no return to pre1999 positions.

JS: Does international law have much to say, at least in theory, if not in practice, about Kosovo's fate?

SP: I prefer to leave this issue to experts in international law. I do, however, think that realpolitik still holds a considerable sway in international relations.

High Commissioner for Refugees and other UN agencies on the scale of atrocities committed by the Serbian security forces in Kosovo. Mter the conflict, we witnessed unearthing of number of mass graves of Albanian civilians. Some of those mass graves were unearthed at the military airport in Batajnica, near Belgrade. There was also a much publicized case of bodies of killed Albanians being transported by the army and state security from Kosovo to Serbia proper to be secretly buried there. Moreover, there was a case of the special unit of the Serbian army, called the Scorpions that committed horrendous atrocities against the Albanian civilians in Kosovo.

ian nationalism in Kosovo. It manifested itself through rather repressive actions against the non-Albanian population.

One could see that a steady rise in ethnic violence coupled with growing problem of organized crime are serious obstacles on the road to recovery in Kosovo.

JS: When the United States and a number of allies went to war with Iraq in 2003, a frequent line of attack against the These elements do not constitute a war was to dispute its legality under incontrolled environment, let alone a safe ternational law. Public opposition to and secure one. A bridge over a creek in NATO's Kosovo war seemed much Kosovska Mitorovica dividing (connectmore modest by comparison. Was ing?) the Serb-controlled part of the city NATO's Kosovo campaign legal under from the Albanian-controlled part seems international law? to be a legacy of the NATO intervention SP: This is a much contested territory in Kosovo and a fitting example of how and, not being a legal expert, I am indeed 11 successfur' that mission indeed was. reluctant to step into this minefield.

JS: Now that the Albanian refugees have Some people argued that for the action JS: In the last American Presidential elecreturned and the KLA is proving more in Kosovo there indeed was a UN polit- tion, many prominent Democratic Party problematic then once asserted, what is

JS: And finally, what is Kosovo's final status most likely to be? And will it prove to be a stable outcome?

SP: Considering the importance of Kosovo within the historical memories of Serbs and Albanians, and the fact that many nations and ethnic groups once lived there side by side, I would think that stable Kosovo should include reestablishing its earlier multiethnic character, at least in some measure. But I am immediately reminded of a old saying: 11If wishes were horses, beggars might ride... ." I believe Kosovo will acquire a certain level of independence from Serbia- a broad autonomy, maybe. I also believe that the stability of the region depends on the willingness of the local political elites to recognize two things: inevitability of living side by side, and necessity of compromising on many issues to make such a living possible.

FEBRUARY

13 2007

11

LEGAL ISSUES

Visiting Prof makes the case against media concentration AMY SMELTZER

The media protect democracy by reporting legislators who abuse their roles, but Edwin Baker says it's a two way street. At the annual Grafstein lecture in Flavelle Hall on Jan. 25, he called on legislators to constrain the concentration of media ownership in order to ensure that the media continue to fulfill their role in promoting democratic accountability and debate.

Baker, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says that media concentration undermines democracies by reducing the diversity of voices heard in public forums, eliminating safeguards against abuses by legislators and policymakers, and by shifting a focus from the public good to the bottom line. The media are the most important part of a properly functioning democracy, he says, so it's important that legislators regulate them.

Media ownership concentration decreases the quality of democratic debate by restricting the limited range of views presented largely to those palatable to corporations, Baker says. This problem isn't solved by the Internet: while mass

publication is free, the content of most smaller blogs is strongly influenced by major media and the readership is often negligible at best.

THE MEDIA PROTECT DEMOCRACY BY REPORTING LEGISLATORS WHO ABUSE THEIR ROLES, BUT EDWIN BAKER SAYS IT'S A TWO WAY STREET.

Concentration of ownership also eliminates democratic safeguards, Baker says. By reporting on abuse of the democratic process by legislators and the cooption of policy-makers by interest groups, the media help to ensure that those in power serve the citizens as a whole. However, the fewer owners there are, the more easily the media themselves can be enlisted by interest groups, he says. Moreover, because of a desire to cut costs by using the same reporters to create content for all print and broadcast holdings, the fewer media owners there are, the fewer reporters will be on the po-

litical beats and the fewer abuses will be identified, says Baker.

Finally, Baker says that concentration of media ownership increases the media's focus on profit at the expense of its democratic watchdog role. Whereas small owners are rewarded for ensuring quality media through the respect of their neighbours in local communities, the directors of conglomerates, in particular those with both media and nonmedia holdings, are more often primarily rewarded for increasing profits. Sometimes this is done by limiting distribution and thereby restricting general public debate.

But Baker says that applying a market model to the media creates market failures that promote socially irresponsible fluff entertainment and discourages the labor-intensive and often unprofitable reporting of political issues. ''We live more trivial or richer lives depending on the quality of the media other people consume, he says, pointing out that the best dinner guests are informed ones. "We all benefit by the media just being there with a good reputation, since it prevents the government from stepping out of line. But an eco-

nomic focus means that owners don't take into account the real costs to society of what they publish." ''We need media to make good social choices," Baker says. He suggests that legislators ensure they do so by creating laws that "get ownership out of conglomerates who are rewarded for their ability to turn a profit. Instead, legislators should encourage media ownership by journalists, non-profit organizations and local people who are motivated by nonmonetary goals such as promoting good social policies or community flourishing, Baker says. Moreover, he says socially undesirable concentration can be prevented by giving journalists and editors - rather than owners - veto power over any mergers. Ideally, he would also like legislators allow to media mergers only if they aren't to non-media firms and where the purchaser isn't larger than the seller.

A recording of the Grafstein lecture is available online: www.mediacast.ic.utoronto.ca /20070125-LAW/index.htm# and expands on ideas developed in Baker's book Media Concentration and Democracy , published last Dec. by Cambridge University Press.

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Survey results, Valentines Day advice, stress, and Professor Stewart

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Dr. Ruth: Valentine's Day Edition- Advice for the Lovelorn Dear Dr. Ruthie, My friends have been bugging me because they think that I should go for this guy in our class. He's cute and I think he's a great guy but I'm unsure about the whole inter-law school dating. My friends point to the other couples in our class that have managed to make it work as evidence that it is possible but I'm still skeptical. What do you think?

Thanks, Still Mulling DearStill Mulling, I think a little caution is probably a good thing. For every one of your friends' examples of successful law school couples there is another couple that did a fair bit of ducking around corners to avoid each other. The main question you have to ask yourself is whether this is just an "I think he's cute" kind of attraction or whether there is something more substantial between you so that it feels awkward to not date each other. If it is the former, then while it might work out, you could also probably let this go without too much heartache. If it's the latter, then stop being such a scaredy-pants and get on it.

*** Dear Dr. Ruthie, I'm totally panicked. Valentine's Day and my boyfriend's birthday are coming up and I can't think of anything to get him.

He is like most other guys: he likes sports and TV but that's not helping me figure out a good gift. Because his interests are typical guy interests it seems like anything I think of is so cliched. What do I do?

Help, Groucf?y Gift Giver

Dear Dr. Ruthie, I think I'm being Facebook-stalked. It's a big problem actually. It started when I got to law school and met tons of people in my year and got added by many new people everyday. I assumed that everyone who was adding me to their friends list was someone I met because, but to be honest, I didn't remember everyone. So this guy added me and started messaging me and then I looked up his profile and it turns out that he doesn't even go to school. How do I get rid of him?

Thanks, Qyber-prry Dear Qyber-prry, You've already identified problem number one. While for some people Facebook is a way to put up pictures and connect with friends, for others it is a pick-up device. There are people who will add you to their friends list for the sole purpose of trying to hook up with you. With that in mind, block this guy immediately. If he was just trying to pick you up there really is no harm in that but if he is consistently bothering you even though you don't respond to his communications then he really needs to be blocked. The thing about Facebook is that while it is a good idea in theory, guys like this are out there and now he knows where you go to school, who your friends are and what your interests are.

That's a lot of information for someone you've never met. And while I'm on the subject ... you can't edit the photos of yourself that others post, so even if you look heinous, they can be out there for everyone to see. That could be a good way of dissuading your stalker from contacting you- post ugly photos.

Dear Groucf?y, *** This is a familiar dilemma. Everyone at some point in a relationship has had the Dear Dr. Ruthie, dreaded gift crisis. But it is true that most I'm going away with my girlfriend for people don't abide by the whole "it's the reading week and it is our first trip tothought that counts" maxim, because gether. I'm kind of nervous. We spend a when that needs to be said, it is most fair bit of time together and stay at each likely because the gift giver was having other's places but still it's different when crazy thoughts. Tickets to sporting events it is all day, every day for a week. I love or a boxed set of either the Rocky her a lot but what if we don't have anymovies or The Godfather are usually thing to talk about after day three. good fallback options. Or you could just Thanks, take him out to a nice dinner, though Jet-setting Bqy that's not nearly as much fun because there is no wrapping paper. The bottom DearJet, There is nothing to be nervous about. line is don't stress out and just pick something - if he likes you enough he'll prob- Vacations are fun and there's lots to do ably like it too. so if nothing else, you can talk about the

activities or the plans for the next day.

I'm sure that your girlfriend is not expecting you to be "on" the whole time.

Part of the measure of a good relationship is whether you are capable of being comfortable with silence. That means when you are reading or doing something else, you don't constantly have to be entertaining. This vacation could end up telling you a lot about your relationship and whether you and your girlfriend are really well-suited. You have to be able to relax otherwise the whole point of going away is lost. Take a deep breath and pack your bags. All will be good once you have a frosty drink in your hand.

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H-llhom doe"""'& "Bad Boye"? r... -.:h<d .., c:piocd::. Don't

your v:hedo1e for t.ema1 caataet with fl:!aoc& Priu"'y fliaula- do,.. ..... ticdy _..... of l""!'k iD yavr <rimin•l ..... duo. Schoolllhooldo't be ,.,..... ooly c.-..; !t ::li.oold. be """ 1'"" of )'0\lt lifo at!d IIDt ytNf: <l1li<e """titr· On lh&t """'- dno:lop imuuta bqtnu! il1:lldyiog Cid sockRz!ag Do tilllloth'ug J'OU J.cne ((1! ,.,....tf. ~in-di"& plsjiag t!p0ft5<>< doq..,:! I or wcdt. TUiag

1ht tim.e to do d>eoe actNi:llc» will h.c:lp .,..,. ~"""""' .....W ,.-..1£ at!d l::olfiUc; to life, '"'"""'"'" which ""'7 1t:am the p< • .,..,. foc:l with ""'!""'l to ::c:bool. 'l'lu:t L:uls""' iobO ""~"""' pc>iot """ ec:motli:fe. !fi tufCD b N. 4114, ~ lo. .... c:ul""" of dl1o pl&ce, "" ''M l»~ STJ!ESS CXItl!lfNH!d an p. 15

FBATIJREs

13

IHRP: Focusing on Human Rights On:7 WMII'.o- (2L) rpm~ liN __.o/ 2006

gs:aphs, life tesw:ned as pet usual and e•eryone wu all Sllliles.

11/-' B~ mu/ C. II tWt/ Pfo/ed, 4 Not, of c:.oune, that there u .nothing IIHIJ ltx.tl!J ~ hlu/ f'illmllf!lll'il(fdill# ill ID be misenble about. Being Zambian alone iJ batd enough; being a woman in Mlrfo/inl, 24/tits. a vll1age with doze~U~ of gmndchlldn::n tx> taft C1lfC of u another story. Wcme, every one in her village bad been branded a. criminal by the load IZiiDing 2Uthorlties.

Itldecd, lhe main ftaSOII. I wu thete w.as to Wk. to tbevillageabo~~ttheir jtntninent eviction from thc:it 1an.d and ID btainstonn ~ ID &top it. If 'We~ SUC· ces4tul, tbeit bomn would be dcettoyed. tb.:irmango ttees would be cut dawn and they would be clu&cd. from the :bod. I did not exactly come with great news.

