Ultra Vires Vol 9 Issue 3: 2007 November

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW

ULTRA VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3

VIRES NOVEMBER 20, 2007

WWW.ULTRAVIRES.CA

Toronto employers hire record number of law students But curious results for Uoff as Osgoode tops Toronto recruitment charts

BY JOSH LAVINE

(3L)

It appears all is well on Bay Street, as the number of Canadian law students securing employment through the OCI process continues to skyrocket. According to Ultra Vires' 2007 Survey of Law Firm Recruitment, at least 446 students accepted offers of summer employment last week, up considerably from 407 students in 2006 and 355 students in 2005.

When this news is combined with recent salary increases to $1,450 per week at most corporate law firms, and a similarly booming job market for law students in the United States, it appears that now is as good a time as ever to be a Canadian law student seeking employment.

That being said, although over 90 more Canadian students accepted job offers as compared to only two years ago, the number of students from UofT accepting Toronto summer positions through the OCI process has remained stagnant.

Whereas 96 students secured OCI positions in 2005, the results of Ultra Vires' survey thus far indicate that only 88 accepted offers this year, despite the overall growth of the Toronto OCI program. In considering...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Congratulations to the UoiT Team: black and blue and kicking Osgoode ass all over the cowt- page 2.

JD students conserve energy uv INDEX • UT VS. OSGOODE BBALL REPORT..... P.3 •1-0N-1 WITH ANGELA FERNANDEZ ..... P.9 • COMPLETE OCI REVIEW..... P.12 • HALLOWEEN PARTY PICS ..... P.16 • CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE ..... P.21 • DIVERSIONS ..... P.30 • ULTRA NEWS ..... P. 32

forego climate change conference

BY ROBERT WAKULAT

Hot on the heels of the first "green" edition of the Faculty of Law's alumni magazine Nexus, the Faculty organized and co-hosted the interdisciplinary Climate Change Conference: A Globally Integrated Climate Policy For Canada November 1-2,2007. Attendees spoke of the twenty-year failure of Canada's climate change policies and the need for a new approach as the next round of global climate negotiations takes place

(3L)

in Bali in December 2007. Unfortunately, there was a noticed lack of attendance by law students and federal government representatives taking part in the discussion.

Law Professors Jutta Brunnee, David Duff and Andrew Green, along with Political Science Professor Steven Bernstein, took the lead in organizing the conference, which attracted approximately 275 interested participants from

all walks of life to the historical Great Hall at Hart House.

"The audience included academics, students from across the University, private sector participants and representatives from the city and provincial governments," said Green. ''An Assistant Deputy Minister from the Ministry of the Energy was in attendance for the entire conference, while quite a number CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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This November 25th, go beyond the ribbon Hey fcllas, pull up a chair, we need to have a little chat. You probably think of yourself as a modern and educated guy who respects women, but the dirty little secret is that you could be doing more.

A lot more.

Plenty of positive-sounding adjectives get tossed around when describing Canadians - peaceable, generous, tolerant and polite, to name but a few- and yet our domestic relationships are somehow failing to live up to this favourable image. Half of all Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. Moreover, 45% of all women had experienced violence from men they knew as an acquaintance, friend, boyfriend or spousal partner.

Now, let's be frank: violence against women is a hot-button issue and it's hard to discuss it without invoking powerful and emotional responses. But just because something is a difficult topic doesn't mean we should bury our heads in the sand and hope everything will work itself out. We understand this is a comp1ex issue that, at a minimum, raises questions of culture, class, the empowerment of women and the extent of the support network available to women who have suffered.

In fact, it could easily be argued that as law students, one of the best ways we can hdp is by promising to do pro bono work for women who have been abused and to donate to shelters. This point makes a lot of sense, considering that women's shelters in this country are one of the best tools we have to stop domestic violence, but the fact is that we have

to start making changes at an even more basic stage.

It's a grim fact that violence against women still exists - despite years of events, campaigns and serious dialogueand it is frequendy underreported.

Many women never speak out because of shame, fear and a feeling they are somehow responsible for their victimization. That puts the onus on us, guys, to help alleviate the suffering of the 80,000 women per year who experience violence at the hands of their partners.

We have shared responsibility for this situation and we should be proactive in fixing it.

Don't think for a moment this problem is linked to the poor or uneducated segments of the population and that somehow a JD from UofT insulates us against such behaviour.

To quote a past UV editor: ''Money and status can buy a lot of things, but safety from a pissed off boyfriend with a belt isn't one of them."

Now, you're probably thinking that you've never physically abused a woman and you never will. We know, neither will we. In fact, most men will never be violent or abusive towards a woman, but

ULTRA VIRES is the student newspaper of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Editors - In - Chief News Editors Opinion and Editorial Legal Issues Features Divf:nions Production and Design Business Manager IT/Website Manager Copy Editor Photography First Yes.r Content

Josh Lavine and Robert Wakulat Danielle Stone and Steve Werier SallyKwon Jonathan Song Sharon Silbert Lance Paton Lisa Chuyow and Maria Zeldis Sam.Ault Austin Acton Lianne Cihlar Eric Lavers Kevin Dorgan

violent incidents against women have decreased painfully slowly since the Canadian government in 1993 undertook the first Violence Against Women

Survey.

So what, as non-violent men, can we do? Well, changing basic attitudes towards women would be a good first step. How many times have you been in conversations with other bright and educated "leaders of tomorrow'' and made jokes about "letting women out of kitchen" or girls who "spend a lot of time on her knees"? Maybe you lacked enough wit and just hooted or catin a called woman's direction. Regardless, in both blatant and subde ways, men in this faculty have demeaned their fdlow female classmates. heard We've these comments and silendy acquiesced to this type of behaviour by not saying a damn thing. We've also made offensive remarks and that makes us part of the problem. Every time we turn a blind eye to this sort of thing we support and encourage a poisonous environment that at its worst lets the asshole with the belt think he is justified in "teaching his wife a lesson."

Even women who are fortunate enough to never personally experience a violent incident may find themselves suffering from the fallout of the environment we have created. They may question their self-worth, their abilities or their atttactive.ness. Somehow it has been acceptable, or even cool, to treat women with disrespect.

Fortunately, as easily as we let these putdowns flourish in our midst, we can just as easily contain them. The beginnings of a solution to violence against women starts with you and us actively stopping each other from thinking the status quo is even remotely OK. It means refusing to tolerate demeaning jokes and language and ending subde (and non-subtle) forms of se:mal harassment.

Ending violence against women begins with removing the prejudices that lead us to treat women differently, whether we treat them as less worthy or as delicate flowers. The Faculty of Law's White Ribbon Campaign starts on Monday, December 3, 2007. Show your support with a ribbon and take some time to reflect on your attitudes and beliefs that may encourage violence against women. And then... change them.

- The Men of Ultra Vires

ConJribNtors Darcy Belisle, Wayne Chang, Eddie Clark, Rano Daoud, Catherine DeGiusti, Pat Dolan, Kevin Dorgan, Mark Firman, Cassandra F1orio, Mathew Goldstein, Amara Gossin, Paul Karvanis, Emily K.ettel., Akash Khokhar, Bryce Kustra, Josh Lavine, Soohyun Nam, Lance Paton, Fredrick Schumann, Sharon Silbert, Danidle Stone, Aly-Khan Sunder, Amy Tsai, Robert Wakulat, Cynthia Wang, Steven Werier, Jacqueline Wtlson

Ultra Vttes is an editorially autonomous newspaper. We are open to contributions which refi.ect 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.

Communications Centre, Falconer Hall 84 Queens Park Crescent, Toronto ON MSS 2C5 ultra.vires@utotonto.ca (416) 946- 7684

The next issue will be published on January 15, 2008 and the deadline for submissions is January 9, 2008. The submission limit is 850 words.

UofT takes Osgoode to school in inaugural black and blue charity tip-off

BY DANIELLB STONE (2L)

Osgoode law students may have been stronger in number. They may have had a fuzzy owl mascot, painted faces, and lots of noisemakers. But at the "Black and Blue Charity Tip Off" last Friday, University of Toronto law students claimed the Dean's Cup. schooling Osgoode 40 to 22 in this first basketball tilt for charity held at the Air Canada Centre.

The Steve Nash-like quickness of Jesse Dallal (2L), at the point guard spot, and Shaq-like presence of Stephen Oakey (1L) at centre, gave Doff the early lead on the ACC hardwood. Dallal quickly broke down Owl's defense and got the rock to the Oakey for an easy bucket. From then on, the action was fast-paced with Doff's coach, Professor Arnie Weinrib, strategically matching up against Osgoode's players.

The dream team of Dallal and Oakey continued to dominate in the second half, with 1L Eric Wagner's rebounding skills keeping Uoff ahead the entire

game. Susan Newell (2L) showed off her quick feet by getting the ball to the basket on several occasions before handing it off to one of her taller teammates.

With one minute remaining in the

(3L) put up a Hail Mary, getting nothing but net at the buzzer.

By the end, Osgoode's mascot was slouched over, sitting in a chair on the sidelines, defeated.

The idea for the charity game came from Osgoode's Dean, who had watched a similar basketball charity competition between rival US law school teams at Columbia and NYU. Dean Monahan approached asgoode's Legal and Literary Society who got in touch with Paul Karvanis (2L) at Doff to organ-

the game. Both the 1-1-:::::::::::~~~~~~~!!!~~~~ ize SLS and the Legal and Faculty brought their A-game, but only got a B

game, cheers were loud from both schools and fans rose to their feet shouting "Uoff!" and "Osgoode!" In a last attempt to score a basket, Rodney Gill

Literary Society bounced

around ideas and locations for the charity event, before deciding on holding the game at the Air Canada Centre. In exchange for the location, the law schools

agreed to sell Raptors tickets as part of the charity fundraiser.

Osgoode law students outnumbered Doff three to one at the game, selling all of their 150 tickets and raising more money for charity, while Uoff sold about 80. But that didn't stop Uoff supporters from getting in on the friendly banter with its traditional rival during the game.

When Osgoode scored, Uoff students responded loudly.

"That's Alright That's ok You're ' ' gonna work for us some day!" one student yelled.

Chiming in, the three-member cheerleading team for Uoff sang: "Doff's the best degree, you wish you were mel" Not to be outdone, Osgoode yelled back its own taunting messages, but by the end of the first half, U off was leading by 14 points.

"Fourteen point difference, just like the LSAT!"...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Deans visit Europe to discuss student exchange programs

BY EMILY KETIEL (3L)

As many 3Ls have noticed, a large numher of UofT law students have taken advantage of the Faculty's extensive exchange program offerings in their third year of law school. This year, over 35 students are travelling to institutions around the world, including universities in Paris, Budapest, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Amsterdam and the UK As part of her ongoing commitment to improving the quality of Faculty programs, and specifically the exchange programs and international opportunities for students, Dean Mayo Moran and Assistant Dean Bonnie Goldberg travelled to Paris and London from November 1 - 9 to discuss present and future exchange programs at the school.

In Paris, the Deans met with officials at the University of Paris 1 (Sorbonne) and University of Paris 2 (Paris-Assas).

In the past, students attending various exchange programs at these schools had raised concerns after arriving at their host schools to find courses withdrawn or that they were only able to take a limited selection of courses. This was often due to either language or prerequisite barriers.

"Our visit with the two universities in Paris means that challenges such as picking courses can now be improved and changes can be made to ease the process

for next year's crop of Paris-bound stu- opportunities. The program will likely dents," said Assistant Dean Goldberg. host faculty drawn from a variety of Other activities in Paris included a din- common law schools, and could be a signer with Uoff students currently on ex- nificant addition to the Faculty's current change at Paris I to seek feedback on the exchange programs. The proposed start exchange program. Seven of the nine date for the program is unknown. More Uoff students currently on exchange in information about the program should Paris and several 3L students there on be available over the next few months.

Reading Week attended r---~ the dinner held in part to determine ways in which to make exchange students at UofT feel weicome. The Deans also met with an alum living in Paris. Another meeting, with a potential exchange partner, was a!;.,......~."'.. determined not to be compatible with the Faculty's current exchange programs.

In London, the Deans In the absence of hand sanitizer, all parties agreed not to met with representatives lhake hands from other law schools The Deans also hosted an event for to discuss plans for a new initiative: the creation of a transnational law centre in Faculty alumni, many of whom are fairly London that will offer transnational law recent graduates. Similarly to the Dean's courses. Here, international faculty will trip to Asia in the spring, they also met teach courses to an international student with potential employers in London. body. This program will be in addition Every student approached for this artito and complement the existing exchange cle felt positive about the exchange pro-

. ----

gram, although it can be even more costly

than a semester spent in Toronto. The Faculty does not provide additional funding for exchanges (i.e., no additional bursary money is available,) but there may be funding available for students through the International Student Exchabge Office (ISXO).