I met I:IWI:y criminals last SUIIllnet. All are vi.Ciim$ of a legal system dw. waa im.p<lliled frotn above .ad Wlitten in l~se thu they do .not Wldemao.d. The law btanded them 11q1Wttn after they, in the wotda of one Z11111blan. "took the land 1#1 ts ~IIIUIJ ~ Mlh tk DnJ-

God gave ua."'

Photographs can be misleading; The pndmother and gt:illdcbild ill. this photo oould be great subjecb Cot a fJ.obal aid~ They look milletable, pooor and in need of ~ lll sorne WAY'> that about SWllll it up. But in od:l.m. nothiDg ooald be further from tbe tnub.

I took this phoro 'Whilt on a11 internship with a sln211land righta mganir;:;ltion ill. MuNlic&, Zambia. I happened upon this wolllaQ and her family after a. all:l).munity meetillg dlat WIIB supposed to be otgallized by a l.ocall.eada: who failed to mata:ialize. We had wasted both out time and gu money twiee that 'Week to attempt to meet with a oomm:unlty that was about ID be cvica:d from their land by a. G•n•dian owned mine. Fl'WIU'ated ag:Un by the diffiwll:ies of <n:g.illiziDg wwnWlities without email, pholle 02: even postlll ~ee,. I dtcided ID mah Ute of my tit:ne in the village ID takephorognph!.

When I came a.<:!OSJ the woman and her grandchlldxen, they wexe longblng md yelling at each othet, clearlyhaving a wondetful time. As I approached, the dlil.dren squealed in delight an.d the woman gave tile a lal:ge, tootbless gzin.

"Muli shani," I Sllid. More laughing ao.d tulllliog aroUild.

"Bwio.o," ehe ~clearly enjoying my limited knowledge of Bcmba. I 1ifw'l my am.et:1. tx> aak if I oould tala: a photo and she nodded vigoroualy. If there u one thing that Zambian& lave it's hav:illg their photo tai:m.

Alld then she did a funny thin& & soon as I raised tbe Qmeta, both het and On:7'tp/HilJ 1l'iiJl1tJ Mil of 201m tiirp/lfj t/1/k tip G&i£ ''f:l- ~;, ftJou" p/JtFU 1«- her grnttddaughtu got vuy serious. No hi/lilll{ 111111 dfttiettk'IIIOfl:. ThJ MJillil MilfiliiJt- fi~ 12 1D Mtwth 2Z 20()7 ttllk Ulfi.. langbi"& no ehonting; ncthing chat te111tf1i!; of TmlltP Al'l Ctldn, 1J R'il'(!t Cr#lt!t! CinltJ. Ail141111f1111N1 111r nMkJ 1D llilfNJ liN ilcctt!l the~ life that I &aW in teal life. ~ tmt1 n~w tllldiotl'"' w~ ~ 21, 2Q07f-1 1 Rl9Jill'· All soon as I lwl tak:.:tt a few photo-

"Who are you, Ml1lllllgll, tx> teD 111 who owns the land?" he said. "We ate Zambians; tbia is Zambia The lal!id be~to

us."

When 'We finally did get the OOWil.U· llity meeting~ I - . told by a ~ ekb that they all had petmi~iO'l tx> stay on the bnd and had agn:cm.enl8 to tlw: effect ilsued by tbe copper mine.

I asked dUa tnan if I could see his ~ mcm, so I could ~a. betmr uodetatln.ding of what COilditiom lhe mine lwl .imposed. The man :emmed from his mud hut with a fillhy hitof rotdcd papa.

And thete in black ink, the doenment clearly st:W:d: "We ~to yow: application for a fiuming plot within the sw:f.ace righlls area of tbia oompany. We tegret to infotm you that your applicatioa has not been succ:easful." Ocar u day.

So I wmed to him and ll:ied. tx> explain !hat this was documeat did W>t t).ve him. permillllio.o. ID £ann. but~ actually atejoction letter that said jut the oppoeire.

He waa •d•mant. "No, thl!l is the paper chat saya I awn this land."

The meet unfairness of it :Ill wagbed heavily o.n me. The mine was picking on the poo:est of the wodd.'a poor and usiog a 1anplge of law that tbe 1oc.W did not wdcnw:td. Experiences like this made me llllgfy and bitter.

But dcspill: cill this,. Z•mbhan• aren't oru:a tx> be mill=ble. I found a great seme of joy and a clmdy-la:Ut community everywhere I W\:llt.

Photographs tell !1lally atoti.es. Bur my favowi11: ones ue the o.aes that catch a glimpse of how Zat:nbiuls live and the joy they get from the little things. This one ~ tile smile c:=y time, not because of the •tory it does tell. bur beeaii!IC of the memory behind it.

FEBRUARY

13 2007

15

FEATURES

Lawyers of the Caribbean: The Curse of the B-Curve ANDREW BINKLEY

There is a legend about a foolhardy band of student pirates: deep in the haunted underbelly of the SS Flavelle, they forgo stimulating lunchtime discussions, free food and consulting tomes in the shadow of Rosie O'Donnell. Sounds like folly.

The Generalissimo of Law Follies, Emrys Davis, agrees that it is a trying test. ''As a director, you're always unsure about the audience. Will they find it funny or not?" However, when the Professors took the stage on Thursday February 8th, Emrys' fears were allayed. He says, ''My favourite moment was watching the Dean and the Professors ... and hearing the big laughs that they got out of the audience. I knew then that the show would be a hit."

For Emrys it just got better from there. "Nothing could really top Hamish Stewart and Michael Code in their Dick in a Box parody." Well maybe Arnie Weinrib's avatar throwing his back out in a knife fight and C argh G's (Chris Graham's) cruelty consultant.

According to Emrys, lawyers are natu-

ral actors, "Michael Code being the perfect example." Surprisingly though, it is easier to work with lawyers than actors because "real actors are also prima donnas and can have problems working as a creative team. Our show just kept getting funnier because everyone worked well together and supported each other's ideas."

Lianne Cihlar also attributes many of the show's funniest moments to the collaborative spirit. Billy's break-up conversation that ended "I hope you get this message" (Laura Hage's contribution) and Eddie's "I wouldn't bother ugly, you clearly aren't good enough looking to work on Captain Goodman's ship" (Khalid Janmohamed's work) are two prime examples.

Emrys also remarked on how great the participation was this year. "I think we managed to involve more people in all aspects of the performance this year, from writing the show, to working back stage, to performing. Getting as many Professors as we did to perform was also a first as far as I know."

The Professors really were good sports. In addition to their acting, they

provided a valuable dramatic foil. As Brent Vallis says, you "can't beat making sexually inappropriate jokes in front of your Professor's kids! Wholesome good fun." The bar certainly has been set high

STRESS continued from p. 13

In first year, I took my laptop to class and typed every word the professor said. I thought that's what law students did. I hung around on the outskirts of groups after class who liked debating the finer points of tort law (much to Arthur Ripstein's annoyance). I did it because that's what I thought law students did. I did a lot of things because I thought I was supposed to, not because they were actually right for me.

My point is, do not let 'law school' tell you what you should do, or what your values should be. Too often the stress that accompanies being a law student has to do with this whole mentality we buy into. Instead, do things your own way. Trust yourself. Do not let others' expectations of you detract from your own desires and goals. And believe

for next year.

Thanks to everyone involved in the show, which includes of course the 350 members of the wonderful audience. No folly like law follies!

that law school can meet your expectations, whatever they are.

People experience stress in different ways: some get anxious, others depressed. As such, there is no one-sizefits-all approach to handling the pressure that we all feel. I think the aim of stress management should be a change in thinking, a new approach to how we view the problems in our lives.

So maybe you're really starting to get sick of the commute to and from Brampton every day. You COULD complain about it, but you won't.

Why? Because you're an upbeat, optimistic person. And because maybe taking that bus is contributing to your character development! That's where real de-stressing starts-not with eating more vegetables, but with the resolve to look at things just a little differently.

16

ANNUAL PoLL RESULTS

1. What is your overall impression of morale and general atmosphere at the Faculty of Law? 2002 3 19 20 45 14

2007 16% 50% 21% 11% 2%

Very Positive Somewhat Positive Neutral Somewhat Negative Very Negative

Despite recent controversy at DLS, morale at the law school appears to be generally positive. The numbers are especially impressive when compared to 2002, when only 22% of students had a positive impression, compared to 66% now. Maybe we're all inhaling the happy smoke from Professor Trebilcock's pipe.

2. What is your overall impression of the administrative leaders at the Faculty of Law? 2005 16 41 23 15 4

2007 17% 43% 24% 16% 0%

Very Positive Somewhat Positive Neutral Somewhat Negative Very Negative

The administration appears to be leaving no greater impression that the Daniels administration in its final year (or for that matter, the Bush administration). A change of Dean has not had a significant effect on morale at the law school.

3. Do you support the Dean's plan to build a new law school?

Yes

9. Do you believe that your law school grades reflect your:

No Maybe Not surprisingly, many students have not made up their minds about whether they support a new law school building. It appears that students still know very little about what the plan entails and how it will affect them.

4. What is the worst facility in the law school?

38% 4% 42% 11% 1%

Moot Court Room Bora Laskin Law Library Washrooms Grounds of Appeal Coffee Shop Faculty Offices

Many students had a hard time choosing; possibly because all of these facilities are all grossly inadequate. Interestingly, it turns out that 66% of females found the Washrooms to be the worst facility as compared to only 36% of males. Still, at least the water in the washroom doesn't cost $3.99.

5. Based on the law school curve, grade the performance of Dean Moran: A B+ B C+ C F 12% 30% 53% 4% 1% 0% One year into her term, Dean Moran's performance mirrors the law schools grade curve. Like Captain Jack's crew in Law Follies, the Dean appears trapped by the dreaded "curse of the B curve." The "honey-moon period" is defmitely over and time will tell if it's downhill from here or if she can find her way to the

Our fourth annual opinion poll was conducted from February 5 to 7, 2007. We surveyed 134 students, approximately a quarter of all JD students. Many of the questions we asked were asked in previous years, so we were able to track how opinions have changed over time.

This poll is representative of opinions held at this time of year. Many of the answers might be different at other points in the school year (i.e. when first years are not struggling with small group papers, and upper years have their job prospects crystallized.)

We invite you to submit your comments on the poll for the next issue of Ultra Vires.

ULTRA VIRES

Work Effort Intellect How smart you are relative to your classmates?

very Much

::,omewhat Neutral Not Really

Not Even Clost

18% 9% 11 %

41 % 48% 37%

11 % 8% 6%

13% 19% 30%

17% 16% 16%

We honestly don't know what to make of this or why we asked the question. land of higher grades. Maybe she should just take ADR; that'll help.

Interestingly, female students were far more likely than male students to give Dean Moran a high rating. Half of the females surveyed said that Moran deserved a B+ or better, while only 29% of men thought Moran deserved greater than a B.

6. Based on the law schoolcurve,gradethe performance of the SLS: A B+ B C+ C F 5% 32% 42% 14% 5% 2% The SLS is mired in mediocrity as well with many students not sure what exactly they do. We can presume that the 5% of A-givers were SLS members while the 2% of F-givers were to put it plainly: "SLS-Haters."

7. Do you study more or less than your classmates?

16°/o More 40°/o Less 44°/o About the same Lies, lies and more lies: Who the hell knows?

8. Based on your marks, what do you think is your class standing?

34°/o Top Third 57°/o Middle Third 9°/o Bottom Third

Although only 16% of students claim to study more than the average, more than a third thinks they are at the top of the class. About 24% of students are inflating their performance into the middle half of the class, but given that the school doesn't tell us where we are, most students receive similar grades and a good number of us are delusional it's not hard to account for this over-inflation.

Only 9% acknowledged being in the bottom third, making one wonder: are the rest too stupid to realize it?

10. What do you think about first year December exams?

36% Very useful 58% Painful but necessary 6% Not worth the effort An overwhelming majority of students support first year December exams ... probably because none of them have to write them ever again.