Paris 2, along with the Central European University in Budapest, are the only two exchanges that Faculty operates as "faculty exchanges" rather than through the ISXO. These may offer a superior exchange experience for attendees due to the partnership directly with the law school rather than the University of Toronto as a whole and a correspondingly superior ability to address concerns specific to the Faculty.

Many students use exchanges as an opportunity to travel around a region with a central home base while still fulfilling educational requirements. Preference is given in the exchange program to 3L students.

For students who are interested in the Faculty's exchange programs, an information session is being held on Monday, November 26, at 12:30 in FLA, and the application deadline is in January.

4

NEWS

ULTRA VIRES

How to grow a greener law school

BY KEVIN DORGAN (1L)

Want to make your law school environmentally friendlier? You could start by bringing your own travel mug to Grounds of Appeal for your daily coffee.

You can get a large for the price of a small and save $0.48. While this is a steal of a deal, not many students are taking advantage of it.

Although it's pretty obvious that this initiative alone is not going to stop the polar ice caps from melting, this kind of environmental initiative is one that has all the ingredients for success: it involves a change in policy from above and it provides individuals with a tool or incentive to make it easier to alter their behaviour and affect environmental change. If the law school continues to buy into more initiatives like this one, we could have a beneficial impact on the environment.

While identifying such environmental initiatives is half the battle, convincing the right people about the merits of these initiatives is perhaps the more arduous task. If you think you have a great idea for making the law school more environmentally sustainable, you're going to need to get a lot of important people on board first. "It's all about consensusbuilding. Sometimes it takes time", says Alex Kenjeev, currently in his third-year of a JD /MBA program. Alex's quest to make Uoff Law a more environmentally

ulty is really a leader - like getting rid of plastic bags at the bookstore and not purchasing bottled water for Faculty Council meetings anymore - but in other areas, the Faculty is definitely lagging behind."

A glance supported look- F===================llll! ~iliiiiiii.B around the corriing more closely at his idea to ~-~ dors of Flavelle enact a schoolreveals what Kristen is talking wide environabout. On the mental policy, and one hand, you'll the Environmental Sustainability see students totWorking Group ing their book was struck. bags to and from Today, if you classes.

You want your envimight even find that some sturonmental policy dents are putting proposal enacted, the book bags to you must first good use in other convince this Working Group, ways, like transand then a major- You too can let people at the grocery store know porting groceries. go_ to_ UoiT Law ity at Faculty....__ _ _ _that _ you __ __ _ _ _ _..... But another look sustainable school started two years ago when he ran for a first-year SLS rep position on the following platform: "Want a greener law school? Vote for me."

A year and a half later, Faculty Council

Council.

Kristen Courtney (3L), Co-Chair of the Environmental Law Club, is one of the student representatives on the Environmental Sustainability Working Group.

Kristen sees real progress in some of the recent initiatives but thinks there is much more work to be done. "In some areas of environmental responsibility, the Fac-

around the rotunda in Flavelle on the day of a workshop, or a surveying of the Rowell Room on a Muffin Madness day, will reveal needlessly excessive waste. Almost all workshops, as well as Muffin Madness events, involve the consumpcion of hundreds of canned beverages and the disposal of hundreds of paper cups used for coffee and tea.

If the provision of cups and canned beverages was eliminated from big-draw events like Muffin Madness, as Kristen suggests, the impact would be considerable. Everyone at the law school either has a travel mug or can acquire one for free. All first-years received a Faculty travel mug as part of their swag during Orientation Week. There are also plenty of travel mugs given away by firms on Career Day. In addition, LexisNexis has provided the school with a stock of its own travel mugs, and one can be had for free by putting in a request with the library's Coordinator of Information Services, John Papadopoulos. The Muffin Madness Headnote announcement could include a reminder that students bring their own mugs. There's good reason to believe that such an environmental initiative could be as successful as the book bags.

Kristen also points out that there are thousands of institutions and businesses that have adopted other environmental sustainability initiatives which the Faculty can learn from. In fact, one need only look to Bay Street firm Stikeman Elliott LLP, whose Green Program includes, among other things, the provision of recycling containers for organic waste...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

SLS First Year Student Satisfaction Survey

BY CASSANDRA FLORIO (lL)

On October 10 2007, first-year students attended an SLS-organized student panel, during which the first-year Caucus members distributed a survey to evaluate the students' first impressions of law school.

The survey was conceived as part of a continuing project to help SLS understand the priorities of first-year students. It was designed specifically to provide quantifiable feedback to shape SLS policies and inform those of the Faculty of Law through students' positions on various faculty committees.

The general results of the survey may at first seem unsurprising. Firstyear students identified facilities and financial aid as the two areas in greatest need of improvement. At the same time, the survey identified students' top overall priorities as the quality of professors, course offerings and curriculum design. This would seem to suggest that while Uoff students are largely satisfied with the academic aspects of their program, other concerns about practical aspects of day-to-day student life remain, possibly to the detriment of their overall educational experience.

The first-year Caucus is particularly

interested in placing this survey in a wider context as the year progresses, by administering further editions of the survey in January and March in order to track changes in student perceptions and satisfaction with their program. By contextualizing early impressions of U off law within the arc of the first year program, the SLS hopes to draw important policy conclusions, and to be able to present these conclusions to faculty in as concrete a manner as passible. At this time, the Caucus would like to thank all participants for their input to date- the results of this survey would not be possible were it not for the support and participation of the first year class. We look forward with anticipation to their continued involvement in the process.

Students interested in seeing a more complete breakdown of the first round of survey results are invited to view a condensed report of its findings at www.slstoronto.ca .

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5

NEWS

Conference - from page 1 ... of members of the Ministry of Environment were there for parts of it.''

Unfortunately, the passion and sense of purpose exhibited by the Faculty's professors were not shared by the federal government and law student body.

"It's a bit of a puzzle why the federal government wasn't more interested in the conference,'' said Green. ''We wonder if there's a policy not to attend these sorts of events or if there was some other factor involved. We also weren't sure why there weren't more JD students. We advertised in multiple forums and made it free for students. Was it Reading Week?"

While there were probably fewer than a dozen volunteers and/or student attendees from the Faculty, those that did attend found it was illuminating and worth their time. ''It's always interesting to get some context and hear from people who are engaged on various levels,'' said Justin Jacob (3L). ''As students, it gives you insight into some of the various avenues of change. Whether it is policy development, academic work, career choice, or politics ... there are a lot of different ways that you can catch on with some of these ideas.''

Laura Zizzo (Law '07) is proof positive that climate change is no longer a

career option limited to academics or policy wonks. As part of her articling program at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Zizzo will be heading to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention in Bali as a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation. Zizzo has no doubt this is a serious matter and hopes to convince more law students that it is worthy of their time and attention.

"I was surprised there were not more students in attendance,'' said Zizzo. "It's a busy time and •.. [p]erhaps students don't feel this is an important issue to them personally, which makes me realize the challenges we face in communicating this issue and mobilizing action, even amongst the well-informed.

"Climate change is not an environmental issue, it's not something to think about for the future. Climate change is here and now. It's a human rights, humanitarian, global and personal issue.

This conference reminded me that climate change is our generation's 'World War.' We must band together and come up with innovative solutions. I implore people to stop sitting on the sidelines of this issue and get involved.''

The conference promoted a particular worldview - human activity as the driving force behind an increase in C02.

That, in turn, is a significant factor in global warming. However, not everyone

shared the same view.

"It's all too often the case on any of these issues that people just either want to cheer for their team or shout boo at the other side," said panelist Andrew Coyne, former national affairs columnist for The National Post and newly installed National Editor of Maclean's magazine,.''! think it's done great damage, not only to the quality of the debate, but to the cause of actually dealing with this question when people get their backs up to the wall. I think you can be both a skeptic on the science and move forward in case the science is right.

There's an insurance principle here. And you don't have to sign up and take an oath and say, 'I think everything put out by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] is gospel."'

Coyne, perhaps never having attended Eddie Greenspan's Bridge Week panel on being a "zealous advocate," believes the quality of debate could actually be raised with the addition of articulate young law professionals to the fray. ''There is always going to be a need, in any of these debates, for people to try to put themselves in the shoes of people they don't already agree with,'' Coyne says. ''You're seeing this on the environment where people have demonized people who have some skepticism about the science ... as being 'deniers.' Well, that's ridiculous. If you read Larry

Solomon's series in The [National] Post, these are some eminent scientists.''

"I'm not sure if this is specific to law students, but what we need are people who are skilled in the art of argument, skilled in the attitudes that civilized debate requires ... and we may have differences of opinion about either the science or particular mechanisms that should be adopted but we have to have the sense that we are all in this together.

If you're going to make progress as a society you have to bring those people, the people of goodwill whom we might disagree with, bring them along. We spend far too much time drawing lines and saying this person is onside and that person is a 'denier' and I don't think that makes for progress.''

Zizzo echoed Coyne's plea for a more reasoned approach to the debate, ''We need to find a way to move beyond the rhetoric and towards workable solutions that will actually see reductions in emissions, and adaptation to the climate realities coming down the pipe. As Canadians, we have the luxury of being able to protect ourselves through our privileged position in the world economy, many others around the world are not so lucky."

UV HITS THE STREET What do you think about what we're doing at the law school to be more environmentally sustainable?

Arin Klug (2L) Emily Fan (1L)

''I don't know too much about what the school is doing to help the environment... I think it's important that the school does take steps to take care of the environment. But the school should let us know how they're doing that and also how we can help as students.''

Emilie McLachlan (1L) ''I think it's good that we have a broad variety of recycling opportunities, like the battery and styrofoam bins.''

''I don't know what the school is doing about the environment, except that we recycle."

Max Shapiro (1L) "Uoff Law generally seems like a 'green' place to go to school That being said, it seems as though global warming is entirely localized in the Moot Court Room. Turn down the heat."

Jean-Noel Murphy (3L) "It's progressing. When I started school here, there was no program to address the environment... In an institution it's difficult to move things that quickly, but there's obviously a great deal more that can be done. I'm not an expert on what can be done, but I would hope that we move forward from here."

Rebecca Rodal (1L) ''I think it's good that the law school took the initiative to provide us with sustainable options like travel mugs and book bags.''

6

NEWS Basketball - from page 3

.. .loudly quipped one Uoff supporter.

But the highlight of the game came at half-time following the students' competition for court-side Raptor's tickets, when faculty and staff members took to the court for a litde three-on-three.

Captain Ben Alarie recruited eleven staff and faculty to play against Osgoode. ''When I was recruiting for the team, I was trying to find people I knew wouldn't die on the court," Alarie told Ultra Vires before the game. ''That gave me a limited pool from a limited pool."

They played with a style reminiscent of the lowly, but loveable, Washington Generals.

"I think I was selected on the basis I can run. I've never played the game before," Professor Jim Phillips told supporters.

But even running seemed to be a challenge for Professor Phillips. He was caught traveling on more than one occasion during the ten-minute game. Perhaps unfamiliar with the competitiveness of team sport, he stopped playing at one point to help a rival Osgoode faculty member up from a hard fall. Meanwhile, Criminal Law Professor Michael Code, sporting O.J. Simpson's former number 32 on his back, sauntered down the court like the legendary Larry Bird. But that's

ULTRA VIRES

when he didn't have the ball. On one fast "I think we have some practicing to do, break, Professor Code lost his graceful but we did pretty well. I'd credit our stance and fell hard on the court, sending coach Arnie Weinrib with setting up some effective lines," Alarie said of his the ball flying out of bounds.

Luckily, Associate Dean Anita Anand team after the game. came to the rescue. The "secret weapon" In the end, Uoff and Osgoode Uniof the team according to Alarie, Anand versity were able to present The Lawyers moved the rock with athleticism and Feed the Hungry Program with a cheque took it hard to the cup, allowing Alarie to for $5000. score the only bucket for the side. Scout"It was Osgoode's great idea," SLS ing reports say she used to be the MVP Rep Paul Kervanis says. "But Justin of her school basketball team. She drib- Tetreault (1L), Khalid Janmohamed (3L) bled with ease and passed the ball and many others really came together at smoothly to fellow teammate Professor Uoff to help make it happen."

Kent Roach. Highly focused, his eyes on "It was a fun game, for a great cause;' every move of the ball, Professor Roach Dean Moran adds. ''And the highlight leaned over the ball, and dribbled delib- was presenting the trophy to the Uoff erately, head down. Not looking where team."

Organizers hope to turn the charity he was going, he tripped over his own feet and joined an Osgoode colleague on basketball game into an annual event. the floor.

What the team lacked in skill, they provided in entertainment value.

The half-time game ended in a two-two tie with great cheers from the audience. The students' one disappointment was that school administrator Effie Koutsogiannopoulos remained a benchwarmer Brian, Khalid, Stephanie, Nandini, and Julie: Uoff's 5 hottest for the game.

Greener - from page 4 ... in each copy and/ or server room.

This translates into two to four of these containers being placed on each floor, in addition to green bins for recyclable paper waste and other recycling containers for plastic and metal.

How soon U off Law will follow suit and outfit its buildings with green bins, among other environmental initiatives, is anyone's guess.

There may be barriers to the successful implementation of some initiatives. For example, an organic waste project might be expensive given the lack of campus-wide infrastructure for collecting organic waste. However, there are several ideas, including the elimination of canned beverages and paper cups at Faculty events, which face no barriers except a lack of will. Drawing upon the tools and expertise of the University of Toronto Sustainability Office can help us overcome infrastructural barriers, but we also have to be convinced that the continued expansion of our environmental sustainability initiatives is worthwhile.

See next page for other green initiatives.

cheerleaders. See page 16 for more!

HODGSON l.r.J.

::I:

LLP

~ v l.r.J.

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48 Yonge Street, 11th Floor, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5E 1G6

T 416 304.6400 • F 416 304.6406 www.hodgsonshields.ca

NOVEMBER

NEWS

20 2007

Students, staff crowd Rowell Room for annual Fall Feast

BY DARCY BELISLE

On Tuesday November 13th, a transformation took place at the law school.

The annual Fall Feast and Pow Wow hosted by the Aboriginal Law Students Association began in the early evening in the Rowell Room.

A Pow Wow or Fall Feast is an Aboriginal tradition celebrating a successful harvest and to honour Louis Riel day, on November 16th. The annual Fall Feast at UofT aims to connect the wider student body with Aboriginal culture.

Aboriginal law students ran from microwave to microwave heating moose stew and wild rice casserole, greeting professors and staff members, and holding impromptu renegotiations on the start time for the event. The Rowell Room filled slowly.

At this moment, I stood at the door that separates the Rowell Room lobby from Bora's Head. It was surprising how easy it was to get first-year students' attention through the post-Legal Process glaze covering their eyes. Keeping their attention was another story. ''Are you in first year?" I asked, probably too enthusiastically.

Some would stop and entertain me, but more would walk by without listening to my spiel.

I changed my tactic.

"Hi, there's free food over here," I'd say. Then I blabbed. It worked.

About 70 people crowded into the Rowell Room. We had managed to rein in enough first years, upper years, and visitors that we would run out of food.

After all, a feast isn't a feast until there's nothing left.

(2L)

The ceremony began. The scent of fragrant smudge for spiritual cleansing ran through the lobbies and our resident elder from First Nations House opened the evening thoughtfully and quietly.

The Aboriginal Law Students Society then served Danielle Mercredi's (1L) moose stew, Austin Acton's (3L) deer meatballs as well as spinach-artichoke lasagna, partridge a la ronge, salads, desserts, and wild rice. After serving the last crumbs, members of local First Nations began to sing, play the hand drum, and dance to traditional songs. One member performed a jingle dress dance. The dance, as the name implies, involves a dance in a dress decorated precisely and elaborately in rows of bells on ribbon wrapped around the garment. Everyone stood around the dancer in a circle, full of food, intrigued, and possibly in awe, but decidedly tentative.

When there was a pause between songs, one of the dancers invited the participants to dance. A couple of people left the room, but shortly after the announcement, a group that could just barely squeeze into the Rowell Room held hands, and started a chain dance.

After three songs, the circle closed and participants came together, still holding hands, in the centre of the room.

After the dance, participants said goodbye, and the Aboriginal Law Students Association members cleaned and moved the furniture back in to the Rowell Room. The transformation was complete for another year.

7

Environmental Sustainability at Uoff: A Work in Progress

BY KEVIN DoRGAN (1L)

The Canadian public's concern about the environment reached new heights this year and governments responded with greater emphasis on the "green agenda." The past year at the U ofT Faculty of Law was no different; Dean Mayo Moran set up the Environmental Sustainability Working Group in the Spring of 2006. Since then, the Working Group has recommended and subsequently executed several new environmental initiatives.

The following overview of these initiatives shows the law school has reason to celebrate, but there is much room to grow.

1. Reusable book bags The bookstore eliminated the use of plastic bags and replaced them with reusable canvas ones. First-year students received both the larger, sturdier bag and a smaller, companion tote bag which upper-years also received.. The smaller tote bag is available for sale at the bookstore at a cost of one dollar, with the proceeds going to replenish the bookstore's stock of reusable bags.

2. Environmentally friendlier publications Both the J.D. Admissions Guide and Nexus, the alumni magazine, are now printed on more environmentally friendly paper materials. The number of pages and the size of the J.D. Admissions Guide have also been reduced.

3. Waste reduction and recycling initiatives The number of newspapers in the Rowell room has been reduced; battery recycling bins have been placed in hallways; faculty meetings now serve water from jugs instead of using bottled water.

4. Partnering on environmental activities and conferences The Working Group offered support to the recent climate change conference, ''A Globally Integrated Climate Policy For Canada", November 1st-2nd. Last year, the Working Group co-sponsored the Environmental Law Club's showing of a documentary on environmental sustainability followed by a Q & A with the documentary's director.

The corning year will see the implementation of several additional environmental sustainability initiatives.

While the Working Group is always open to suggestions, some of its planned initiatives for 2007-2008 include: 1. Environmental audit The Working Group would like to carry out an environmental audit to assess the environmental sustainability of the Faculty's facilities with a view to making

further improvements. The audit could be carried out either by the University of Toronto Sustainability Office or alternatively by the Working Group itself using the method employed by the campus-wide Sustainability Office.

2. Environmental protocols for SLS clubs The Group would like to work with the SLS to establish environmental protocols that would offer student clubs guidelines for running more environmentally friendly activities (e.g., reducing waste and consumption, using environmentally friendly caterers, etc.).

3. More bicycle parking An additional bike rack is to be installed in the near future. Work forms have already been submitted.

4. Changes to faculty kitchens No more styrofoam cups for faculty kitchens; biodegradable dishwashing liquid and hand soap willreplace current products.

5. Efforts to make Faculty catering more environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly caterers will be invited to provide quotes and samples with a view to evaluating the use of such caterers for faculty lunches, conferences and other events at the law school.

Beyond these planned initiatives, there are a few other ideas on the table that the Working Group has been asked to consider. One of the more ambitious and perhaps controversial suggestions is offsetting the "carbon footprint" of Faculty-sponsored travel, including air miles logged by guest speakers and faculty that go abroad for conferences or other work. The idea is that the negative effect of Facultysponsored travel on the environment, calculated in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, can be offset by investing in a designated C02-reduction scheme.

Such a scheme may include funding for tree planting projects or the purchase of "certified carbon credits" from a closed market of carbon credit exchange, for example.

The latter option refers to the purchasing of carbon credits held by companies that have managed their business operations in such a way that the company has extra carbon credits to spare.

By purchasing these credits, one would in effect be "retiring" them; i.e., preventing other companies, who emit more carbon dioxide than their carbon credits allot for, from purchasing these extra credits held by the more...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

-

FRASER MILNER CASGRAIN LLP YOUR FUTURE IS OUR BUSINESS

IFIEA1f1UI IEยง Chatting with Professor Angela Fernandez

BY SooHYUM NAM (1L) AND BRYCE KUSTRA (1L)

UV: So the general consensus is that you look very young--youthful. Has anyone ever mistaken you for a student?

AF: Yes, yes. 1bis happens all the time.

In fact a guy at the small group dinner earlier in the year (I won't name him because I wouldn't want to embarrass him) somehow missed the part where I introduced myself in the beginning. He was talking on his cell phone, and then he started walking along with me, and I wondered if he knew I was the professor.

Then at a certain point we started walking along, and then it was pretty clear that he didn't know, and then he was right about to say something which I was pretty sure he was going to regret, so I just went "Oh, in case you didn't know, I'm Professor Fernandez ... " I think he was pretty embarrassed. So yeah, this happens. But I don't mind. But you are not asking my age now, are you? I'm not answering that question..

UV: Do you think you'll be retired or close to retirement by the time the new law school building is built?

AF: I don't know. I hope not Uaughs].

UV: Do you have a favourite design out of the 3?

AF: I love the curved one. I can't remember the architect's name. It's not the ribbon (black) one or the basic cube one, but the one that goes around the curve.

It's glass and will form a crescent looking over Queen's Park, which would be very nice. From an aerial shot of Toronto you could see that and it would be really cool.

It's also symmetrical, and I really like symmetry a lot. [Editor's note: we think she means the one by Hariri Pontarini Architects]

UV: Apparently the mullet is making a comeback. How bad an idea is that?

AF: What's a mullet?

UV: You know, business in the front, party in the back?

AF: Ah, my husband showed me a web site where people post sightings of

mullets ... bad idea. Definitely a bad idea.

UV: What was your favourite way to waste time in law school?

AF: I used to live about 20 minutes away from the law school, so I'd often walk very slowly listening to music. We also used to go to the graduate house and drink coffee and talk with people there.

UV: What was on your Walkman then?

AF: Well, those days I was in Montreal so I used to listen to a lot of Leonard Cohen. Some of his songs are about the neighbourhood I use to live in on Marie-

Anne Street. I also went through a phase where I liked Nick Cave and Tom Waits a lot.

UV: What are the four most memorable ftlms you have watched?

AF: I tend to be the type of person who retains in my mind only the most recent things I saw. So I don't know ... I thought Vacancy was extremely good.

UV: The horror movie?

AF: Yes, the horror movie. Extremely scary, and it's great. Have you watched Psycho? I love that movie, too. They did a total play on that in Vacancy.

UV: Do you like horror movies a lot?

AF: Yeah, but probably because you guys are interviewing me around Halloween time!? I also watched 30 Days of Night with friends recently, and we started talking about good vampire movies. The Lost Boys is definitive - that was in the 80s. Okay, so that's four, with a Halloween proviso.

UV: What makes a good horror movie?

AF: Suspense, not seeing things. Vacancy was very situational. There wasn't much gore in it, but they portrayed claustrophobia very, very well. In terms of scariness, The Ring would be my limit. I found that to be too scary.

UV: We hear you are an avid gardener.

Do you grow flowers or veggies?

AF: I don't do veggies because they make you feel guilty. You have to do something with them, like eat them. I had this huge patch of rhubarb for a long time but then what am I going to do with it? Bake pies? I don't even love pie that much. So it's getting bigger and bigger and it makes you feel bad. Plants that

make you feel bad should just ... go. Actually, the previous owners had vegetables and herbs but I replaced them with roses.

UV: Are roses your favourite flowers?

AF: Not necessarily, but they are responsive and colourful so I like them.

That's the great thing about gardening -depending on what you do, you can get a response from the plant. It's very rewarding. Actually it's not unlike teaching, you know? You put effort in it, and you put in a little water, and there's the response. It's very satisfying. [Editor's Nate #2: As opposed to being a U off law student, where no matter what you do, you end up with either B+ or the ever popular B++]

LIGHTNING ROUND: UV: Desert island book?

AF: It should be either a book you love very much or something you've always wanted to read. It'd also have to be fairly long... I'd probably say Don Quixote. My husband reads it every two years or so, and from the passages he sometimes reads to me I know that I'd enjoy it.

UV: Pets?

AF: A Beagle named Ritza and a cat named Tyke.

UV: Beer or Wine?

AF: Beer.

UV: FLB or FLC? AF:FLB. UV: Bora's Head or Cecil's Head?

AF: Where is Cecil's Head? Let's say Cecil's because I feel bad for the neglected guy. Actually, change that to Bora's because I actually like Bora Laskin better.

UV: Newfoundland or Labrador?

AF: Newfoundland, because I'm from

What they did not tell you during OCis Now that 2Ls have experienced the agony and ecstasy of OCis and are completely in love with their summer fttms, it is time for me to burst their bubble. Most 2Ls heard talk about "culture" and "fit" during interview week, but they do not realize that was really just doublespeak for the firms' true intent: to find students they can turn into their minions.