11. What do you think about first year bridge weeks?

5% 36% 30% 29%

They are great as they are Format needs to be improved Content needs to be improved Should be taken out altogether

The Bridge is definitely in troubled waters. One in 20 students like Bridge Week, but a good portion of that group say they like them because it's an opportunity to hop on a plane and hit a tropic location. Almost a third of students think they should be scrapped altogether, and another two thirds want the format or content altered.

FEBRUARY

12. What was your favourite extra-curricular activity this year?

6%

Writing for Ultra Vires

40% DLS

8% 7% 7% 32%

ANNUAL PoLL RESULTS

13 2007

Legal Journals Mooting IHRP Working Group Other

If you haven't written for UV you don't know what you are missing. However, it is not surprising that DLS is the winner in this category, as it has by far the most students participating. Interestingly, the 40% who liked DLS also like Ultimate Fighting.

13. Where do resources most need to be spent right now?

21 % 45% 24% 10%

Very comfortable Somewhat comfortable Somewhat uncomfortable Very uncomfortable

If 2/3's of us are comfortable expressing these views in class then why does it seem like the same 10 students are the only ones contributing in every class. Yes, we are talking about you AS, MG, JH, DM.

16. Are you happy you went to law school?

Yay! A Douggie Gilmour like percentage of students is happy. Excellent!

Retaining and recruiting faculty 17. Are you happy you Library resources Building a new school came to U of T? Funding clinics and internships Financial Aid Other Here is a shocker: we want money spent on the thing that is most important to us . .. ourselves! Only 20% see building a new school as an imperative course of Uh oh. Why are 7% of the happy conaction, making it unlikely that the SLS tingent not happy to be at U of T? It will be able to mobilize an army to invade must be the washrooms. the Music building anytime soon.

15% 5% 20% 16% 43% 1%

14. If you were to choose the next president of the United States, it would be: 22% 5% 6% 14%

1% 27% 1% 3% 12%

9%

Hillary Clinton John McCain Rudy Giuliani AI Gore Condoleeza Rice Barack Obama (Write-In) Stewart/ Colbert Albert Yoon Other Who Cares

Due to an error made by a UV Editor who doesn't have the initials "SW", Barack Obama was left off the UV survey. Nevertheless, it's clear that Obama-mania has taken off as Barack took the title as a write-in candidate. Not surprisingly, law students, if they could vote, would swing to the Dems. The campus Republicans prefer Rudy Giuliani. The comedic contingent likes a Stewart/Colbert ticket (as if Colbert would settle for the VP slot), while the school's idiot contingent likes Albert Yoon.

15. How do you feel about expressing your personal or political views in class?

18. To what extent do you agree with the statement "I feel like I fit in here"?

25% Strongly agree 41 % Somewhat agree

19% Undecided 12% Somewhat disagree 3% Strongly disagree We've gone from Dougie to Super Mario here. 66% agree with the proposition: very nice! Maybe the other third were music or pharmacy students who picked up a survey on their way to the library.

18.b Visible minorities How did the 34 students surveyed who identified themselves as visible minorities answer question 18?

2005 2007 6 15% Strongly agree 25 50% Somewhat agree 22 15% Undecided 19 18% Somewhat disagree 27 2% Strongly disagree

There is no significant difference between minority and non-minority students. In 2 years the number of minority students who disagree with this statement has fallen by 26%

19. Do you receive financial aid?

20. What will your debt load be after graduation?

35°/o 15°/o 34°/o 16°/o

$0 $1,000- $39,999 $40,000- $89,000 $90,000+

Some observers may be surprised to find out that the greatest percentage of students falls into the debt-free category. Seriously, these students should always be buying the rest of us drinks at the Bedford . This has to make you wonder if more and more of those that can get by with their own resources are finding their way to the school, while other students look for more affordable options.

21. Do you feel your professional choices have been affected by your debt load?

40°/ o Yes 60°/ o No

22. Do you plan on donating money to the law school after graduation?

15°/o Yes 33°/o No 52°/o Maybe We know that the law school has the lowest donor rate of alumni in the country and things aren't likely to get much better. Maybe if you charged us less now, we would give you something later?

17 They are questioning the management of the clinic and are saddened by the loss of their review lawyers.

25. If an election were held today, who would you vote for?

52°/ o 11 °/ o 18°/ o 0°/ o 8o/ o 11 °/ o

Liberal Conservative

NDP Bloc Other I do not vote

The Stephane Dion craze has taken over at U of T law. In a faculty where no professors are willing to identify themselves as Conservatives, 11% of students are still planning on placing a check beside Harper come election time. The NDP is looking good, the Greens probably make up the 'other' category, the Bloc better not be hoping to pick up seats at U of T law. And who doesn't vote?

26. Of the following candidates, whose invaluable work at the law school goes unrecognized and deserves an award?

28% 23% 7% 33% 9%

Celia Genua Effie M erril Boden J ohn Pappodop olou s The IT guy whose n am e nobody knows

First we have to figure out what that IT guy's name is.

23. Did you volunteer at DLS this year?

84°/ o Yes 16°/ o No You know there are other volunteer options. Like..uh ..writing for Ultra Vires.

24. How concerned are you by the resignation of 3 review lawyers at DLS? 35% 36% 13% 11 % 5%

Extremely concerned Somewhat concerned Neutral Not particularly concerned What are you talking about?

This will go down as the issue of the year for sure. And it's not something drummed up by over-zealous UV writers, or one of the many rna-issues created on Lawbuzz. Students are genuinely concerned about these resignations.

Next, the envelope please: It's the award you have all been waiting for.

Next month UV will profile the winner of the First Annual UV Under-Appreciation Award.

And John ("Papa-Dog") Pappodoplous, you are the first winner and will be receiving a prize shortly.

John helps out all students, never turning us away no matter how dumb or annoying some of us can be. John known footnoting like Pavarotti knows opera.

John is so under-appreciated that we don't even know how to spell his last name. It's about time we all got with the program, learned his last name and gave our own "Papa-Dog" a pat on the back for his hard-work and excellent performance.

FEBRUARY

13 2007

FEATURES

19

20

FEATURES

ULTRA VIRES

r----------------------------------------------------------------,

c;s~

Cooking from the heart SHARON SIT...BERT

and helping the men who are in these matters rather tardy."

fig. 1: passion fruit

* 1/4 cup green onions, chopped * 1 tsp. garlic, minced

fig. 2: artichoke

t

·~·

* 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped Chocolate - Widespread belief in the In honour of Valentine's Df!Y, this month's love-inducing qualities of chocolate recipes ftatNre aphrodisiac ingredients (named originated with the Aztecs, who noted for Aphrodite, the Goddes.r of Lt.Jve) that are that its consumption invigorated men celebratedfor their abilities to getyou ·~·n the and allowed women to lose their inhibimood." tions. When it was introduced to Europe, chocolate was immediately Passion Fruit- Legend has it that after associated with romance, an association consuming passion fruit, you will fall in which has continued to the present day. love with the next person you make eye We now know that chocolate contains contact with. Avoid eating it on the sub- phenylethylamine and serotonin, which way. have been known to induce the feelings of euphoric well-being associated with Oysters - Oysters are one of the most being in love. well known aphrodisiac foods. One theory behind their powerful effects, sup- Passion Fruit Martini ported by studies carried out by Italian and American scientists, is that they * 1 shot citrus vodka contain rare amino acids that trigger in- * 1 shot passion fruit juice (if you can't creased levels of sex hormones. Leg- find passion fruit juice, substitute with endary 18th-century lover Casanova is Y2 shot passion fruit syrup) rumoured to have breakfasted on 50 * 1 shot white cranberry juice oysters daily.

Combine with ice in a martini shaker.

Artichokes -Ancient Greeks and Ro- Shake and strain into a martini glass. mans believed the artichoke was an Garnish with a twist of lemon zest. aphrodisiac. This belief continued for centuries in Europe. In 1576, Dr. Bar- Oysters with Artichokes and tolomeo Bolda's ''Book of Nature" in- Pancetta eluded a passage stating that the artichoke " ...has the virtue of... provok- * 2 tbsp. olive oil ing Venus for both men and women; for * 50 g pancetta, diced women making them more desirable, * 1 tbsp. butter

* 1 jar artichoke hearts, diced * juice of Y2lemon * salt to taste

* pepper to taste

* 1/4 dry bread crumbs * 1I 4 parmesan cheese, grated * 8 to 16large oysters, shucked plus oys-

semisweet chocolate

* 150 ml whipping cream *

1 tablespoon Frangelico Liqueur, room temperature * 1I 4 teaspoon vanilla extract * 1 112 cups hazelnuts, toasted, chopped

ter liquor (the juice from the oysters) Preheat oven to 450F. In a medium saute pan or skillet, heat a tablespoon of the olive oil and cook the pancetta until brown. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the butter. Saute the green onions, garlic and parsley until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the diced artichokes and lemon juice. If the dressing seems dry, add some oyster liquor to moisten. Saute for about 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Remove from heat, add half of the bread crumbs and half of the cheese and toss lighdy.

Place 4 or 5 oysters into individual casseroles or ramekins. Top with the artichoke dressing. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Bake until browned, 10-15 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Chop the chocolate as finely as possible.

Use a food processor if you like. Bring the whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes, then stir with a whisk until glossy and smooth. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix well.

Refrigerate the chocolate mixture until firm (2-3 hours). Pour the chopped hazelnuts into a shallow dish. Have a mug of hot water standing by. Dip a teaspoon or melon-bailer into the hot water and use it to scoop the chocolate.

Drop the scoop of chocolate onto the chopped nuts and roll it until coated.

Repeat with the rest of the chocolate.

Refrigerate until firm. These truffles should be kept in the refrigerator, but they are best served at room temperature, so take them out about an hour before eating.

* 225 g bittersweet (not unsweetened) or

L----------------------------------------------------------------~

Putting social conscience back into corporate law NATASHA GWFFRE

Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) is a network of law students from every law school in Canada who are committed to undertaking valuable pro bono work in support of community partners and public interest organizations. The various programs offered through PBSC allow students to develop critical legal skills while assisting both their immediate and broader community. Approximately 2,000 law students across the country volunteer with PBSC each year, with 200 involved in the U of T program alone.

PBSC at U ofT is running the Notfor-Profit Corporate Law Project

(NPCLP) for its second year under the direction of volunteer Student Coordinator Natasha Giuffre. NPCLP pairs socially conscious students interested in corporate and business law with community organizations seeking information and assistance with various matters relating to incorporation (both provincial and federal) and establishing charitable status.

Students work in teams of two and communicate with their organizations by phone, email, and through various faceto-face meetings as the project requires.

Participating students work under the supervision of McCarthy Tetrault lawyer, Matthew Kelleher, in order to fulfill the needs of the client while gaining practical corporate law experience and

problem-solving skills. Kelleher is invaluable to the project's success, providing students with training on the basic corporate law issues relevant to the projects, as well as feedback and answers to questions that arise during the course of the project. Kelleher has generously donated his time to the project, and has opened up the resources of his firm to all the students involved.

The students also have access to an electronic discussion board facilitating conversation between all project members so that students can post ideas, questions and suggestions helping them to learn from and assist each other remotely. Overall, the experience serves as

a fantastic platform for students who want to gain experience and increase their marketability before beginning law firm work on Bay Street or elsewhere, while at the same time providing an invaluable service to organizations in need.

This year, the NPCLP team consists of 6 enthusiastic students: Alex Ghita, Alexandra Peterson, David Ni, Natasha Giuffre, Solmaz Separy and Stephanie Shendale. The students are all really enjoying the project. As ILM student Solmaz Separy explains, "I have learned a great deal working on the Corporate Law Project under the supervision of PBSC. It has truly been a stepping stone to the experience I hope to achieve during my articling program. The vast resources available at PBSC have assisted in solving the problems associated with our cases.

Volunteering at PBSC continues to be a very rewarding experience."