But how do firms reprogram brighteyed summer students into associates who will perform hours of monotonous work without complaint? Through a combination of spirit-crushing work and effusive displays of love, including lavish, firm-sponsored social events. In

BY CHRISTI DEE GAITIU (3L) fact, the techniques law firms employ in ioural patterns. Each step is sufficiently their student eraift "'ft!!OOtg training pro- minor that the change isn't noticeable. grams are similar to techniques used by First, you are required to wear the firm's cults to indoctrinate new members. "uniform" (business attire). Next, you Berkeley psychologist Dr. Margaret T. are required to docket your hours, and Singer has compiled a list of six condi- classify each tenth of an hour as billable tions used in effective "thought reform" or non-billable. At the beginning you processes in her book Cults in our Midst, stay until five, which becomes later and many of which are eerily similar to the later until getting home before the Colinduction of students into "fttm cul- bert Report is cause for celebration. You ture" at many esteemed Bay Street firms. also receive a Blackberry, which seems great, until you realize this means they 1. Keep the person ignorant of how can send you emails on Saturday night she or he is being changed a step at saying, ''When you get into the office toa time. morrow, I'd like you to start working Cults operate by forcing recruits to on... " Before you know it your selfadapt, in a series of steps, to new behav- worth will be gauged by your billable

hours, and you will hear the buzz of your Blackberry in your dreams.

2. Control the person's social and/or physical environment, and especially their time.

From the moment you make your first entry into your firm's docketing program they reinforce the notion that your time is theirs, and is being constantly monitored. Even their extravagant events which allegedly "show you love" are really subversive attempts to control your social environment. Cottage weekends, yacht trips and pub nights are all offered so that students can get to know CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10

UI.:I'RA VIR.BS

What the fu*k is the SLS Caucus and why should I care?

By AU'-KaA:N SUNDBll ~

VP A£ADBKie- SLS Walk at01IOd. !he law adlool. !heee ckya ud it't ptctty ctay to apot pmblcm.s. It ia ....U knoWD that there ..., vl!1.ges In A6ica witho.i.eet bellm•>tQa. The heat.. in,g syrtem .:bofty W:a o:dcrt &om I)<) """' And what's wilb all thooe ubecot ~~ But thcte o:te .Wo ila...e.a tb.it 1UI::Il't to

"""Y to apot. LUI: yar, It wu olwiow to u.s chat II!UID. gtO'Qp pmfa ll.m::t got togdhet to malo:,_ lll>x1coltt b&d llimilllt wotldood& F""""r aad II£'P"f , _ wo:<e obliviou to tb.ia faet. The Wllfdwes tchedWcd prov.idca .motb.ct cumplc.

Ba:.we""""' c:luoeo ~for .. llal.e .. 10 mjoucee, a few II1Xld=la oould not takt ...,mplem...,..ry ~ (think Fmilly L&w md lt<:produaioe 011d Sesual.Hedtb Uzw). But only tbme few smdcntt ftlt !he p«in.

So what? 'I'b.e law ochool boa problema. What dM: is ""'" 'I'bi4 ia 'Wh= !he SIS comet in. The SLS dooo mon: than tbmw gtat Hslloooo:= ponie$ ond O<'casion•IIy ooolt up

=

OC/s ·ltom page 9 ... eoch om.. beu.r. Dml't be fooiM lam tbinlring tb.ia il clue 10 my dlruism 011 tbe fiml\ put. Tb&: logic ia that if 7'01'~ bert fi:lado wl1h the peopl£ you ....d: with, 7'01' won't miDcl WIAing .n the time. 'lb.e fimla ue 110 IIICCCU!ulat tbia that It cormo .,... m tht foil~ scbool ,ar: jlllt loot at .n the 3Ls iD }OIIt dua lit ..wh lladtmJ &om thelt l . l l ' I ' M f t firm.

11001e pa~ SISM&iB doee a great twliy 'II'Otb. Wheo Cau.c>.~~ tepS aJl: Job plomring- and m•n•ging the , _ , of a pl.'Obkm, thia tyttcm lw SLS budgr:t, but m.....lsonoth.et llde to pro..,., c£focdve In ~ about SLS- cbc Caueus. SLS Ora<:ul cotim co c:haoge. TlW year, sa>d gwap Jn>O& ~ lhe i l l - of ttudcnttiO the meet regWady t o - IIDL=mll hove .. focWty aad the o.dm!nlstmt!oa. The C.... o:!m!lorworkb.d Tb:!a yeu. wealaobove a 12:2.0 hulcb. tilxlc ill otdct to a'I'Oid C1l$ doee lhi.t !lu'O'af!h io!ivm.l 00""'1'" Jlicalion with the f.u:ulty and clauea o...:r.l•pping fot 10 milmtcl. ~and byolttlugoa l'a!:ulty Theoe d.u!p Aft: a dlb:ct,. m>d!Jputed =ralt of Cau.eu tepl tailing thelle probBefu:te this getusxymazc '"I "; 1tt lt:mt ud forcillg the •dmioiatra!ion to ..., bonom lln.e It fut fOIL If )'Oil hove a ti&Rmtke. pmblc:m 'lrilh IIOD!ethiog at !he law Of OO'IIJ1I¢, this IIYl"='lril1 only......, ach.ool. c:o:aloi.Ctio,g your SLS tep am te- if ttudcntt Itt thcit c-:...t tq>t blow .n,. b.elp the oimation. Bvery yat the whea there is a probt.m. Moot po:ople Deal> <:l'*e8 eommi!Uie8 co addte8s dif. that""' fox Ca:ac:w ate botl1 c::omplail>faccnt law acbool. p:roblm• Thcte com- em- but that doeeD't - w e willapot mittzes d..t with U....... ""&ing &om all the problems dud:""""'~ We abDi&aity, to IT. co how Fiom:ial Aid is ~ oeecl8111deott to oomplaio if we dituibu.ttd. By &itlislg 011. theae rom mit- ate goiDg to do Ol>t job propedy.

So tbe next time 'fO\l DDtil:z & II • dring - wilh fi.culcy;. ~"" SLS n:po ate ohle 01) tlliae }'OUt isluc$ and bDog them 10 the chat j111t <loea>'t ~ $C:O.SC, or sometlttt!!jon of the faculty and &dmloiJtm. tb.io,g that J:Cally piNed you off- tbe SIS tioo. tD !maw.

Tb.e emzy tbics ia that IIlia sy=m a.e~debe 0-lw:nt, we-UJi1>B out some

tlA' ioiliatiml to incteUe aNd=t feed. btck. We bin iniri"""' Q. Pim y-s,..... vr:y that w!11 be co:adocted ot wrlaw Omiet throo~out the.,._. 1'hlt nm:r will prooide qDillllilativedala 1hucan be .....! to u..dr. ttmds and away """"' of the mote swbbonl fac:uhyand tdmioiJUIIIiOilm.tm'bed.lf it~ !J: II our hopetbot """'-,...n. C.U.:U. will expand il8 10 all cla-.

The SLS .WO lw a I.'!Mmpcd ....:baitc.

So &t, It II ~ tbe potaDial to be a

Cult lcadt!fhip-,.,.... old p t - . 5. ~ • ijiiUL of zewab, of bebrtioarllld belid' eJiminmd Did P'mlebgwlt aJid mpad=CCIIJD IJI'Cb ~.. hAw .. puolnsx for pro 1xmo told-~~ PI"P'• fdebeficm you ataJIICd with tbe firmi' Too olocJ or bdld' . , . _ aDd P"l>

be modified cmcpt bflcadcnbip -Ppronl or CIIICC\IIblo ozcb.

Dt. Slop c:uldab group lw a~ pyamid- R!ml ue nOlbis!g ii not pymmid ll'hM""l N.oo- ottbe bo-alot oaWyto-. atc mooc wall!> the parl!ltl$ u rm top, but will do ~ to dwce!M thooe u the mp. becenw they - the oaa who QOIII!Ol their fuDirc. Fu<tb.Cl' more, by tbe time thooy hnc bccmne • ooclora thooy J..- okady c:ampl=cl the

w,

c........"""""

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4. MaaJpu1acc a i)itcm of acwada, pnoiQmente ad apedenc:et Ja ouch a ...,. • tD lahlblt bchatow tbat rdl- the pcqo11'1 formerclal fAiooadly;

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great~ tool RiiF 110Wtt lim an your ea...:... membem, thcit oomml....... (Aft:U of ~.and the milma:a of all of ow IXIUiiogt.

Tbe!c ue a lot of o1he;: iDca:c.t~ thiDga em the sib: which ~~~ th.ould

ch.edt out at...-~u:.ea.

But at the cnd of the clay, fOil th.ould .U....ys 6:d &ee 10 we • mr:thod that'o ~ temd. and ttu.e: liad ., SIS tep ud Itt him Of b.a: know 'VIbat't <):Q 'J'O'CU' mlod.

·-!hat· eo.

who..,.

l. &)a• •deally cteato a of powedblD-lD the pera-.

Thll Ia ae>compllshed by jiCUing cllk mcmbcn away &om thdr nomw'todal ooppott gmup fot a pedod of time and lam .., en•h• '"ment 'WI>= the majodty o£ people ce almdy "inJriden•. Oace ~.. Olld< ·~ fot,.,.... film, it will sooa ""'"'- 100 bud to make plaDI ..wh JOUr &imdlllld family becb..,.,..

-'tlmaw ..t.m you'll ga: slut mim>.tJC email oa a Pdday aft=ooa ~nmg rour bclp CMr tbe ,....Jsrad No oae ~ ,.,.. will thlok th.t tbia la ... odd ....,. to lift bea\ISC lt'l aiJo f>eea -"a lliaee all of them ~ · - thcil OWil filmi1y and fiimdo (~ illlho phomo on lh<lr deoka). As ~n opcml """"'and mom lime at ftCk, 7'01' will gadua!IJ withdmw &om ~lit futmcr oocial ru:t> WDib hr<m•wthooycm'tundrntmd tht Jll'CII1IfCI yon fu:e to 1IO£k u hard u you do.

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"'>ebsmour modfli"'!!lon~ prooc~s. Tber doD't- to tcudcrn the.,-; tboy wont 10maveup wllhiD lr. Onedoy they will oeach rm tpeo: of the PJ!&DIId and will impote thdr "caalasc" Dill - l e t of apontn'M"ttudcn.D, whotboy can gmom to become thdr oom IWIIIq"

making dr:oatl

badl Althoup they may b&..: ~ you lislca about lbdr commi- 10 pro boao ~ dlldu& tho illla'Vinr proaa,ln ....Uty they oo:Nolly...,iru a Deedleu diluac!ioll &om billable WID. jult lOy aokiugJuattneDIDt for.-. ptO b<mo work. wlllpse cmrand W'lllllrttwi~ euh time~ Blacltbcrry b-.., tbinkio« abc'!o mi11iDg out osx "n:oo~ wmlr. You'll be ~ fot yow umdfi•bneu with &A~ ctll from 811 ....,.;err •tiding. "Your mentor told ""' l"" bin aomc time 011. ~ur handl, 10I'd liloeJ011 to hdp DlCOill big doall'm 'WO!I!illg011. It will imoln two ..... of eN£ dlllgmcoat rm ~a& 6ec iD Milriaung& We'd lib you tim Ftidoy cvc:niDg lhc clcll'll moriDg Cfllddy.~ You lDib tbe JDiJtBb of I ' @iDg up pro b<mo 1IQ£k agaiDI

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of the group's bdldt, whl1£ obowlng dioapplOftl t.ciWitdl uy qucllioaing, dou~Ol• eiljdet YODwillbetoldltDdeo of tbe •nod• wlm"""' bil billable ccget by tbe bctJMin& of July iD lmohcd, om>filkd-. If you10 tmor:h u ""I"""" mere thock that -

could 9IMk 10 hazd (uoud 70 NllsNc ho.- per -=lr. for U.. mouduo) you will bemr:twlth amysd&dupU!\Uikmmda ot; ''Well, be made pua.. ill 1m ,am.• Criririzing the tmODnt someone WDib h tantwmr-.mttD hL I I • • bJioc.clluic . . . ~

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'- Pat Earth a dn.ed oyall!:in ttl Josle

azul all-~- that pcawlD! 110 Ceedhack uul toftJ;. . 110

Now, maay of you aro: probolb1y mllillg yout .,.,. ""nlriog that thia ia a hiFlJ eng • tal scandlt, an IIHUDpt &tUII!a.tbot ls rrylogiO ~the ovcall poilltthat life at allw fiml1111Cb. y.,.. Ole.....-..~ £ian you ....ttr. fot ls nothing lib: a cult. Your ftom'a "culue'' ia traly "aaique.-111 JOIIt law 6rm CietJODC 'II'Otb tWu: to live and lw .. boppy. wdl...djumd II& If you ~ cbil, m01e pow'Cl to ~u, but pleuc ..n IOtllc wcii-Jn=. tioud ..trico: .. ,.,ur fbm'o - ....w ~t. doD\ dl:il!k rm Kool-Aid.

NOVEMBER

FEATURES

20 2007

11

Student-led bridge session helps lLs understand how they fit into the legal profession

BY AMARA GOSSIN

(1L) AND JACQUEUNE WIUiON (1L)

Before the First-Year Bridge Week student session, you might have thought it was just you. But while everyone brought different perspectives and knowledge, a few main themes emerged during the session and reassured many of us that our hazy understanding of who law students are and how we fit into the "legal profession" isn't unique.

The First-Year Bridge Week on Legal Ethics and Professionalism was filled with big names, sharp minds, and tough debate. It challenged students to think hard about how we evaluate ourselves, and what sort of lawyers we want to be.

The student session on Thursday, run with the encouragement and sanctioning of the Bridge Week Faculty organizers, was a bit of an anomaly. The putsch (as Professor Code called it) provided a different sort of challenge: to think about who we are. Now. Here. As students. And it was surprisingly empowering. It brought themes from the Bridge sessions down to a more actionable level. In an environment with just students, many of us felt comfortable admitting our ignorance and/or confusion (I,Jacqui Wilson, asked what it meant to be a partner at a

law firm). We talked, laughed (sometimes argued), and got a glimpse of the ways that we can address some of the issues raised in the Bridge.

U of T students are not the hypercompetitive, scary lot that most of us expected "they'' would be (not "we," of course!). Despite what the outside world seems to think, most first-year students are not actually set on any certain path. A fair number of us have nodded our way through comments about the "Seven Sisters" on "Bay Street" and wondered who this rather large family of women is, and why it is relevant. Few students know what sort of law that they want to practice, or, more fundamentally, what choices they have.

This article seeks to be a first step in moving the discussion from the Bridge Week student session beyond the classroom and, we hope, even beyond the pub. Students voiced numerous questions, concerns and ideas. There was excitement about the opportunity to take lessons from Bridge Week and adapt them to the circumstances we face as students.

We discussed the group of Stanford

students who rated US firms on their diversity hiring practices. There was interest in making our own survey to evaluate Toronto fums based on criteria that we think are important. The first task might be an attempt to gauge the concerns of the student community. Who are we?

What expectations do we have of law school? What expectations do we have for our lives after law school? It was an empowering thought that maybe, just maybe, we could influence the course of our future lives by offering law firms some insight into our concerns (and not by pretending that we are going to ask those "tough" questions during an interview). If firms are worried about the high drop-out rates of young associates, we can help them grapple with that issue.

If they don't care, maybe that says something as well.

But, as every good law student should, we were able to argue both sides. Some participants worried that measuring our current concerns might be tough because we don't actually know what we want.

Sure, "public interest law" sounds metaphysically better than "corporate law," but the truth is that many of us don't

know what either of these choices entails, or which career path suits us better. Of course, some students know more than others, and there are those who are sure of their career choices; but in any case, before we decide that we are willing to accept the status quo, we should let ourselves ask questions. Many of us are already facing a perhaps surprising amount of responsibility as we volunteer at clinics or on various projects. We're feeling our way through our opportunities. And while it seems true that our priorities might change as we develop into professional lawyers, by asking questions now we increase the chance of setting out on a fulfilling career path.

No concrete plans of action emerged from the discussions. But there were ideas. And there was a sense of community in the feeling that we are not just tools being moulded for a set function, not even actors being taught our lines.

Rather, we are active participants in a systern that both ensures and undermines justice. Our ability to influence the workings of that system might just begin now.

Record Hire - from page 1

Office noted that Osgoode's 2L class is approximately 50% larger than that of UoiT, and that UofT's recruitment results continue to be strong in proportion to class size. Moreover, Krakauer and Leo "also anticipate that even more UofT stu-

dents will be going to New York and Boston next summer since the US OCI program continued to grow- from 21 fums attending in 2006 to 27 firms this year." This explanation appears consistent with recent news that a record 15%

of the 2008 UoiT law graduating class will be practicing in the United States next fall. We will not know for certain until next semester, when Ultra Vires publishes U ofT's U.S. firm recruitment results.

... results, it should be noted that the actual number of acceptances from all schools is likely slightly higher than reported since there are a small number of employers that did not provide their recruitment results to Ultra Vires.

The main beneficiaries of the booming Toronto job market appear to be the law students at other Canadian universities.

As compared to 2005, Osgoode's overall OCI hires are up 26 percent from 74 to 93 students. To the best of Ultra Vires' knowledge, this year is the first time that Osgoode's OCI recruitment results have

~.NOW TS AS GOOD A 11~ AS EVER TO BE A CANADIAN LAW STUDENT SEEKING

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ever been higher than those at UofT. The recruiting results at Queen's, Ottawa and Dalhousie have all shown marked improvement over the past two years as well, up 38%, 23%, and 75% respectively.

All is not bleak for U ofT, however, as 84.8% of 125 survey respondents reported receiving one or more offers of employment, up strongly from 75.5% last year. A complete breakdown of all 2007 OCI results can be found on page 12.

When asked for comment on these developments, Lianne Krakauer and Shannon Leo of the Career Development

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FEATURES

12

ULTRA VIRES

2007 SURVEY OF TORONTO LAWFIRSM RECRUITING COMPILED BY

uv STAFF

Overview The Ultra Vires 2007 Survey of Toronto Law Firm Recruiting was conducted using an anonymous online survey distributed to second year students at the law school. 125 student responses representing over 80% of students participating in the process were received.

Respondents were asked to answer a number of personal questions and to provide specific comments on the firms they met with. Respondents were also asked to rate each from 1-10 on the respect shown throughout the process and to give an overall score. Ultra Vires then calculated those scores based on 20% (OCI), 20% (Call-Back), 10% (Events), 10% (Respect) and 40% (Overall), to arrive at a final score from each student for each firm. The boutique firms were scored based on 22% (OCI), 22% (callback), 11% (events) and 45% (Overall).

The final scores were then averaged to arrive at the 2007 Firm Rankings. Although the results displayed no obvious outliers, they should be read critically.

First, where statistics are reported for sub-samples (e.g. average firm ratings), they are based on relatively low sample size. Secondly, some respondents may have completed the survey multiple times or otherwise tried to skew ratings.

Thirdly, no attempt was made to correct for selection bias. Finally, for the firm ratings, there was no correction for potential biases created by other factors such as the number of students interviewed at each firm, the number of students hired, or whether or not the respondent received an offer from a firm.

How did the students do?

The evidence on the whole is generally positive. On average, respondents applied to 20.4 employers. The sample had an average of 12.1 OCis and 5.8 callbacks, both of which were up from last year's figures of 11.3 and 5.5, respec-

tively. Most encouraging, however, is that 84.8% of students reported receiving at least one offer, up from 75.5% last year. 25.9% of survey respondents received "4 or more" offers, compared with only 16.8% in 2006.

Gender, age gaps in results are concerning On average, male applicants appear to have done significantly better than did female applicants. Whereas men received 14.2 OCis and 7.1 callbacks on average, women only received 9.8 and 4.3, respectively. Moreover, whereas 91.8% of male applicants received at least one offer, only 78.0% of female applicants were recipients of offers of employment. Given the size of our sample, and self-selective nature of the survey in general, it is difficult to know how representative these statistics are. However, based on the responses we have received, the trend with respect to women is concerning.

get more information about what is going on ... We take issues of equity in hiring and employment very seriously."

A similar gap is evident when analyzing results across age groups. The percentage of students receiving at least one offer was highest for those aged 23 or younger (93.9%), lower for those between 24 and 26 years of age (85.7%), and lower yet for those 27 years of age or older (72.7%). Only 6.1% of applicants aged 23 or younger did not secure employment, whereas 27.3% of those in the oldest age group did not. These findings are also consistent with those of our 2006 survey. Bay Street, it seems, wants us while we're young.

So on the whole, although these numbers should be read critically, they suggest that young, male applicants that are members of a visible minority were most likely to secure employment in the ocr process, while older, female applicants that are not members of a visible minority were least likely.

The Effect of Grades GPA > 3.625 3.50- 3.625 3.375- 3.50 3.25- 3.375

Average# OCis 15.9 13.5 14.3 11.7

Average # Callbacks 8.3 6.1 5.8 5.3

Avg #of Offers 2.7 2.9 1.8 1.9

10.1

5.4

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3.0-3.25

It is worth noting as well that the 2007 results are consistent with those from our 2006 ocr survey, which also presented a similar gap (thought admittedly smaller) between the employment results of men and women.

Lianne Krakauer and Shannon Leo of the Career Development Office were surprised by these findings, describing them as "unusual based on [their] experience," since "traditionally, women consistently do as well as men in interviews."

Krakauer and Leo pledged to "pay close attention to gender equity as we gather our summer employment results. If this is a trend, we would be concerned and would talk to employers and students to

Grades: The Impact of the Transcript As we expected, the statistics suggest a strong correlation between good grades and success in the summer job process.

The average number of OCis, callbacks, and job offers all increased as did the GPA of the survey participant. The good news for everyone, however, is that even if your first year GPA was 3.25 or lower, you still had a 77.1% of receiving at least one offer.

Male Female Visible Minority Not Visible Minority 23 and under 24 to 26 27 and over 2007 Entire Sample 2006 Entire Sample

Average# OCis 14.2 9.8 11.9 12.4 13.4 12.9 8.9 12.1 11.3

Average# Callbacks 7.1 4.3 5.8 6.0 6.7 6.2 3.9 5.8 5.5

Aird & Berlis 4.9 (#26) Ranking dead last in the survey this year (a huge drop from last year's 7th position), Uoff students were not impressed with Aird & Berlis this year. Comments generally suggested that the firm's interviews (both ocr and in-firm) were "boring," "typical," and "not memorable." It's not surprising that no one from Uoff was hired there this year, but at least one student was not disappointed, because he or she couldn't work for a firm that "smells like a dentist's office," and would "only work there for 3 times the pay elsewhere."

Baker & McKenzie 6.5 (#21) Baker & McKenzie dropped significantly in the ratings this year, from 16th to 21st place. While some students thought they were "generally nice" and gave "good gifts," others thought the interviewers were "boring" and they "couldn't get excited about the place." Perhaps it was the firm's lack of a sense of humour. When asked about his/her greatest weakness at the end of a very long day, one student answered "kryptonite" and got "no smile, no laugh, nothing."

Bennett Jones 6.5 (#22) Bennett Jones plummeted in the ratings this year from fifth-place last year to 22nd. While some students enjoyed their OCis and found the interviewers to be "great, friendly people" who were also "open;' others said they were "grumpy'' and "disinterested;' and "talking to them for 20 minutes was like pulling teeth."

Students were also frustrated by conflicting and/or unnecessary emails (e.g. informing the student they wouldn't be getting a call-back after they didn't get an OCI). However, students did think the $10 iTunes card was "very nice."

Blake, Cassels and Graydon 7.4 (#13)

OCis, Callbacks, Offers: The Big Picture Average# Applications 21.2 19.6 22.1 20.0 20.7 20.1 21.1 20.4 23.3

FULL SERVICE BUSINESS LAW FIRMS

% Receiving 1+ Offer 91.8 78.0 93.1 82.7 93.9 85.7 72.7 84.8 75.5

Blakes slipped in the ranks from the 6th to the 13th spot this year, despite increasing both their total number of hires (up 56%) and the number of students hired from Uoff (up from 7 to 12). Students generally disliked the "tell me your life story" approach interviewers took at OCis, but thought the interviewers were "very friendly'' and "welcoming." At the callback stage, students found Blakes "outstanding" and "very accommodating," with "large scale" and "elegant" events. Students were divided on the

NOVEMBER

FEATURES

20 2007

issue of respect, with some saying they were "treated with utmost respect'' while others said they were "quite disrespectful" and "put too much pressure on [student's] schedules."

Blaney McMurtry 5. 7 (#25) Students did not seem impressed by Blaney McMurtry at the OCI stage, where more than one student found the recruiter "disinterested,'' one said they asked "douchebag questions,'' and another said that a "million dollar salary wouldn't be enough to make me work there."

No wonder they dropped from #14 in last year's survey to #25. However, there were students who said they were "pleasant'' and "friendly" during OCis, and that they were "nice people to deal with" overall.

Borden Ladner Gervais 8.0 (#2) BLG jumped from 7th in last year's survey to 2nd this year. Students were generally positive in their comments about OCis, saying the interviewers were "warm," "friendly," "fabulous," and "engaging." However, there were some who disagreed, including a student who said the OCI was "more inquisitional than informational" and one who found the interviewers "insincere."

Students that received callbacks all enjoyed them, saying they were "well-run," "smooth and easy," and the events were "a great experience" because of the "good ratio of partners to students." Students were very impressed with the level of respect BLG showed for them. For one student, they were "the only firm to offer me an opportunity to speak with a visible minority." Another said they "really seemed to respect me and the decisions I would be making,'' and still another said they had "a lot of class". Respondents' overall impressions of BLG were uniform: they thought it was a "great'' firm.