For more information aboutNPa.P or to appfy to participate in theprogramfor nextyear, pkase (f)n· tact Nata.rha at n.gitdJ'n@utoronto.ca. Applications will be atCBptedfrom the end of the schoolyear and

throughout the SUIIIfller.

our success starts with our students www.fmc-law.com/careers

FRASER MILNER CASGRAIN LLP MONTR~AL • OTTAWA • TORONTO • EDMONTON • CALGARY • VANCOUVER • NEW YORK

Tribute to Former DLS Lawyer Amina Sherazee IF TI-lE STUDENTS WERE THERE, AND TI-lE CLIENTS WERE THERE, SHE WAS

THERE. ABBY DESHMAN AND JESs

NoRMAN

Two years ago Jess visited the Toronto Immigration Holding Centre as a summer caseworker at Downtown Legal Services - part of a satellite clinic set up to give advice to detainees, many at risk of imminent deportation. It was there that Jess met a young Dalit man from Nepal. In his broken English he told her and fellow DLS-er Andrew Parley his story. He had been persecuted at the hands of both the Maoists and the Nepali police. It had been almost five years since he had seen his young children and wife. He had now been in detention for two days, and desperately feared for his life if he was forced to return to Nepal He'd already had a failed refugee hearing, a rejected application for judicial review, a failed humanitarian and compassionate application and a negative risk assessment. He seemed to have exhausted his legal options. Nonetheless, they listened to his story, took detailed notes, and told him they would look into it. They didn't have much hope, but thought that at the very least they could lend him a sympathetic ear for twenty minutes. Things seemed even bleaker the next morning, when he telephoned to tell them that his deportation to Nepal was set to proceed in seven days.

Back at DLS they told his story to Amina Sherazee, the immigration and refugee review lawyer at the clinic. Jess commented that his case seemed hopeless. She would soon learn not to use the H-word around Amina. She looked back at Jess with what would become a familiar look--one eyebrow raised and a halfsmile, inqwsttlve and slightly mischievous. Amina is a slight woman, friendly and hardly imposing at first glance. But she was fiercely dedicated to the clinic, and to lightening the burden of the poor and marginalized persons whose calls we take every week. She sprung into action on the Nepali client's case. Within a week she had helped the students file a successful emergency motion in federal court to stay his deportation. Over the next few weeks she guided them through the process of building a case to win him protection in Canada.

And it worked. He's now a permanent

resident, and his wife and two children, who he hasn't seen in over six years, will soon join him here.

This is just one of countless examples of the work Amina did at DLS. She changed lives, not just those of her clients, but her students as well. This was one of the countless times she said yes instead of no, when saying yes wasn't always easy-Amina worked beside us day and night. Over the years Amina's shown herself to be a selfless advocate. One student remembers calling her for advice on a weekend. Amina gave the student the advice she needed, but hurried off the phone a little faster than usual. A week later the student discovered why: it had been Amina's wedding day and she was dressed in her sari with her wedding guests waiting! Abby remembers working with Amina until3am. On Saturdays. On Sundays. On Christmas Eve. If the students were there, and the clients were there she was there. She worked tire' lessly for her clients. She fought the fights everyone else had given up on, and won cases that no one else thought could be won. She never gave up.

Amina joined DLS as a civil review lawyer in 2001, and soon after she started the clinic's immigration and refugee division. In October 2006, she was honoured with an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), and still somehow managed give the credit to her colleagues in her acceptance speech. Amina brought national attention to the plight of nonstatus persons, who are often unaware of their rights and deported before they have a chance to seek help. She reunited families, prevented the deportation of victims, mentored students, and saved lives.

As many of you already know, Amina is no longer with us at DLS. It's a huge loss to the clinic, and so many of her students, past and present, miss her already.

The light in her second-floor office was almost always on because Amina was almost always there. The light is still on, but we have to check the second-nature impulse to stick a head in the door and say hi. For many of us Amina represented what we aspire to be: dedicated, innovative, inspiring, and a fearless advocate for her clients. She represented the heart and soul of DLS in so many ways.

She will be sorely missed.

The First Year Firm Job: Why, Why Not, and How IAN CAINES AND AMANDA SIMPSON

So, you think you wanna work on Bay Street?

Why? Getting a first year Bay Street summer job is mainly a matter of comfort and security. It means that you'll have solved what is, for most people, the main problem of law school, and will be able to enjoy an eerily calm second year while the rest of the school goes mad around you. Plus, even if you don't end up with a job, going through the process at least provides some good experience for the next time around. [1] Why Not? There are, on the other hand, two important reasons you might want to avoid a first year firm job. First, getting a firm job means you'll spend the last summer before your life of law ...

doing law. You'll get there in the end either way, so why rush?

Second, working at a firm prevents you from taking that traditional route to a strong letter of reference: the RA position. At a firm you probably won't work enough with any one person, or on anything sufficiently academic, to get the sort of letter that Professor X could supply, after your summer in the library. This can be important if you have your heart set on a clerkship, or so we're told.

How? If you haven't stopped reading by this point, then you must still want Bay Street. So how to make Bay Street want you? There are three magical ingredients that will drastically increase your chances of success. The single most important thing you can do to get a "first year'' job is to be in the second year of a JD /MBA program. For the firms, the first year process is an opportunity to lock up early people they expect they would have to compete for in the second year. Since few are foolish enough to stretch out their law school experience by a year, such people are a rare and precious commodity. A look a last year's results show how much better their odds were. But even if you're a

FIRM continued on pg. 26

I Love/Hate you: Trial Advocacy MEGHAN Rll.EY

Let's talk trial ad. I took it in first term and it was supposed to be my bird course. Not that I'm lazy. Not that I wouldn't tty. But, let's admit it-we can all use a pass-fail course once in awhile.

I used my "B" in the lottery to sweeten my chances. Ironically, once I got into the course, it turned out that this was the first time that trial ad would not be pass-fail.

I decided to take the course anyway for two reasons. One: I was actually interested in learning the art of trial advocacy. 'IWo: I thought it would be easy anyway, because I have a background in theatre and improvisation. Turns out I sucked pretty hard at trial ad. Or, at least I wasn't the hot shot I'd hoped to bebut we'll get to that.

The way the course was graded was as follows: The class was randomly split into rooms to do the workshops and then practitioners were assigned to those rooms to coach and grade the "performances." Halfway through the course, the rooms were shuffled. There was no consistency. There was no dou-

ble blind. There was no way to evaluate the rooms as against one another; I'm skeptical about how grading the whole class on the curve was done.

Not to say that I deserved better than what I got. I didn't. It's just that I'm sure there are people who did. More to the point, I don't think trial ad should be graded at all. That's actually more my point. Not only is it too subjective, but it changes the nature of the course.

Trial ad should be about experimenting with different tactics and using the expertise of real practitioners to practice in a safe environment while we are still in schooL That's not how our course worked.

Now, about the lectures ... I'm fine with there being a lecture component.

If you've ever had a class with me, you will know that I actually enjoy lectures and participating in class. But these were infuriating. The whole class met for a 50 minute 'lecture', inconveniently timed between 6:10 pm and 7 pm, which was invariably: a) a verbatim repetition from our textbook; b) an item-

TRIAL AD continued on pg. 22

FEBRUARY 13,2007

23

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

SELMUT Sarcasm Enriches Legal Minds at U of T DearSelmut I am at the end of 2L and I still don't have a summer job. I am really worried about paying my tuition next year without landing something. It's really hard to talk to anybody about this because my friends aren't able to empathize as they have great summer jobs. You are my last option: I am really getting close to the edge...what should I do?

Da!(!d and Cotifused Dear Dazed and Confused We are troubled because it sounds like you are considering leaping from the edge. Selmut never, under any condition recommends suicide by leap as this is the most painful type. If you are serious about doing something drastic (like suicide) Selmut is not going to dissuade you.

Instead, we recommend you consult a book (Suicide for Dummies is available at Indigo for $25.95 and well worth it) or consult someone who has tried and failed for pointers.

As for your greater problem, Selmut can infer from the question that you go to Osgoode, because U of T Law students are brilliant and should have no problem finding lucrative employment by the end of second year. U of T also offers an excellent financial aid program so it's impossible that you could be having any problems paying your tuition.

We would love to help more, unfortunately Selmut is subsidized by University of Toronto and unable to provide free advice to Osgoode students.

DearSelmut Faculty of law professor here; my students are tuning me out during class or not even attending. They don't ask any questions and some of them are checking their emails during my lectures. I can't teach in this environment, what should I do?

Disgruntled Faculty

Dear Disgruntled Facul!J I suspect you teach Administrative Law at the Faculty. I also suspect that I am in your class. You see, there are two types of professors at the law school. Good ones and bad ones. Unfortunately you fall in the latter group. Students aren't listening to your lectures because we would rather be watching paint dry. And we don't feel sorry for you because we don't like you. I suggest you start ending class on time, giving us full 10 minute breaks and maybe spend less time talking about the material and more time talking about 24 or American Idol.

DearSelmut IL here; my problem is I got 2 C+s last semester and I am worried I won't be able to make partner at Davies. My friends on Lawbuzz are telling me that my best option is to pursue personal injury options in Orillia. Should I give up my dream? Is it too late to rebound?

Underachievingfirstyear

Dear Underachievingfirstyear The first semester of first year will likely determine your future employment prospects. 2 C +s probably means you aren't too sharp and should probably never have been admitted to the school in the first place. The admissions committee must have really botched up your application. We asked Arnie Weinrib about you and he said that every year a few dummies fall through the cracks.

Luckily you have turned to the right source of advice---Selmut's cousin Lawbuzz. Take their advice and look into the Orillia market. It's a thriving community, a great place to raise a family and close to a casino. But don't stop there. Consider doing the law school a favour and transferring to Windsor, where you will be surrounded by students of comparable intellect. Allow U of T to open a space for a student with Bay Street potential.

Client counselling • •

competttton ZVIHALPERN

i wan We'll help you grow.

We have what you need to excel as a student and to become a great lawyer-a broad and flexible learning experience, a solid professional support network, and state-of-the-art resources to facilitate your transition from law student to lawyer.

Discover for yourself... Gowlings produces great lawyers.

IW•V'J!I§Stl

iwantgowlings.com

THE POWER OF ORIGINAL THOUGHT

Mo~al

I

Ottawa

I

Toronto

I

Hamilton

I

waterloo Region

I

Calgary

I

vancouver

I

Moscow

It was a slow morning in the offices of Halpern and Hamilton. My partner Mike was sitting at his desk. He was looking sharp in his three-button suit, but my friend Jack was sitting on my desk, working at softening Mike's edges.

Like I said, it was a slow morning.

Suddenly a dame burst into the office. She was distressed.

The dame needed our advice. She needed to get away from her abusive husband. Tonight. And she was taking the kids. Was that illegal? Mike and I looked at each other. We're the best damn lawyers in this town. We charge $200 an hour. Each. But we don't know a thing about the law.

The 2007 Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Client Counselling Competition was an amazing experience. We dressed up like lawyers. We had offices like lawyers. We had clients come in and tell us their problems, and we listened like lawyers. The only thing different was that we had two judges in the room, with both legal and psychology backgrounds, who sat across from us the entire meeting and scrutinized every inflection of our voices to see if we were listening empathetically and giving

decent legal advice.

This year, 16 teams of first and second year students competed at BLG's offices. Very few of us knew anything about family law. The best advice anyone could give was: "if you retain us, we would be able to help you by writing a letter, or if that doesn't work we could get more formally involved by helping with mediation." We were not being judged on our legal knowledge, but on our listening ability and conveyance of the important facts.

Things not to say were: ''We charge $200 per hour. Each." Also, calling the client a "dame" is wrong on several level. Still, after a few minutes, we felt like lawyers, and that this client had a real problem. We actually felt awful that we could not help this poor woman. We racked our brains for any advice we could give her. Finally Mike came up with something. ''You should call the police on your way out of town."

24

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

ULTRA VmES

CDO: Time to Start Liaising with Norway?

ADAM SHEVBLL

The CDO does a phenomenal job helping students to turn legal studies into concrete professional goals. Whether it's a job in a corporate firm, public interest organization, the government or academia, student self-realization manifests itself in many colours and the CDO must be commended for the skill with which it catets to the diverse interests of the student body.