Cassels, Brock & Blackwell 7.7 (#4) Cassels Brock stayed steady in the

rankings, moving only one spot, and their OCis received generally positive reviews, with students calling them "amazing," "great people," and "friendly". However, one student said although they were "chummy" they were "clearly faking," and another found them "a little confrontational at times." The in-firm interviews and events received very positive reviews, with one student saying it would "probably be a great place to work because of the people... [and] I didn't even accept their offer, so I'm not even

saying these things for self-interest."

13 Job Distribution by Firm and School

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg 7.4 (#10) Davies suffered a noticeable drop in the rankings this year from 4th to 1Oth, despite the fact that they hired more Uoff students this year than last. Students generally said the OCI interviewers were "friendly'' and ''very honest about the long hours they expect." However, at the callback stage, the reviews were mixed, with some students calling the infirm interviews "really excellent," and "incredibly organized," while others found them "terrible." One student cancelled his/her second visit based on a poor impression during the first, and another student said a senior partner "made me ask questions for an hour while his assistant stared me down." One student's perspective was somewhere in the middle, namely that the "people [they] met couldn't have been nicer but you could tell Davies seemed all business."

Davis 7. 7 (#3) Coming in at #3 this year was a big jump for Davis, which was ranked 16th in 2006. Students generally liked their OCI experiences with the firm, saying the interviewers "set a good tone" and were "incredibly funny and interesting." Davis also received uniformly positive comments about the level of respect they showed students throughout the process, and deserve "top marks for respect."

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin 7.7 (#5) This firm skyrocketed up the rankings this year, moving from the second-to-last spot in 2006 to fifth place in 2007 despite hiring the exact same number of Uoff students, so obviously they did something right. Nevertheless, comments about OCis were mixed, as some students thought the interviewers were "fantastic,'' and "informal but still professional,'' while others commented that their OCis were "average," and "the least pleasant interview experience of the bunch."

One student remarked, "I can't believe they send those people to represent the firm." Reviews of in-firm interviews, however were more uniform, with students consistently remarking they had "lots of involvement with partners" and the events were "good". Many students also said they were shown a lot of respect by the firm, and one said they "truly do seem interested in the students' best interests, which I can't say about any other firm."

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~006 Totals: 407 91 86 47 42 35 26 34 25 23 12005 Totals: 355 96 74 39 32 30 15 33 16 20 Cz004 Totals: 361 91 80 41 36 24 23 32 18 16 *The following employers did not respond to repeated attempts by Ultra Vires to obtain 2007 recruitment results: Baker & McKenzie; Department of Justice; Hicks Block Adams; Hodgson Shields; Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark; Sherrard Kuzz.

14

FEATURES

Fogler, Rubinoff 6. 9 (#15) Students were divided on whether Fogler, Rubinoff's OCI interviewers were "very friendly and enthusiastic" or whether they had "no social skills" and were "awkward." The discord continued in comments about the in-firm interviews, where one student remarked on "awkward silences." One student had a "candid dinner with senior partners,'' but overall students' impressions were not great, and they found it a "mediocre experience" that was "weird."

Fraser Milner Casgrain 7.4 (#11) Overall, students found this firm's OCis to be "indistinguishable;' "unremarkable," and "average." The callbacks, however, were "amazing'' and "everyone was so friendly''. At least one student was lucky enough to have lunch with Senator Smith, while others experienced "an amazing dinner in Yorkville" and a "very enjoyable and interactive" cocktail reception. Students were divided, however, on the issue of respect, with some saying they showed "a great deal" and "more than any other firm," while one student received an offer ''with the reminder that there were multitudes of students waiting in the wings."

Goodmans 7.4 (#12) OCis were said to be "good" and "very friendly." However, more than one stu-

dent said that the interviewers spent a lot of time talking with each other to the exclusion of the interviewee. Once students were invited to the firm, they met what was "probably the most social group of lawyers throughout the process" and enjoyed time in the ''holding room," which was full of summer students to talk to, and a "nice reception," which was the ''best cocktail party of anyone" because they had a HaagenDazs truck. However, Goodmans' recruitment process also had its negative aspects, which included "OK," and "so so" reviews regarding respect for students, and a general feeling that they did not make it clear enough to students where they stood in the process.

Gowlings 6.9 (#16) This year, Gowlings increased the total number of students it hired, but the number coming from U ofT declined.

Despite this, the firm rose in the rankings from 19th to 16th. Vtttually all of the comments on Gowlings' OCis were positive; one student said their interviewers were "right on the money'' and another was really happy to get the iPod speakers. Their in-firm interviews were "behavioural and more formal" which one student liked, and students were impressed by how "personable" the lawyers were. However, one student strongly disliked the cocktail party, saying it was ''very awkward, with students

Historical Rankings Full Service Business Law Firms

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4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Ogilvy Renault Borden Ladner Gervais Davis Cassels Brock & Blackwell Fasken Martineau DuMoulin Osler Hoskin & Harcourt Heenan Blaikie McMillan Blnch Torys Davies Ward Phillips & Vlneberg Fraser Milner Casgrain

Goodmans Blake Cassels & Graydon Stlkeman Eliott Fogler Rubinoff Gowllnas McCarthy Tetrault WelrFcUds Torkin Manes Cohen Arbus Lang Michener Baker & McKenzie Bennett Jones Miller Thomson Lemers Blaney McMurtry

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7.0(14) 7.2(7) 6.9(16) 7.9(3) 5.4(25) 8.0(2) 6.0(20) 7.2(7) 8.4(1) 7.6(4) 7.2(7) 7.1(11) 7.3(6) 5.9(21) 7.1(11) 6.8(19) 7.1(11)

7.2(2) 6.0(17) 5.8(21) 5.9(19) 5.6(22) 6.8(4) 6.2(13) 6.5(10) 6.2(14) 6.6(9) 6.6(8) 6.8(5) 6.9(3) 6.5(11) 3.3(25) 6.3(12) 5.3(24)

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6.0(18) Alrd & Berlls All 2007 and 2006 Composite Scores have been divided by 10 for comparative purposes to previous years.

vying for the attention of partners in their specialty area." Respect was also not a high point, with one student feeling a lot of pressure to "explicidy tell them my intention to accept an offer," which was "uncomfortable."

Heenan Blaikie 7.5 (#7) Heenan Blaikie took a big leap in the rankings this year, up from 20th last year.

Their OCis were "very much like a real job interview,'' which students generally liked because they were looking for "substance over schmooze." However, more than one student was put off by the interviewer's casual clothing, as "she was in jeans, I was in a suit." Students enjoyed the callbacks, though, which were "great'' and "very focused;' and included smoothies as an alternative to coffee or tea. Students were uniformly appreciative of the level of respect shown them, with one student remarking that they considered ''long-term potential at the firm;' with a "very high level of respect," and another saying they appreciated being told ahead of time they wouldn't be offered a position so they could focus their attention elsewhere.

Lang Michener 6.7 (#20) OCis with Lang Michener were described as "a bit awkward" and "a weak pitch". Callbacks also disappointed, because the lawyers seemed "stressed out," and one student ended up going Yz hour over time because the student taking him/her around forgot he/ she was supposed to meet with a senior lawyer. Respect is an issue of concern with this fum, as one student reported that he/she was "pulled aside by a member of the student committee, within earshot of everyone waiting, and strongly pressured to tell them if [he/she] would accept an offer,'' which "almost felt like harassment considering he was taller than [the student] and was a 'close talker."'

Lerners 6.1 (#24) Comments on OCis with Lerners ranged from the positive ("The interviewers were fantastic and really nice") to the negative (''They hadn't read my resume, and it was obvious, so why bother interviewing me?''). Callback experiences were similarly conflicting. The reception was "awkward,'' "very noisy, and there were too many students all fighting for a chance to shake hands with/introduce themselves to a lawyer." However, "their students were great about helping applicants to meet the right people," and one person said "Sylvia Davis is amazing - I really liked her!"

McCarthy Tetrault 6. 7 (#17) McCarthy's hired fewer students overall this year than last, but more of those students came from U off. However, the firm dropped from 11th in the rankings

ULTRA VIRES last year. Reviews of OCis ranged from "awesome," "excellent," and "friendly;' to ''brusque,'' "dull'' and "unengaging."

One student said they were asked a question they found "incredibly inappropriate and made [them] feel very uncomfortable." Callbacks were a more consistendy positive experience. One student was thrilled to have met "amazing people- even John Manley!" Another said their host was "the nicest man ever." However, there were some who had negative experiences and were put off by "partners disparaging other firms,'' and people who were "overly formal and uptight." While students generally thought the firm was respectful, many would have liked to receive a PFO before call day.

McMillan Binch Mendelsohn 7.5 (#8) Holding steady in the top ten this year, OCis with this firm were "more structured than other firms" and ''behavioural style,'' which some students preferred while others found it "very intense for a tier 2 firm." In-firm interviews were ''well-organized and efficient," and meals were well-received, but the late start for dinner was "unnecessary and exhausting." Overall, students found the fum "attentive," "respectful" and said it "comes across as a very wellmanaged firm."

Miller Thomson 6.3 (#23) Miller Thomson maintained the same position in the rankings as last year at #23. Some students thought their OCis were "great'' and had "natural flow," but others were put off by "a lot of yawning'' and "the feeling that they really did not want to be there and just wanted to get lunch." More than one student reported frustration at not being interviewed by people in their area of expertise. One student also remarked that "the callback system they have, with one visit plus a reception, and no opportunity for return visits ... prevented [students] from getting to know the fum better... if they invited students for second visits both sides would be able to get a better sense of potential fit." Another student was disappointed when a partner they met with had trouble answering the question "How does Miller Thomson see itself positioned in the Canadian legal community?"

Ogilvy Renault 8.3 (#1) Ogilvy Renault shot up the chart to numero uno this year after holding the 14th spot in 2006. While OCI reviews were mixed, students who had in-firm interviews were virtually unanimous in their praise for the firm, saying they met "great people" that were ''very friendly'' and were introduced to "a wide range of personnel (articling students, associates, partners) in all of the practice areas [they were] interested in." All respondents

NOVEMBER

20, 2007

were in agreement about the level of respect shown by the fum, which was "excellent,'' and included "answering emails promptly," "making efforts to tailor the interview process to [students1 needs" and "a really nice reply when I declined my callback."

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt 7.6 (#6) Although the number of Uoff students hired by Osiers this year increased by 50% over last year, the fum dipped in the rankings from 2nd to 6th. Although some students really enjoyed their OCis, saying they were "pleasant,'' had a "good personal connection,'' and "immediately put me at ease," many were less enthusiastic. Among the less-than-impressed were students that described the interviewers as "OK, but dorky," "snobbish,'' "cold and awkward," and "bland." One student said "it was very clear that they did not want people with a social justice background." Comments relating to infum interviews were almost all enthusiastic, though, as the fum was "willing to bring out the top brass to speak with students,'' and their events were well-run with a "great lawyer to student ratio".

Overall, students thought Osiers was "extremely respectful" and "a very nice fum."

Stikeman Elliott 7.2 (#14) Positive comments about Stikeman Elliott included: "lawyers were personable and engaging," "by far the most professional in terms of providing information prior to the interview," and "Ritu is incredible." On the negative side, some students said they were "very disappointed, given the firm's reputation,'' they "met some rude people during callbacks,'' and that the fum "tried to dominate students' time and was very aggressive throughout the process." One student described it as being "like a frat house; definitely not the most professional fum out there." However, students enjoyed the events, especially the dinner where "each candidate was seated with two lawyers" so there was "less competition for their attention." They also appreciated the fact that there was "absolutely no BS at Stikemans, which was refreshing."

Torkin Manes Cohen Arbus 6. 7 (#19) Torkin Manes moved up from 24th last year, but reviews of OCis were mixed.

While some students felt a "fantastic personal connection" and thought the interviewers were "lovely,'' "friendly,'' and "candid," others found them "obnoxious" and "ill-informed," and said it was "not a very good fust impression."

In-fum interviews were "laid back'' and ''welcoming,'' although one student found them "awkward" because the fum was disorganized and "one of the interviewers asked [him/her] about why so

15

FEATURES

Full Service Business Law Firm Ranklngs** OCI

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Oailvv RenauH Davis Csssels Brock & Blackwell Fasken Martineau DuMoulin

Osler. Hoskin & Harcourt Heenan Blaikie McMillan Blnch Mendelsohn Torys

Davies ward PhiiiDS & Vlnabera Fraser Milner Casarain Gaodmans Blake, cassels & Gravdon Stlkeman El iott Foale~ Rubinoff

Gowllno Lafleur Henderson McCarthy Tetrault

WelrFoulds Torkin Manes Cohen Arbus

Lang Michener Baker & McKenzie Bennett Jones Miller Thomson Lerners Blanev McMurtrv Alrd & Berlls

Res,.:t

Events*

~·

J

~..,§.

j

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oc

7.2 7.2 6.8 7.5 6.0 7.1 7.3 6.5 6.9 7.5 6.6 7.3 6.4 7.5 8.0 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.1 6.5 5.9 6.6 5.8 6.8 6.1 5.9

39 49 25

9.1 8.6 8.3 8.0 8.1 8.3 7.7 8.1 8.0 6.8 7.9 7.9 8.4 6.8 5.8 6.9 7.1 7.0 7.4 6.8 7.3 8.0 6.6 6.3 5.0 4.6

17 19 6 6 15 16 16 14 10 13 9 9 20 16 5 7 13 8 5 8 3 3 7 4 5 5

9.3 8.6 7.3 9.0 8.2 8.4 8.4 8.8 7.6 8.4 8.3 7.8 7.8 7.5

8 12 6 5 13 16 8 10 9 11 8 9 18 14

Finn

Borden Ladner Gervais

Callback

oc

22

43 39 38 44

26 27 34

39 54

31 8 27 41 24 22 24 19 24 24 11 14 19

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8.5 8.3 8.1 8.0 8.4 7.5 7.5 7.9 8.0 7.7 7.6 6.0 7.8 7.1 6.6 7.2 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.6 5.7 7.0 4.6 5.4 5.0

24 29 9 11 20 25 22 25 12 15 17 20 30 21 5 14 21 12 11 14 8 7 10 5 7 10

'6c

8.3 7.9 8.0 7.3 7.6 7.4 7.4 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.0 6.9 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.5 6.3 5.9 6.4 6.4 5.7 4.5

23 30 9 12 23 25 22 28 14 15 18 23 32 21 7 17 22

13 10 15 9 8 11 5 7 11

83.4 80.1 77.7 77.2 76.9 76.1 75.3 74.7 74.2 74.1 73.0 73.9 73.8 n.2 69.1 68.7 67.3 88.0 66.6 65.7 64.9 64.9 63.4 60.6 57.6 48.7

Certain firms did not have receptions, dinners or other events and/or an insufficient number of responses were received from candidates. or these firms, "events" was removed from the formula calculating the Composite Score. *We did not receive a sufficient number of responses

to the following firms to include in our Recruitment Review: Epstein Cole, Hick Block

~dams, Klippensteins, Koskie Minsky, Mathews Dinsdale & Clark, McCague Peacock, Minden Gross, Neinstein & Associates, Pinkovskys, ishearman & Starting, Sherrard Kuzz, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Solmon Rothbart Goodman, and Tharsteinssons

many of my Uoff classmates had declined to come in for a callback." Overall, they "need to improve their fust impression, because upon a second meeting they are great."

Torys 7.4 (#9) Although Torys hired more summer students this year than last, fewer of them were selected from Uoff, and the fum slipped from last year's #1 ranking.

However, comments about OCis were all positive, as students "loved the people they brought out," found the interviewers "friendly and professional,'' and thought ''Deb Dalfen is ridiculously kind and friendly." Those who had callbacks enjoyed them thoroughly, as the firm "went to the wall to make [them] feel welcome," introduced them to "interesting and important people" and included cookies. The events were also well-received, and students were particularly impressed by the smoothies and by the presence of Iacobucci, who was "a great and inspirational speaker." Torys received great comments about respect, including one student who said they "should give workshops to other fums about how to recruit respectfully." Overall students really enjoyed their experiences with Torys, and one said "if they hadn't had the scandals with Conrad Black, or the partners leaving, or the problems with the NY office, I would have signed on."

WeirFoulds 6. 7 (#18) This year was the fust in several that WeirFoulds recruited summer students, and comments reflected that, Students who attended in-fum interviews said that there was "not a very focused approach to assessing the problem: 'Do we want each other?"' that they were "disorganized, and there was a real lack of communication from the firm." Although students noted that "their student program is new and some of the raw edges show," they also felt they were "genuinely nice people" and "they do have beautiful offices."

BOUTIQUE, SPECIALTV FIRMS AND GOVERNMENT Bereskin & Parr 4.6 (#9) Students did not seem impressed with Bereskin & Parr's OCis, saying the interviewers "seemed unfriendly" and "grilled me on my resume". One student said "they think of themselves too highly in the IP world - they were outclassed by their competitors." No surprise then, that no one from U ofT was hired this year.

Dimock Stratton 6.1 (#8) OCis with Dimock Stratton were not a

positive experience for U off students.

One student remarked that the interviewer didn't know anything about him/her, didn't ask any questions, hardly made eye contact, and said 'bye' at the two minute warning call. Needless to say the student was "highly disappointed by the lack of respect and enthusiasm."

Once again, no surprise there were no U off hires this year.

Department of Justice 6.4 (#7) OCis with the DOJ were described as ''very nuts and bolts but very friendly,'' ''very respectful" and "pleasant." Several students commented on the "good substantive questions" and were pleased to be judged "by the intelligence of [their] comments" rather than "amorphous 'fit."' Callbacks were "not at all substantive" but students enjoyed "intelligent discussion about issues [they] care[d] about." Overall, those who interviewed with the DOJ found it to be a "great experience."

Gilbert's 6.9 (#6) Interviewers at OCis were "friendly and fun" and put students "completely at ease" with a "good mix of formal and informal questions." The "beautiful flowers on the table" were also a "nice touch." Comments about in-fum interviews were similarly positive, and one...

Continued on page 18

Q: In what practice area was the serial killer interested?

A: Murders and Axe-quisitions.

Q: What did the serial killer learn about in Trial Advocacy?

A: Slit-igation and Bleeding questions.

Q: Why did Westlaw give the spooky case a red flag?

A: It was over-ghouled.

Q:What was Dracula's favourite part offort Law? A:The Bites Model.

Q: What do you call someone who owns a lot of shares in a haunted house?

A: A control scare-holder.

Q:Why were the lLs terrified in Constitutional Law class?

A:They were learning about the Charter of Frights and Freedoms.

18

FEATURES Firms- from page 15

Boutiques, Specialty Firms and Government Rankings

... student was impressed by the opportunity to "have a one-on-one discussion with the founding partner about his vision for the direction and future of the firm." Students were "encouraged to ask frank questions" and overall had a good impression of the firm, although "they did push to get a clear picture of [one student's] level of interest in the firm."

OCI Rank

Hodgson Shields 8.4 (#1)

Firm

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

Hodgson Shields Hicks Mor1ev Hamilton Stewart Storie Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein Gilbert's Department of Justice Canada Dimock Stratton Bereskin & Parr Ridout & Mavbee

about their OCis were glowing. Students said things like: "really great conversation," "absolutely fantastic - Julie O'Donnell would be a dream boss," "best OCI I had", and ''very enjoyable interview. The senior interviewer had some fun war stories to share." It seems Hodgson Shields was the "sleeper hit of the ocr season."

Boutique, Specialty Firms and Government :ii' c

e

~

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fi

en .....

0 0

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9

10

Hodgson Shields

Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein Gilbert's Department of Justice Canada Dimock Stratton Bereskin & Parr Ridout & Maybee

8.4 8.1 7.3 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.4 6.1 4.6 4.4

:ii' c

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Smart & Biaaar

8.5 7.5 7.4 7.1 7.0 7.7 6.4 6.0 4.7 4.4

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Ill

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11.0 8.0 10 8.4 9 7.7 17 7.2 16 8.0 12 7.0 19 5.7 10 7.0 11 3.5 7 4.5

1.0 5 3 6 4 3 6 6 2 2

8.7 7.9 7.4 7.5 7.2 6.7 6.7 6.0 5.6 4.8

I

Overall Ill

I!!

a:8.

0 'U:III

~

6.0 8 7 11 6 7 9 9 5 6

8.4 7.9 7.0 7.5 6.7 6.7 6.7 5.8 4.8 4.2

cb

Ill

a::ll

~~ 7.0 8 8 11 7 6 9 8 5

5

~

ei~u

0(1)

0

83.9 81.2 72.8 71.9 71.2 69.4 63.8 61.1 45.8 43.9

**We did not receive a sufficient number of responses to the following firms to include in our Recruitment Review: Gardiner Roberts

Historical Rankings

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I!!

Smart & Biggar

It's not a surprise that Hodgson Shields was ranked #1, since all the comments

Firm

Ill

~

Hicks Morley 7.3 (#3) OCis were unremarkable: there was "nothing unusual" and the interviewer seemed "tired." In-firm interviews were run panel-style, which one student said was "overwhelming and did not give [him/her] a good feel for the f.t.rm because it was difficult to get to know their lawyers." However, the firm was very respectful of students, and made phone calls to let them know where they stood in the process. Overall, students impressions ranged from "pretty average" to "great."

ULTRA VIRES

7.1(4) 6.9(6) 6.3(8) 7.0(5) 8.0(1) n/a

0 0

N

N

6.8(2) 5.6(8) 7.4(1) 6.0(7)

8.5(2) 7.0(6) 7.1(4) 6.3(8)

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

6.7(7) 5.1(10) 5.6(10) 7.3(3) n/a n/a 6.1(9) 5.4(9) 7.1(3) n/a

n/a

n/a

*AII2007 and 2006 Composite Scores have been divided by 10 for comparative purposes to previous years.

Lenczner Slaght 7.2 (#4) Interviewers were described as "friendly and engaging" although one student was annoyed that one of his/her interviewers spent 5 out of 20 minutes talking about his PS3. One student thought the OCI was "fun" and appreciated the Starbucks card, but others felt "Lenczner's reputation for intensity is well-deserved." One student felt that sending two young associates to OCis "reflected a lack of prioritization of the recruitment process." The in-firm interviews were "whirlwind," with "15 people coming in and out of a boardroom" which made it "very hard to focus." Overall, however, the firm was viewed as ''very respectful" and "a great ft.rm."

Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein 7.1 (#5) Paliare Roland dropped in the rankings this year from #1 to #5. Students said the OCI interviewers were "really friendly'' and "respectful" but one student said they were "hard to interview with" because of "poor questions," while another found them "somewhat intimidating." At the callback stage, one student said the firm "seemed to be obsessed with whether or not [he/she] was interested." However, one student said they "really do emphasize honesty" and

was appreciative of the fact that they informed him/her when they decided they would not offer him/her a position.

Ridout & Maybee 4.4 (#10) Students were very unimpressed by Ridout & Maybee's OCis, which makes it no surprise that they are ranked last in the boutique, specialty firms and government category, and that no one from Uoff was hired through the process.

One student said the "interviewer spent 20 minutes telling me how laid back the ft.rm was - I appreciated the candor but wondered why they brought me, if they didn't want to know anything about me."

Another said the interviewer was a "nice guy'' but that he "spent three-quarters of the time talking about how few hours he worked."

Smart & Biggar 8.1 (#2) One student enjoyed talking to the OCI interviewer from Smart & Biggar, while another found the one-on-one OCI "made for some awkward pauses." One student said the callback interview was "disorganized and chaotic." However, another characterized the ft.rm as "the class of the field. Wonderful people and a wonderful experience."

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The Speakers Action Group PRESENT Robert Fulford. prominent National Post columnist and Aryeh Green, Media Central. Jerusalem Topic: TRUTH and CONSEOUENCES...Media's Impact on Public Opinion Thursday, November 22. 2007 at 8 pm Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, 470 Glem:airn Avenue, Toronto

llliiE Peculiar proceedings: More unusual legal cases in the news

BY SHARON

Plaintiff Alleges Dangerous Dentist Danced While Drilling Brandy Fanning, a 31-year-old resident of Eastwood, NY, ftled a lawsuit in U.S. federal court last month against her dentist, ironically named Dr. George Trusty, seeking $600,000 for medical expenses, pain and suffering arising from a mishap in the dentist's chair.

Fanning alleges that Dr. Trusty was dancing to the song "Car Wash" on the radio while drilling on her tooth, and during the course of his "rhythmical steps and movements to the song," she heard a snap. According to papers ftled with the court, the inch-long drill bit broke away from the drill, punctured her sinus cavity and ended up near her eye.

After Dr. Trusty unsuccessfully tried to pull the bit out with a metal hook, he called an oral surgeon and then advised her to get to an emergency room as quickly as possible. Fanning underwent emergency surgery and spent three days in the hospital. The drill bit doctors extracted was still intact, which, according to medical experts consulted by Fanning's lawyer, means it wasn't a defective bit or drill.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reported that, according to hospital records, Fanning returned to the emergency room at least 5 more times as a result of complications.

She claims to continue to suffer from facial swelling, nerve damage and chronic infections.

According to Fanning, Dr. Trusty promised to pay her medical bills but has not paid them or returned her calls, leading to her decision to take the matter to court.