I was surprised, then, to tead. the opinion last month arguing that the CDO should quit liaising with New Yotk.law firms [CDO: Stop Assisting the NYC Migration]. This is be<:ause the CDO serves the interests of all of its concurrent stakeholders via its work south of the border. On an individual level, law students are served well by these efforts.

As with any post la:w school pursuit,. if there are enough students interested in starting their legal careers in New York,. it is incumbent upon the CDO to help these students attain their professional goals. The matter is intimately linked to individual choice and self-realization.

Canada is not a centnlized economy where movement of labour is restricted, nor should be; it is a model completely at odds with our Charter values of autonomy and human dignity. The CDO

serves the interests of students by helping them exettise their autonomy in this respect, regardless of what their career plans may be.

On a community level, the law school is served well by these efforts. Having U ofT graduates working in New York raises the visibility of the law school abroad. Not only does this help attract an international mix of talented students and excellent professors, but it also plays an important role in the international dialogue that the Faculty is keen to cultivate. As with ideas, great scholarship knows no borders, and attempting to keep graduates here erodes the benefit that the Faculty derives from this international exchange.

On a national. level, Canadian society is served well by these efforts. Yes, some students will be leaving the country. Yes, they tend to have good grades and strong leadership qualities. But many Canadians do come back to Canada; just consider the sky-lUgh associate turnover rates at New York la:w firms or browse the "People on the Move" se<:tion of Lexpe.r:t.

The fact that there is a stable population of approximately a quarter of a million Cana.dians living in New York and a consistent annual flux of Canadians moving there further confirms this conclusion.

Moreover, dwelling on the immediate

and visible 'cost' of lost Canadians is misguided as it misses other pertinent values in the ledger. Working in New York provides excellent training and experience that will be of value to Canada when they return. The U.S. is Canada's closest economic and cultural trading partner; it is highly beneficial to be able torelyonC~swhohaveworlred

in the U.S., who understand their con-

.As FOR THE ARGUMENT THAT CANADA IS LOSING VALUABLE TAXPAYERS TO THE U.S., SUCH STATIC NOTIONS OF NATIONAL

INTEREST ARE ANTIQUATED AND SMACK OF POPUUST POSTURING. cems, interests and way of doing business, and who will fill the posts of the legal profession, academia, the government or business upon their return. As for the at:gument that Canada is losing valuable taxpayers to the US., such static notions of national interest are antiquated and smack of populist posturing.

If the CDO should concern itself with tax dollars being lost to the Yankees, shouldn't it also be concerned about losing tax dollars to other provinces and

quit helping students get jobs in Vancouver, Calgary or Halifax? After all, the provinces are primarily responsible for funding education. Should Ontarians be incensed that they are funding the education of future Vancouver la:wyers? Let"s get real Drawing the line at the Canadian border is an exe.r:cise in the arbitrary. Though it may be discomforting to know that some of our fellow students' future tax dollars will go towards supporting questionable U.S. government policies, what about our gove.r:nment's questionable policies, such as the murder and terrorization of civilians in Afghanistan, the export of asbestos to developing countries, or the systemic impoverishment of the First Nations? Perhaps the CDO should do more to help students get jobs in, say, Norway where the government is (more-or-less) a benevolent creature?

Then again, Norway supports commercial whale hunting.

Is there such a thing as a guiltless government? Should this be a real concern for the CDO? I1ldividuals are free to consider the mo.ral implications of supporting this or that government with their tax dollars and to act accordingly.

But that is a matter of personal ethics, not something that should inform the mandate of the CDO.

At McCarthy Tetrault, we are leaders in providing our clients with a unique depth and breadth of expertise that spans the country and all areas of law.

We attract the best and brightest talent to our ranks, fostering a diverse and exciting professional environment that offers many opportunities for growth.

By striving for excellence, rewarding creativity and promoting Initiative among our people, we build on the successes of our fmpresslve past to help develop the leaders of the future.

To inquire about articlins and summer student programs, log on to mccarthv.ca/leadership.

Do you have what it takes?

McCarthy Tetrault

The right people. The right results .â&#x20AC;˘ VANCOUVER

CALGARY

LONDON

TORONTO

OTTAWA

ClUEBEC

LONDON, UK

MCCARTHY.CA/LEADERSHIP

FEBRUARY 13, 2007

OPINIONS AND EDITORIAlS

~

day, the one

personal "porn

ab w

r the entire

~ tan my own

thon," or the last one where I called my ex for 13 co.nsec~ utive hours begging for her to come back to me, and subsequently being rejected each and every time (Damn you Stephaniel Damn you to Helll), then yeah-Valentine's Day isn't so bad.

Nonetheless, I have some qualms with the dr~ed St. Valentine and his day of arbitrary niceness and money-spending.

Fo.r starters, it is an invented holiday.

Kind of 1ilre Christmas. It is a ploy to ad~ vertise and sell cheesy cards and chocolates in heart-shaped boxes and lots of red things. Although I do like the cinnamon hearts, I do not like what comes along with this ploy: a huge overdose of KYJelly and DeBeers Jewel.ery commercials. Yeah I get it-she wants to have sex and also wants jewelery. Tough noogie~! have a fucking e:ne.nded paper to write, an appeal at DIS, and summaries

to start writing. Keep in mind that I also have no money, which makes anything besides some Nutella smeared on a playing card pretty much out of reach in terms of gifts.

Then there are the obligatory plans for the night. Dinner, .roses, blah, blah.

Romance, romance. I say fuck romance.

I can't afford romance. Romance is invented-like Jesus and Christmas.

And what about the poor souls who don't have a partner on Valentine's Day? I say, fuck you. You lucky bastards. You might sit there and cry about being alone, and how Valentine's Day is so lonely and upsetting when you have no one to spend it with. Think about it this way: now you can get drunk, sit around in your und~ar all night and play video games, all the while indulging in the single life that some of us once had and savow:ed. Yes, you won't have any sex (at least not for free), but neither will I. There is no way she is going to sleep with me after she gets the Nutella cud.

Yow: money would have been spent on the dinner and chocolate anyway. It's a better deal for you, trust me. Plus, channel 303 at 12:30 has some great movies.

So, there it is. A short explanation of why V2lentine's Day is really not all its cracked up to be, but rather, a day to waste money, get f.tt, and then fall asleep on the couch before even getting any.

Happy Valentine's Day, suckers.

25

Students Law Society Update Ah Febroary, the Wednesday of' the school calendar. Far enough through the week to feel that you haven't gotten enough done, but too far from the weekend to feel like you're about to start over. In the world of law school governance, though, these humpday blues haven't yet kicked out the New Year's resolution phase. With three Faculty Council meetings left and a boatload to get through, every committee, subcommittee, working group, and synonym for the above is firing on all cylinders. So If your SLS reps are lookIng a III:Ue over-taxed (and overmeetinged), be a dear and buy them some grounds of appeal.

First off, a big thanks to everyone who responded to one or more of our 'tell us what you think' calls. I know a town hall, a pedagogy open forum and an online survey or two are a bit ~uch for January, and we really do appreciate all the feedback we got. The Pedagogy Working Group's recent open foroms brought usef\JI student Insight Into the n~w ~roup's priorities. Kim's game show highlights: Hot- different evaluation options, hypos In classes, teaching first years how to do law school. Not - zero post-exam feedback, paltry course evaluations, inconsistency between small groups.

The big piece of homework for the end of the year, though, Is an update to the 2~02 Academic Plan. This megacommittee (20 plus) is charged with putting the law school's broad goals and aspirations for the next three years to

paper, which will be handed in to Governing Council. We'll see whether the Dean's Office and Co. are pulling all nighters in the law school the week before it's due. The upcoming Faculty Council meeting (Febroary 14 at lunch In the solarium) will also bring an Interim report from the International Advisory Committee, which has been considering a new 'Thematic Tenn Abroad' program. The idea there is to develop doser relationships with certain pe_er Institutions who, among other ttungs, could provide foa.lsed exchange terms in particular areas of law.

Valentine's Day will also bring the SLS's popular pancake breakfast back to town, courtesy of the Affairs crew.

They've been busy doling out the winter cash to the dubs, who look to have impressive slates lined up for the semester.

Meanwhile, plans are well underway for our big gig of the year: Law Ball comes up on March 24 at the Bollerhouse. Save the date and shine your shoes.

Finally-and I know we've been a bit Boy Who Cried Wolf about this-there will be something SLS related on the lnf'onnatlon superhighway In the near-Ish future. With the last few lines of this month's missive, I'm going to make my first of two pitches for the March SLS elections. Think about running. There's a lot that goes on at the school, and a lot that changes year to year. We all have ideas about what would make this place a better one. If you're Interested In working on It, do consider throwing your name in.

OGILVY RENAULT I1.P /s.EN.CJU...ul

26

DIVERSIONS

ULTRA VIRES

Outstanding Opportunities Exceptional Colleagues We're always proud to be recognized for our many awards and special achievements. But what's really important to note is what our students say about Torys: How our collegial environment- one that brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds, personalities and styles - creates an atmosphere of friendship and team spirit.

How our dedication to professional excellence and a client roster of prominent Canadian and international corporations provide an exceptional platform for learning and professional growth. To find out more about what Torys can offer you, please call Deborah Dalfen, Director, Student Affairs, at 416.865.7544 or visit our website at

www.torys.com

TRIAL AD continued from pg.22

i.zation and detailed description of what had already been emailed to us; and/ or c) corrections or clarifications on the cases. The class would drift off for all of this and revive in time for the demonstration of some technique that we were to employ for a grade on Thursday night. Then most people would copy it down and commit it to memory, probably because the course is graded and no one wants to fail. How boring.

Finally, I am going to complain about the work load. This course raked me over the coals. This three-credit course required more effort than any of my other courses and possibly more than my competitive moot last year. Written assignments and performances every week, two mini-trials, a fat trial notebook documenting theme, story, exams, cross, exams, checklists, witness statements and a lot of other preparation I am forgetting. This should be a four-credit course, and it would be a heavy one if it were.

Having eviscerated trial ad, I am fully prepared to say that this was one of the most rewarding experiences of law school. On the day of the final trial, I found mysdf handing my trial notebook to Julie Hannaford with a huge smile and saying to her how much I valued the course. And I meant it. This was despite the fact that I had just lost the verdict in

my final trial with my husband sitting on the jury, had consistendy loathed the Tuesday night lectures, and routinely found myself flubbing around uncomfortably during my Thursday "performances."

If you want to know the truth, I learned a lot in trial advocacy. I went in thinking I could wing it, and I came out realizing that the turde will beat the hare every time in trial ad. Preparation is

FIRM continued from pg. 22

real first year, don't despair: there are typically a few jobs left over. The second important thing for getting a first year job is grades. It turns out the "just for practice" exams count for something, after all. The firms have stacks of hundreds of applications, and want to hire 3-4 people. If you don't have a few As on your transcript, the firm will just find the otherwise identical person who does (she goes to Osgoode, you were separated at birth).

The final factor in getting a job is the interview. The interview is really all that matters once you get to it, and since it is-- unlike grades and MBAs-- not completdy out of your hands at this point, I'll end with a few words of interviewing advice: First, be friendly and be

everything. My worst moment had to be when I didn't prepare for one of our expert witnesses, and then I misquoted him during my cross-examination. He called me on it. Then I cried publicly while getting comments from the smug practitioner about my 'performance'.

Unfortunatdy, I cry when I am mad, sad, tired ... It's just an emotional release.

These particular tears were tears of embarrassment commingling with rage.

And this is actually why I loved trial ad in the end. Not for that moment, but for what that moment was emblematic of.

Trial advocacy brought out an intense emotional response from me that I have been missing in law school. And I loved it. I have a sneaking suspicion that crying is not kosher in court though-so I'll have to be better prepared. Lesson learnt.

Thank you, trial ad.

yoursdf. Naturally, the big question on the interviewer's mind will be whether they think you'll be annoying, and you want to put them at ease. What's more important, though, is that you really don't want to get a job by personality fraud somewhere you don't actually fit in. Even if you manage to pull off the deception, living the lie for the rest of your life will be both tiresome and depressing.

Second, know what's going on, in every sense: know what's on your resume, know who you're talking to, know what stories are being talked about in the Globe. The interviewer probably won't be too interested in the cases you're reading in contracts, and whichever way the conversation flows, you don't want to look ignorant.

Finally, and this is very important,

under no circumstances should you ever say "I would be a great person for A B & C LLP because ," You have been in law school four months; your interviewer was admitted to the bar years ago. If you find yourself lecturing them on what makes a good lawyer, then something has gone very wrong indeed.

[1] I would mention money at this point, but

that would be crass.

FEBRUARY

13 2007

27

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

Raise the Minimum Wage to $10 per hour?

JOSH LAVINE

I have tremendous sympathy for Ontario's "working poor." At the current minimum wage rate of $7.75 an hour, a full-time employee earns only $16,120 on an annual basis. Over two-thirds of such workers are women, and a disproportionate many are immigrants. I can only imagine how hard life must be surviving on $16,120 a year, never mind for those who have children or other dependents to provide for as well.

To say, however, that the solution to such poverty is to raise the minimum wage is misleading. Activists in favour of a recent NDP motion to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour argue that it is necessary to keep those that work fulltime above the poverty line. Such arguments, however, fly in the face of basic economic theory which suggests that when governments increase the cost of hiring employees, fewer employees are subsequently hired. For a first-hand example of this, look no further than to France, which possesses some of the strictest regulation of employment in the western world: the result has been to create such strong disincentives to hire employees that current rates of unemployment stand as high as 23 percent for youth. The systemic inability of certain disadvantaged groups to find work was partially behind the massive

French labour riots of 2006.

This is not to say that the minimum wage should not exist as a mechanism of market regulation. In a market with no minimum wage, some employers would inevitably take advantage of those desperately looking for work and pay wages far below what should be reasonably expected. At the same time, however, if you imagine an Ontario with a minimum wage of $50 per hour, it seems fairly obvious that there would be a gross imbalance between those looking for work at $50 an hour, and those actually willing to pay for labour at that wage rate. Though some employees would be elated to reap such large increases in pay, many others would be rendered unemployed, unable to find work. Once you come to this realization, the question of what should be the proper minimum wage is simply one of striking the right balance between these two polar outcomes.

Traditionally speaking, Canada has tended to favour stronger market intervention than has our largest trading partner, the United States. We have higher minimum wages, higher taxes and more expensive social programs, all of which are forms of market disruptions that therefore come with an economic cost: the rate of unemployment in Canada is chronically 2-4 percent higher than it is in the United States and our GDP per capita is nearly 25 percent lower (and the gap is growing). As such, the debate over whether we should further increase the minimum wage is yet another example of when we as a society must make a policy choice over whether or not to accept less aggregate wealth in order to ensure that some of those who earn the least can be made slightly better ofÂŁ As it stands, the minimum wage in Ontario is scheduled to increase to $8 on Feb 1 2006, representing the fourth increase in the minimum wage in four years. To increase it by a further $2 (or by 25 percent) would represent a signif-

JEREMYGUCK

I participated in the City of Toronto's flrst Street Assessment, by which it was hoped that the needs of the City's homeless would be determined. To what extent it succeeded remains an open question, but one story in particular has stuck with me.

I was assigned to a homeless shelter and was sitting at a desk with a pile of gift certificates beside me to hand out to people who completed the survey. A man walked in to the room and sat down. He was in his late fifties and seemed almost embarrassed to be talking to me at all. He said he had been working for his entire life. The problem was that the salary he earned was not enough for him to be able to both rent an apartment and feed himself. As this was the case, he was living in a shelter. And then he icant jump far in excess of inflation.

Don't get me wrong, I wish everyone made at least $10 for an hour of their work. Heck, I wish everyone made $50 for an hour of their work. But using the statutory minimum wage as a means of accomplishing this objective would further push Ontario's economy one step away from the United States, and one step closer to France. When viewed in this light, maintaining the current policy of small, staggered increases in the minimum wage seems like a fairly compelling choice to me.

looked at me and asked me what he was supposed to do. I told him that I was very sorry, had no idea what he could do and was just there to fill out surveys. I handed him a five-dollar gift certificate and never saw him again, though I imagine he is still at that shelter, working in a low-paying job and waiting for housing.

The answer of course is to raise the minimum wage. Having taken economics in undergrad in Alberta, I understand the arguments against this course of action. Though I have not seen the arguments put forth by Josh Lavine (which is Dutch for Avalanche), I have no doubt that his arguments are soundly based on allowing the market to determine the minimum wage based on principles of supply and demand. The problems with this argument are twofold. First, economic theories fail to take into account the power imbalances between management and labor. Minimum wage workers are largely not unionized and do not have the ability to negotiate their wages when they need those wages to survive at even a subsistence level. Given that supply will always exceed demand in a capitalist economic system that requires a base of unemployed workers in order to function, there will always be someone ready to take a low-paying job if only to avoid the perceived stigma of welfare (as well as its inadequate level of assistance).

Even if my understanding of economics is wrong, ultimately my belief that the minimum wage needs to be raised well above the proposed level of $8 an hour comes from the gut. When the top executives in Canada can earn each day what an average household would earn over a year, while someone who has worked every day of his life cannot even afford the necessities of life, relying instead on homeless shelters, there needs to be change. Raising the minimum wage to eight dollars an hour is not enough of a change. Neither is ten dollars an hour, but it's a start.

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28

DIVERSIONS

ULTRA VIRES

Forty Years and Counting yean. Let WJ ~lila: a moment to put chat in awm: of thdr c:ountry's involvement in perspective. In 1967, the la&t time Lea& a far-off count1y tailed Vietnam; acd the This is 2 fun time of year to be a hockey fans had any legitim2.te teaSon to cheer, dteam of 011e day putting a man on me fan. Wid!. the All-Star bfed: behind us, the: first eva Super Bawl Will played; you moon seemed closu than ever. wt: head iAto the home sts:etch of the could buy a new cu for under: $3000; the For most people, this painfully long Nlfl.. regubr scas011. Rumollf$ of tr.a.de$ Bc:2d.e$ were uvolutionD:ing the music Cup d!ought would be 2 sow:ce of aLid p~yoff chances ht.ve begun to dom- world wi1h their m0!11llllental album, Sgt. shame, or at least f:rust!Ui.on. You might .inatc 'Wllrer-coola: OOD.Ve.nati011a across Pepper's Lon.ely Hearn Qub BlUl.d; think Lea£s fans would wam to conceal c~ The playoff pictu1'e lik:dy W0!1't Amettcana wete io.cteaaingly becomiltg this sad tt:ality, but then you wouldn't be finalized until the last few games of knaw tlWlf Leafs fan&. M2ny of these the seasot~, and this unc:eftainty makes 1967 mca were proudly disp~ycd on 2. every game an important one. website: !or a 40th llllllivmar:y tsibutc There is one thing we «.11 be cemin dinner being h.eld 011 Match. 22 2t the of, however: the Toronto Maple Leafs Convention Cenue. Yes, thete is going to are .110t going to be the OlleS to bdng the be a cc:kbmtion of me met chat the last Statlley Cup home. I won't go iAto the time a blue 1:1\aple leaf was a victorloua tea.Sons why because that should be obsymbol w.as only two ye:m 2ftc:r 2 ted vious to myone who follows hockey, but

let me just say th2.t j£ the~ of Kazakhsw1 is won:ied about its country's tepul2.ti0!1 being tarnished, they should fozget about Bent ud c:oncents:ate on Nik: Anttopav. S-un; the .L.eaf5 may back their 'llny into the phyoffs for the lint time in a few yean (they currently sit in .rililth place 2.lld out of a playoff positt0!1), but ~ j£ they do, they will blow it like they do evHY yeu, and this is lwdly a .llewliWOrtb:y development.

What b1llkea thie feat apecW. however. is th.tt it will be fOtty ye:m eince the LeafS' Jut Stanley Cup victory. Po!ty

1967: Frank Mahovlich a11d Red Kdly celebtate the Lea&' last St2nlcyCup

Mah-a-W1Sh Foundation, so I hope th.tt the v = .i5 pacb:d to the brim with yuppies trying to impress their c:IWlta or

climb the social ladder. My purpose for bdriging up this commemomtion of almost half a century of mediOQ:ity is that it illusts:ates the hubris that perme11tes "Leaf!~ Naai011" and the effix:t chat it has on im reputa.lioll. The: test of the: country's c:ot~~~empt fo.t the Le2.fs is sometimes compared to its disdain fo.t the city of 1'orollto il:li~ or, closer to home, other law schools' scom for oor noble institution. They say it is just a nwtu of envy.

But what is thes:e to be envious of?

Toro.llto is a mnta6tic city wid!. lots to offer, 2nd, along with many other Clll12.maple leaf became che cente.rpiece of dian cities, is t. gret.t pl2ce to live. U of T ou:t co\llltty's new flag. Tic.i:eta for the Law is obviously me best in me country, event ~ selling from $250 for the b2sic so at least we have an excu&e to be jackdinner to an exotbitant $15,000 fot a uses to everyone else. But wh.ll.t defence "capmin"s table". Th.c:se ticb:t p.a:ices en- do Leafs fans htl;ve? What can they be sure that the attutdees of che dinner will proud. of? Notlq B1.tt that doesn't step teflect chose of a game at the Air C:w2.da. them &om thinking that they are. !or Cenae-t:ich co.rpontc types who cue some ine:r:plicable teaSon, better than much m02:e about sell1ing the: dC2l over: a evo:yone ebe. .A:! Michael Farber puts it waiter-delivered glu& of wine than in his article, "Why Everyone Hates the 'WUl:hing a hockey game.

Leafs," the team w become "the New The xeuon I m.entio.11 the: gal.a. is .11ot Yolk Yankea of hockey, save for me because I oppoae it, in itael£ In fact, I championships and the <J.uiet We wish it p t suc:cess; net proceed& from are talking about a fa.n base th2.t comme dinner go to 2. wondedul C1LUSC:, me monly refers to the Leafs 2S "God's team." If the Totonto Maple Leafs are G::ld's te~UD. I have been greatly misinformed about the Almighty'$ oflltlipote.nce. Either that or He is one me1111 practical joku. He'll been leading His flock the desert for forty Jeat$, but the Promised 14nd is nowhete in sight. I must give some aedit to me pitiable diadp~ who, sea~~on after st2S0!1, think t1w this will be the yeuwhen me Cup finally comes back to Toronto for a reaso.n other than bciDg displayl:d in the Hockey HaD of Fame. They ate clearly going on faith alone beause no tati0Jl21 penon would come to such ridiC\llous conclusions. Besides, it's all the teferees' fault. ritjJr) If only t1w pe.nAlty hlld been called on Gretzky. .. But for evcxy Leab faa. who .is saiously devoted to his or her team there ate 10 whosecretly clwige the channel &om Joe BOWI:Il to Ryan Scaerest'When no one is looking and couldn't name five: p~ycn on the eurrent roster. Of cour.!e, this doesn't stop chc:m from obnOI:iowily professiDg cheir dio-lw:d. commiiDli::D.t to this frw:hise at every po$$ible opportunity.

Mlflill.o; no Let me finish by saying this: j£ you~ Kuldlg~ Rot;a~ a Leafs fan, dthe.r: a 1eal o.nc: or a fake kluba karoga one, pleaae, have a sense of humour ' ' l~l:t<:~~ 2baut all thi&-Gcd appatendy does. Go -~ cc..'"l'cmonlja..~- (no Lea£! Go. 41;Wolli) priive5ts Viestw;s, P~~.

Roauy i m eroaIf you're Interested In a llollill Zvi edJijlll! Malltilead position next l~'ltvljas 2410. year; help out with the next

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Ode to Bora Lovin' Listen, children, to a thyme Of law school lust and love sublime.

Of heavy petting 'tween the st2cks.

Of using Bora to the max.

One day beneath a pile of books A law school lad espied the looks Of law school lass across the aisle On whom--for just a little while-He might have had a little crush Always insisting 'there's no :rush,' For dating takes up precious time That's best spent reading torts and crime.

But then one day he saw her eyes, Her pressing and substantial thighs And looked up to the gods above To 'Violate her "Section Love."

He thought "1 want to make her mine, To habeas her corpus fine."

And so he donned some fine colognes And online-purchased pheromones.

Approached his object of desire, Said "Ooh my loins you set afue.

If you'll be mine I'll make you sweat, But unlike Mr. Sansregret If you would rather 'just say no' I'll take my leave and kindly go."

"I'm flattered," said the Jaw school lass. ''But rm not just a piece of ass.

Explain to me: why you and I? Let's have a tnini-00." ''Well.'' he .replied, "I"m kind and warm And always able to perform." ''You're right," she said, ''you're very sweet.

I also see your massive feet.

So tell me what that really means About what lu.rks behind your jeans."

He said "It's longer, people say, Than judgments from L"Heuteux-

DUbe." "Oh myl" she said. "Well, that'll do.

It's great to find a guy like you.

So gentle, kind, and well endowed, Who makes me want to scream aloud That love at law school still exists-From marriages to little trysts." ''And likewise," he replied to her, ''I'm glad you like my p'tit monsieu.r, But more that we've each other found To share out love and lust profound."

And so the two set off ensemble And with the utmost of aplomb Went fo.r a midday grope n' grabThe john by the computer lab.

With that concludes this fairy tale But know that love can still prevail In spite of papers, books and tests We can't ignore the heart's requests.

So gather and without delay Be someone's valentine today.

DAVE'S DIVERSIONS: Dave tries to do a sports column, but ends up writing about himself again There's something I have to admit: I'm not: fully qualified to be editing this section of Ultra Vires. I'm not referring to my lack of journalistic experience, my general scatter-brainedness. or my reluctance to edit other people's writing (though, at the moment, all of these strike me as notable shortcomings as

well).

No, what I'm referring to is a glaring

There is a saving grace, an exception inadequacy in my Diversions knowledge base. I don't know much about sports, to all of this disdain: I absolutely adore and I don't much like them either. The tennis. There is a lot about this game that Superbowl just happened, apparently, but an objective sports purist can appreciate.

I don't know, or care to know, who won, Tennis may not be a contact spo.rt, but how they won, whether it involved kick- it's downright gladiatorial to be duking it ing or throwing or catching or somer- out, just you and your opponent, for saults or a pommel horse or all of the hours on end. It requires strength and above. Soccer is a snooze; baseball, even endu.rance, speed and agility. And the more so. I would write something dis- best athlete on the planet at the moparaging about: hockey here, if I didn't ment- Roger Federer-is a tennis fear they'd revoke my citizenship.

DAVE continued on p. 31

who ends up collecting the nominations.

While access to a song byJames Blunt is relatively easy and barrier-free, it does not necessarily mean his work is most l..ANCBPATON without that investment of your time and money, it is very easy to miss out on worthy of recognition. Where the AcadThe 49th annual G.rammy awards will virtually all the Oscar-nominated films. emy Awards seem to focus on decidedly take place on February 11, 2007 (that Some nominated films are simply not less popular and more artistic works, the should probably read "took place," but available to the masses. as they are not Grammys seem content to nominate a slew of popular musicians, relying more my .rebellious nature displayed in same number on album sales and got the best of me). In of theatres as a :release like play charts than all honesty, I cannot Slljm'1llan &hmzs. Most of merit. It is quite rare imagine anyone lookthe films in question are .rethat a "name" fails to ing forward to sitting leased within the last six take home the bjg down and watching weeks of the nomination prize. the G1'ammys---o.r year and rarely earn the I suppose my even caring about biggest box office sucbiggest objection is what the results are. cesses. Also, the Oscars that I feel the GramHowever, I can imagalso have a relatively small mys ceremony is ine Slttlng down number of categories; and somewhat empty. watching the Academy have not fallen prey to the The Oscars are unAwards in March or, at endless compartmentalizaleast, caring whether certain movies gar- tion which afflicts the Grammys (best doubtl:dly a cash-grab to milk extra boxner the acclaim I believe they deserve. rock, best hard rock, best metal, best al- office dollars for films that generally will not appeal to a large proportion of the Now, perhaps I have simply been bam- ternative ...). boozled by those liberal Hollywood Music, on the other hand, is more population; but I am not convinced that types. And perhaps I simply enjoy films readily digestible. Albums typically .run extra revenue is the sole purpose of the more than music, but I think there are from around 30 minutes to over 60 min- Oscars. Whereas. the Grammys seems specific differences between the two utes. However, unlike the films, one to be an exercise in letting the winners awards ceremonies and the two media does not necessarily need to listen to an win; electing the pretty and popular that have led to the varying levcls of ex- entire album to form a vague opinion cheerleader as Homecoming Queen. H citement which each ceremony has in- about its quality. The prevalence of the Oscars were run according to the spired (at least in me). radio, video and digital forms of music Grammy formula, the contest would Movies traditionally take up around allow listeners endless opportunities to not be between films like Babe~ The Detwo hours of one's time and, if one goes hear songs from the nominated artists pamd, and I.Jttk Miss Stm.shine; rather, we to the theatre, about $10 of you.r (often for free). And these artists are not might see Pirak.r of Jhe Caribbean vie money--in other words, movies are a all packed intn the last six weeks of the against X-Men and The Da Vinci Cotk. significant personal investment. While year but actually span the nomination Though, one thought does bring me solace: the Pussycat Dolls are not up for we are often inundated with trailers and year. any awards come Oscar night. reviews of all sorts of movies, especially However. the most significant differthose in competition for the bjg awards, ence between the two ceremonies is

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32

DIVERSIONS

ENDURING ARTS: See this show!

YVANNA MYCYK

Dreaming of a tropical reading week?

Wondering why you ever chose to live in a northern fast-paced metropolis instead of a laid back locale with the word "Cove" in its name? Happily, there is a good answer to these pressing questions.

We live in Toronto because northern fast-paced metropolises have new opera houses! Toronto's new Four Seasons Centre for the Arts is actually the only Opera House in Canada. Ponder that, balmy Vancouver. You don't have to take my word for it that the Canadian Opera Company and its new home is something to get excited about. Ask the other 2,042 people who joined me Wednesday night at the sold-out performance of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Or the 20,430 people going to the other 10 sold-out performances this month. Or the bajillion people who are Missing Out Lady Macbeth was a spectacular show.

While it might be in the top-100 of most-performed operas, Shostakovich's opera is different in many ways from the

quintessential opera in the list, many of these differences stemming from the fact that it is Russian, and written by a 20th century composer (premiering m Leningrad in 1934). Despite its departures from typical opera format and the comfortable tonalities of Oassical and Romantic compositions, opera goers, new and jaded alike found it accessible and engrossing. Comments I collected on the record included: ''Magnificent", "****", ''That's a lot of sex", "So Russian". The only people bored during the entire 3.25 hour ordeal were the characters on stage. The central characters in the dark tragedy are Katerina, the tide character and merchant's wife, her father in-law Boris, and her eventual lover Sergey. All three are bored and lustful in a Russian town. The labourers and the police force are also bored and looking for trouble.

The opera opens with Katerina, the heroine, singing about how bored and lonely she is as a merchant's wife. She would rather have her freedom back than be rich and have nothing to do. While Katerina's love for Sergey leads to her murdering her husband and father-in law, and then leads to her eventual suicide, the opera is not without its comedic moments. Usually these are dark moments the kind that makes you feel good and wicked for laughing. Other times it's just dreary subdety, such as when Sergey de-

ULTRA VIRES

cides to go and hit on Katerina, he comes knocking on her bedroom door, claiming ''I'm dying of boredom." Katerina is unmoved. She replies: ''Well, why don't you get married?" Other classic come-on lines from the womanizer Sergey are ''I've come to ask if I can borrow a book;" "Let's try a bit of wresding," and

SOME OF THE MORE PHYSICAL SCENES LEFT ME BLUSHING WORSE THAN SHORTBUS. IT DIDN'T HELP THAT THE ACCOMPANYING MUSIC WAS SO SUGGESTIVE, IT WAS DUBBED "PORNOPHONY'' BY EARLY CRITICS.

''I want to ask you to grant me my heart's desire."

The most pervasive form of humour throughout the work is sarcasm or plain irreverence. Much of Shostakovich's purely instrumental music, such as his symphonies and quartets, is described as sarcastic. It's hard to put one's finger on how exacdy a symphony can be sarcastic, but when you hear it, you recognize it as sarcasm. One way he achieves this is by exaggerating or distorting a traditionally

expressive idiom. In the opera, he reinforces the characters' use of sarcasm with sarcastic music, such as when the master merchant must leave town and the labourers bid him farewell singing, ''Without the master, life will be dreary, dreary dull and joyless." Other times he uses the music on its own to express the irreverence of the situation, such as when Katerina weeps for her dying father-in-law, and the priest does a macabre and altogether delightfullitde jig.

Details: True to the rumours, the acoustics in the new theatre were excellent, and the view unobstructed, even in the cheap seats in "Ring 5". After a while, I got used to peering down six storeys at the stage. The architects thoughtfully ensured that no one wastes their intermission mingling time waiting in a bathroom line by including 103 washrooms, 2/3 of which are for women!

Still unconvinced that opera is not for hip young things like yourself? I was thrilled by the youth turnout at the show.

The COC is aggressively encouraging us to go by offering hot "Opera for a New Age" tickets for $20 to patrons under 30.

The staging of the opera itself was anything but stodgy. Some of the more physical scenes left me blushing worse than Shortbus. It didn't help that the accompanying music was so suggestive, it was dubbed "pornophony'' by early critics.

Outstanding Opportunities Exceptional Colleagues weâ&#x20AC;˘re always proud to be recognized for our many awards and special achievements. But what's really important to note is what our students say about Torys: How our collegial environment- one that brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds. personalities and styles- creates an atmosphere of friendship and team spirit.

How our dedication to professional excellence and a client roster of prominent Canadian and international corporations provide an exceptional platform for learning and professional growth. To find out more about what Torys can offer you. please call Deborah Dalfen, Director, Student Affairs. at 416.865.7544 or visit our website at

www.torys.com

OcroBER 17 2006

DIVERSIONS

A public interest announcement about noise level regulations area (i) If the computer lab door is open, the computer lab is to be treated as a low noise area

DAVID MACFARLANE

ATTENTION NOISE LEVELS

Mandatory Noise Guidelines in Effect at All Times 1) The following noise level guidelines are to be observed in the library at all times: General 2) Permissible noise levels vary by location in the library, duration and nature of the noise.

Location deBnitions 3) Regarding Location: a. The area immediately inside of the library entrance (all areas to the east of the photo-copy room is a medium noise area b. The rest of the main floor is a low noise area c. The upper floor is an extremely low noise area d. The basement is an extremely low noise area, with the exception of the computer lab which is a medium noise

Durational definitions 4) a. Regarding Duration (i) A normal period of noise is from 30 to 180 seconds (ii) Any period of noise less than 30 seconds is a brief period of noise (iii) Any period of noise from 180 to 300 seconds is a long period of noise (iv)Any period of noise longer than 300 seconds is a protracted period of noise b. Single Period (i) Any two periods of noise will be treated as one period of noise (1) if they are not separated by a period of silence at least equal to three times the duration of the shorter period of noise; (2) for a period of silence to be effective, all parties participating in either of the noise periods must be silent; (3) where two periods are being treated as a single period of noise, the total period of noise will be measured as the sum of the two periods of noise, plus the intervening period of silence, if any.

Measurement of noise levels 5) Measurement a. All noise levels are to be measured at a distance of 2 metres from the noisiest participant using a decibel meter. b. Any decibel meter will be presumed to be accurate. (i) This presumption may be rebutted on a balance of probabilities standard. c. Where a decibel meter is not available, the estimates of any two officious busybodies may be averaged and substituted for a metered reading.

Noise guidelines by location 6) Maximum noise levels for a normal period of noise, subject to adjustments for duration and nature are: a. Medium noise area- 75 decibels b. Low noise area - 65 decibels c. Extreme low noise area 40 decibels

Duration adjustments 7) General adjustments: a. A brief period of noise may exceed the normal period level by 10% b. The limit for a long period of noise is reduced by 15% c. The limit for a protracted period of noise is reduced by 25% (i) Protracted periods of noise are notallowed in extremely low noise areas.

STYLE WATCH: whoever claims that pinky rings went out of style clearly hasn't spoken with Senator Hugh Segal, who proudly displayed his panache at a recent law school engagement.

MONTREAL

OTIAWA

TORONTO

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VANCOUVER

b. Sex in the library (i) Exams are a stressful period, and sexual activity can be a healthy release. As long as you are reasonably attractive, you may take a 30% increase in noise levels in the medium and low noise areas to have sex in a washroom or under a cubicle. (ii) To take advantage of any of the above noise limit adjustments, you acknowledge that other library patrons may observe your activities. (iii) Any self-pleasuring, whether independent or incident to another sexual liaison, is subject to regular noise limits.

RemecUes 9) All disputes regarding noise levels are to be resolved by: a. First, giving a dirty look b. Mter a period of not less than half the length of the allowed duration of the noise level in question (once all adjustments are taken into account), giving another very dirty look.

Nature of noise c. Finally, after the noise has contin8) Limits for the nature of the noise are ued for 200% of the allowable time adjusted in the following ways: in total, and at least 100% of the ala. Good / Bad News (i) Good news: If you have received lowable time since the second dirty good news, a job offer, an A on an as- look was administered, an aggrieved signment, noise limits are reduced by party may begin yelling in a loud 15%. We are all happy for you, but we do voice (noise level rules do not not want to hear about it. Some of us are apply): Shut-up! Shut-up! I'm trying to getting Bs and are unemployed. stut:fy! Puck, if I'dgone to any other school (ii) Bad news: Really bad news (e.g. a pro- I'd be getting As! fessor found the paper you plagiarized Shut-up, you assholes, there are otherpeofrom) warrants an upward adjustment of ple here, shut thefuck up! noise limits by 10%, unless you are having a major break-down, in which case, go ahead take a 50% adjustment, but know that we are all laughing at you.

NEW YORK

CHICAGO

LONDON

BEIJING

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ULTRA VIRES

Sayran reviews the Oscar contenders SAYRAN SULEVANI

strategically hollowed out caves and tunnels under Iwo Jima, and an interesting perspective shift, this is a film worth see-

So it's cold out. So cold, in fact, that even the most environmentally friendly among ing us would take an opportunity to punch Ryan Gosling is nominated for his Mother Nature in the face. Frigid times work in Half Nelson, a lesser known film like these call for indoor activities. Some about a crack-addicted high school of my favourites include interpretive teacher. This film is refreshing in its hondance, politically motivated sdf-immola- esty. Often in Hollywood films the chartion (although that's arguably an outdoor activity), and of course, watching movies.

If you have trouble choosing, the Academy Award nominations are a good source of recent must-see movies and performances.

Clint Eastwood's Le#ers from Iwo Jima is nominated for best picture, director and original screenplay. Letters, a companion piece to Eastwood's previous film, Flags of our Fathers, is told from the ,...,...,r.,,...,,..rtlvt'l Even in his Breaker High days, Ryan Gosling knew Oscar would be calling

of the Japanese Army a S L - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . 1 they attempt to secure the island of Iwo acters are caricatures, with Jima from American forces in 1944. With two-dimensional heroes battling repulstrong performances from its main char- sive villains. Half Nelson embraces the acters, who spend most of the film in third dimension, and for that reason it's

Amina resigns, ominously Optimism in the air as DLS resignations decrease by 50% in February Jim Phillips to pose for "Hotties of Legal History'' Nude Calendar; spotted by 'talent' scout in Hart House locker room. ''Exchange student'' actually an Osgoode student faking a French accent..Sommers peeved Alarie's Facebook rejection prompts student to drop Tax. Duff joins Facebook; adds cousin Hilary

DLS clients start anger management clinic for students.

UV Law Follies Exclusive: Ballroom Dancing "Exposed'' Moran shows off her superior skills as "Acting Dean11 Faculty to install Morris Fish-Head next to vending machines Drunk pirate suffers broken peg after falling backstage during Law Follies

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Ultra News

Briefly Noted Morgan's class to be taught by correspondence next year.

stars Forest Whitaker and Djimon Hounworth the drive to Akron.

Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin are sou. nominated for Li#k Miss Sunshine, a hiMissing from the best picture catelarious movie about a dysfunctional fam- gory, but earning a foreign language and ily road trip. Alejandro GonzaJ.ez original screenplay nomination is liiirritu, whose spectacular Amores Pem;s Guillermo del Taro's fantastic Pan's got him a best foreign language nomina- Lzf(ynitth, a fantasy/horror/ epic fairy tale tionin 2001, earned a best director nom- set in fascist Spain. In the film a series of ination for Babel, a tragic events unfold Tarantinoesque film around a little girl who linking three differfinds magic on her way ent stories set in to live with her mother's new husband, a fascist Morocco, Japan, captain in Franco's army.

California and MexSo RATHER THAN PIMP ico.

Complete with brutality, SLAPPING MoMMA NATURE Al Gore's timely rebdlion, hope and FOR HER FRIGIDITY, I global warming magic, Pan's Labyrinth is a true epic. documentary, An RECOMMEND RENTING A I nronvenient Truth FEW GOOD ONES AND earned a documenSTAYING IN, OUT r m tary feature nomiICY GRIP and nation, especially considering the impact the weather is having on us now, it's a must see.

The List King rif S rot/and and Blood Viamont/, two movies which go to prove my movies-about-Africa-are-the-new-warmovies theory, earned nominations for

Academic Plan: To Surge or not to Surge Congressman Jim Phillips is calling for an immediate drawback of faculty troops in the 'War against Students.' ''We need to stop bringing in new troops it's time for a withdrawal of at least 20%.''

And the cost of this war keeps going up, when the Dean presents to Faculty Congress next week she is going to demand another 5 billion dollars. ''We control the purse, I think we need to withhold funding,'' says Phillips. "It's time for the truth, where are the educational weapons?"

With her approval ratings plummeting and place on the B-Curve sharpening the Dean is calling for an immediate troop surge. ''We need more troops not less, and troops who understand different types of combat options." Of her political opponents she says, ''We all know that certain Congressman are with the terrorists, they don't understand that misappropriating the public purse is democracy working at its best.''

Phillips says enough is enough, "It's time to change the plan, no surge, no increased funding, the mission is unaccomplished and all we found were weapons of mass deception.'' Phillips then returned to sweating profusely and smoking a cigarette on his mountain bike.

Former PM Martin to run for SLS Presidency?

Students and faculty were confused by former Prime Minister Paul Martin's presence in law classes last week It turns out Martin has been admitted to the ILM program in the new entrance category for 'alumni who led failed minority governments and now hope to use law and development to build their lost legacies.'

Professor Michael Trebilcock who taught Martin as an ILB student back in 1942 and will supervise him once again, was looking forward to the opportunity to work with his star pupil. "Paul is such a nice young boy with excellent manners," and he will "certainly make an outstanding contribution to excellence at our school.'' Martin is also contemplating a run for the SLS presidency telling UV that while, "I may not have been the best PM, I have yet to try failing in the Presidential capacity." Martin continued, "and from what I can tell the President of the SLS doesn't do much of anything anyways, it's totally my type of gig.''

Dean Moran Goes on 'Show and Tell' Tour Last summer Dean Moran crisscrossed the nation on a "listening tour'' to meet with alumni and employers. This summer Moran is following up her act

with a "show and tell" tour to hdp students, faculty and alumni identify with key law school employees.

It all kicks off in May, as Moran travds through Manitoba to show off the law school's very own Merril Boden. ''I can't wait to show Merril off to Winnipeg.

Soon they will see that Merril is more than a woman who has mastered the mail merge,'' says Moran.

In June, the Dean will introduce Manuela FloOrescu to Nova Scotia. "Let me be honest on this one, I don't know exactly what Manuela does, but she is on payroll (and) and the great citizens of Halifax will certainly greet her warmly," says Moran.

The sun keeps on shining in July, when it's off to New Brunswick with Aladdin Mohaghegh. According to Moran, ''The people of Fredericton will soon find out that Aladdin is more than a Disney character at my law school" And then it's off to Saskatoon for the grand finale with, Moran saving the best for last as she brings along her very own Associate Dean Lorne Sossin. In a press rdease Moran says, "It will be a special opportunity and an honour and privilege for this law school to introduce to the fine people of Saskatoon their very first

Jew."

FEBRUARY

13, 2007

35

DIVERSIONS Qu otati o n Querv.

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Ultra News Students wary of making Fake News submissions, fearing Financial Aid consequences Despite constant entreaties from UV staff and assurances from the Financial Aid office, law students continue to pass up amazing ($10!!) cash prizes by not submitting any fake news items.

"I just know that I'm going to get one of those letters that tells me that my actual aid is lower than my estimate. just because I made some extra cash from UV," said Johnny (1L), "Same thing happened with the money from my paper route."

Said Maria (2L), "I usually hide my extra cash in Daddy's offshore account, but it doesn't accept deposits under $100."

Aladdin Mohaghegh tried to allay student fears: ''At most, the (top) $30 prize would take $1,000 off an aidestimate. And you can't put a price on Ultra Vires glory."

Diversions editor Dave Seevaratnam remained optimistic: "It's UV season. When it comes down to the wire, people will want the prizes. It's $10 after all! $10!!!

DLS Application I'm popular here. As a result, I be-

lieve that I will be elected to DLS. I am not popular because of any specific involvement in DLS, but this seems irrelevant. Because I can drink five drinks without throwing up, have seen a member of the opposite sex naked without paying them, and wear jeans that fit, I'm popular. I will be elected.

I know that DLS has been through some tough times lately. But who hasn't? Anyways, people keep sending me these emails saying mean things about each other. I don't read them. The constitution is unclear about emails.

We need to have a meeting about that.

We never have meetings. When I am a DLS executive member, I will resolve to put forward a motion to resolve to have more meetings about whether or not to have a meeting.

In terms of relevant work experience, I never worked at my parents' law firm like the rest of you, but this one time I had to wait for longer than 5 minutes in a subway station, and I really feel like I got a sense for what it is like to be ummmm, well, "disadvantaged." I think that this is relevant work experience.

I have a lot of good ideas. Maybe DLS could be more fun. Maybe it could be more like a social club where

we hang out. The new lights in the basement are really romantic. There is a cute girl in the other shift that I would really like to talk to. Maybe if I'm on the exec I can help her get a summer job and we can be together....

Vote Me for DLS.

Legal Issues goes back to The People Hot on the heels of last month's exclusive with Ray Turkhan on Turkey's EU hopes, Ultra Vires' Legal Issues section will feature an interview with Sammy Sri Lankarajah on his views regarding the Sri Lankan civil war.

Mr. Sri Lankarajah is a security guard at a local condo complex and a follower of Sri Lankan politics.

"First, we wanted to interview [renowned minority rights expert] Will Kymlicka, who was here teaching an intensive course," explained Legal Issues editor, Jonathan Song, "but we thought Mr. Sri Lankarajah added a personal dimension that was impossible to pass up."

Other upcoming features include a local grocer, Kim J ongorea's views on the best way to diffuse nuclear tensions in North Korea, and Alfie alAfghanistani, a cab driver, with his ideas on rebuilding Afghanistan's state institutions.

Jumble!.

Unscramble the f our w ords below , then unscramble the circled letters to reveal a. hilarious legal pun th at is sure to blow your mind.

Question: Why w a.s the sty list's testimony inadmi ssible?

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ULTRA VIRES