35-Year-Old Man Receives Probation in a Case Involving Assault with Pickles Bobby Lee Bolen of Buchanan, Michigan was recently sentenced in the Berrien County Trial Court for an assault that arose when his friend, Jody Lee, at whose house he was hanging out, told him not to eat his pickles because he couldn't afford to feed everybody. According to police

SILBERT (2L)

reports, Bolen stormed out, yelling and swearing, but later came back into the house where he threw two large pickles at lee, saying "Here's your damn pickles!" When Lee tried

to call 911, the report says Bolen beat him with a telephone.

Judge Scott Schofield, who heard the case, is reported as saying, "If this is not the silliest case I've ever seen in this courtroom, it certainly is in the Top 10," but "The fact that it's silly doesn't mean that it's not serio us."

According to the Associated Press, Bolen's lawyer said "alcohol appeared to be at the root of Bolen's problems."

Rapist's "Spider Bite" Defence Unsuccessful in Australian Court According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Philip Ronald Spiers was sentenced for the kidnap and rape of a supermarket cashier that occurred in Maitland, Australia, in 1997 on October 31st, almost 10 years after the offence.

12 days before the offence, Spiers had gone to the hospital claiming to have been bitten by a funnel-web spider, and was treated with antivenom. However, shortly after being discharged, he returned again due to headaches and sensitivity to light, and was diagnosed with possible viral meningitis.

When fmally caught by police in 2005 in connection with the 1997 crimes, Spiers pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape charges, but blamed his actions on the viral illness he was left with after the spider bite.

However, the New South Wales District Court heard from a toxicologist who said there was no medical evidence to suggest a spider bite could be responsible for anger and hatred, and the District Court Judge, Peter Berman, agreed. Spiers was sentenced to 8 years in prison, with no possibility of parole for 6 years.

One-on-one with Edmonton Oilers in-house counsel

BY AKA.SH KHOKHAR (2L)

When I began thinking about OCis this summer, my biggest concern about working in Edmonton was not that I'd make half what I would in Toronto, but that I wouldn't be able to afford season tickets for the Oilers - the only reason to be in Edmonton. Then, I realized that if I worked for the Oilers, I could fulfill two of my dreams -watch Oilers game for free and get grooming advice from Craig MacTavish. So I went to interview Keely Brown, in-house counsel for the best team in the NHL, to learn how to steal her job.

How did you end up in Edmonton?

I went to Osgoode for law school, and then articled at a firm in downtown Toronto. When I came out here to play hockey, I got a job with a firm in Edmonton and just ended up staying here.

How did you get the job with the Oilers?

I was looking for a job for my friend on the website, and I saw that they were looking for legal counsel and I thought this would be perfect. They don't usually advertise in many places, so it was just total chance.

Do you need a background in hockey to get this job?

I think it helps. I worked at Varsity stadium when I was at U of T, and I worked as an intramural coordinator at UofT, so when situations come up here I have a pretty good idea of what's gomgon.

[While this answer gave me hope that my extremely important role as a human pylon on the Div. 4 intramural hockey...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

We're giving away the key to a successful law career

Networking Career tips â&#x20AC;˘ Leadership opportunites, it's all included when you sign up for your free student membership in the Ontario Bar Association.

Join online today by visiting www.oba.org/students For more information contact: 1-800-668-8900 or membership@oba.org

NOTE: Complimentary CBA-OBA membership is available to Ontario law School Students who are enrolled in full-time undergraduate studies at a re(Ognized law school in Ontario.

20

LEGAL ISSUES

Ollets - from page 19 would gino me cDough expcri· cDU, a. stmy on Kcdy in the Edmonron Joumal. de1t:l:oy1:d that hope. Keely is a four-time world champion goafu: 'Who playa sellli-p10 hockey for the EdmM+M CbimM and tiog1:u for the F.dmonmll Waml] ... ll:ml

Did you talrie any apo.rta Law cow.ea when }1)\J were ill Law 1chool? Oar ipOrt.l Law co- u at 8:30 AM, 10 Pm le8!ly hoping 1be an.swu il no. [hughtet] Yeah, I took Spom and Bn~r:t1llinment Law liOd I took ~ D. I did Broadc'alling Law, and in my third year I did a ptper for half my <:!edit~ on the sport& b.toadca&ling indmtty.

Sports J.s u:ic1:y bt>eau&e in 110t just a specific type of bw. Anylbing that I !bought might fdate, neD. Seculities, I took juat 10 make rure I could leam u much u I oould.

Do yo~J help the pillycfa H they get in w.w:hiDg the game. [Kind of lila: 1awym uwble? tUiiJ,g ~Y D:om the C!ljoyme~~.t of life If the playl:::rtt 01:ed something notarized by malring jolla like, "Lord Denning a or mmmi•'lioned, I can do tluit. Other- S\ICb. a nwance." wile, I juri: tell them where to go a> fiDd the answers !hey~ Non1Jii-~Ja ~of d1e fob?

Being tbe only penon bete, I do a lot of Beet put of yo111 fob draftiDg and :formallillg here?

1=::::.---r:-""'!'IIC:I~ mYJel£ At a fum I'd h2:ve Mostly tbe -~I ~~ f:l4r an us.i1ta11t who could do awud durlng th.e playthat ldnd of atufE. I alao do off twh liOd it waa just a lot of filing aDd~wild. I don't ha.ve to go ing. la good 10 lcs!m all uto ill the games, but I pect of !he buaiD.css bm: at can go to them if I WIIQt 110me point yon jD.It want to and just J..... tning 10 me yow: tnind.

Gbour the buaio.eu it 10 fUn. Evuyone he.~e J.s How is the compeuahaving a gs:eat time. cioll c:ompued to Bay We'te under a lot of Street? etten, but it isn't th.e n-'t......,. A!>dn:w, J:a:ly Not M high as Bay Street. &ame a it is in a law finD. hoot,._ Mdo. but! don't have to be here It's t. fUn stteea. It's ll1&o U!Uil 8 PM. I atn ptetty gteat being pm of something that is much my own bon. If I want to sleep in, &n.ch a huge pan of the city.

I &lc:ep in liOd worlt later.

11--------1

What is yo\al' role in cbe <dike~?

I do ~ except for player contncts.. I do ill the b~s stuff - the broadcaaliDg, tadlo, :~nd che Tv. I do advtt'lisiDgin the~ p101110tion$, woldlag on the tkhm, :~nd CXMlll::St ruka.

I also look ovu !he tules of t h e and D:l.Oke sure chat they makt: seru~e ao that whe11. people~ beUig kicbd out .its being done io the rigbr 'WilY and fur the

.t.muo!IS.

Does~ oo che bv.eincM side of'

it take away &om the enjoyment of che game at all?

A liczle bit. Like when you'te driving llfOWld alld ~see someone selliiJg Oilen stuff on tbe meet c:cmer, you wonder if they hAve a lioenc:e., or you thiDk, "I don't mnember negotiating 2. co1l1l'aet with those people." So a little bit ... but when you'te w.atchlog the g:am.e, yo11'te

Outstanding opportunities 'Torys is committed to excellence and recognizes the importance of training and mentoring. As a new associate, I worked on a complicated corporate finance transaction, from the early stages through to completion. I was exposed to all aspects of the deal, including at a very high level."

Jonathan Cescon Second-Year Associate University of Toronto

ULTRA VIRBS Ia it pou:l.bh:: to artide bae?

You might be llbl.e to do an exte.nl8hip bete, but you probably 'WOuldn't be :.able to uticle.

What adW.ce do you hllft fot a law atudentwho Wllllta to wodt in ipOr:ta?

Pd Sllf to just get out there as much as yon can. With my paper I got to meet people at CBC Cl.d TSN and within the l.a£1 t111d ltJipto.at ~ just beCAWH: I was Wliticg a p9pet. I joined the spomt and cmer1llinment club.

Aak if you c:llll. shadow people. [Former Oilea A.ui.alstltt GM] Soott. HOWJon gm: a talk at Oagoode. I spoke wilh hiln and he let me ahadaw him for two wcc:lm between. my second and third year.

The euiest thing for me wae that I wasu't lookiagfut tii.OIX:y. I wu jmtlooking to meet people aDd- williog to take wh.atevtt chey gaon:, whether it was for ecbool or myW£

If' someone wants to apply lor a job ahould they ltCIM1 a teawne or wait And 1be moet impoaunt qafttion - clo 'IID.Iil lhey ne an ad?

J'OIJ hire lltlldellla?

I don't think you can go wrong by sendI hllvcn't yet, but I hm: been inquii:UJ,g ing a feSlllll.t, lUld l:.eeping in touch. Jwt about guting m imml becaU&e rm tbe mncmbc:t not to be 2l:ll1aying. acly in-house eoonsel. for both lhe Oilm md the Oil King&. There;. a lot of filing A.zxy regtctl abow gMbg vp a Bay and p.rper:WO!i to be done Cl.d I fi,gw:e a Sueet)obi' ltlldcm could leam quire a bit,= from Not 21: 2lL Ins!Cd of a deak, I get to the ted.iOU$ tasb spec.d my nigbts at a howy :ink.

Environment: big issue, Climate change: big problem

The real cost of taking on global warming

By jUS'J'IN JACOB (3L)

Bv JOSH LAVINE (3L)

Ah yes, the ole "why-should-I-careabout-the-environment-or-climatechange" question.

I'll admit it whenever I hear 1his particular question my first instinct is to respond with an incredulously derisive "Dude, why DON'T you cue?!"... But of course, like so many import2nt issues, that seems to be the crux of the problem.

If it is simply a matter of your supreme indifference, and that you ue not persuaded by the overwhelming scientific evidence, moral argument, ecological analysis or economic rationale that environmentally sustainable ue practices worthwhile or that global warming is a serious problem that needs to be addressed... then there is nothing that I can wri~ ~to convince you otherwise.

However, assuming that you are not • t!lMMt compl~y apathetic and you accept that promoting a lu:althy and stable environment is important, it seems to me that there ue typically two broad concems motiwting this discussion.

The first deals with scale- the environ· ment is a Big (read: complex) Issue and clima~ change is a Big (read: global)

Problem. The second concern re1ates to individual action in this context- as individuals our ability to take on Big Issues or solve Big Problems is exttem.ely limired and we tend to act only when we are ~y ~. Even so, any solution to such large-scale problems inevitably runs up against coordination, collectiveaction, and free-rider dilemmas. In other words, jf you tried to do something yourself the effort would seem too small and other people are unlikely to help you out so why bother. right?

I admit; this is a tough question. At first, I thought rd lay out the moral argument that one should act in accordance wi1h a professed value even in the face of great adversity ••. but that wu too cheesy and obvious. Then I thought rd argue that there is a democratic and civic responsibility to promo~ good governance and sound policy choices in our political and legal institutions ... but that was too abstmct and wonky. I even considered doing a cost-benefit analysis to demonstrate why taking individual action towards affecting broad environmental change is ratio.nal, but that was...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Latte drinking, sushi eating. morally superior environmentalists II12ke me angty. They advocate that we all need to take immediate, drastic action to combat the serious problem that is global wuming. Anyone who happens to disagree with them is either ignorant, a moron, or so incredibly self· interested that they cue not for future generations.

Having had the benefit of reading Justin Jacob's article, I strongly disagree with much of what he has writteo.

However, before I ap1ain what I pe:tccive to be common misperceptions about this debate, I would like to first clarify that I accept the facts of global wuming. I accept that the Ruth is warming, and almost certainly because of human activity. I accept that if left unchecked, we run many signi£icant risks, including those of the po.la.r ice-caps melting, sea levels rising, and significant loss of bio·diversity, tD name a few.

Well then, you might ask, how can I possibly disagree with what Jacob has written? The atiSWe:t, of course, is chat I accept the premise of global warming, but not the conclusions that many politicians and environmentalists tend to draw about what, if anything, should

be done about it. The truth of the matter is that global warming is an inctedibly complex issue, which to tackle, will require incredibly complex solutions.

So on that note, let's pause and consider the sheer costs of what it will take to not merely slow down global warming, but to stop and ultimately teVe~Se recent climate trends. <>ne recent study (which can be found at www. glohilwarming.otg /node/1221) identified that the Kyoto Protocol, which is the darling baby of environmental left, would result in temperatures approxima~ly 7 /tOOth of a degree centigrade lower by the year 2050 than othe:twise would be jf the world took no action. That does not strike me as vay significant. It should not require a PhD in economics to question if that kind of difference is wo.rth the billions of dolIus it will cost tD comply.

Before I go on, rm sure there ue many people who immediately teject the bc:lid that implc.mdltiag Kyoto will cost us billions of dollars in wealth. Although each person is cet:t2inly entided to his or her own opinion, simple economics clearly suggests otherwise. Compliance will require biJ/iq,u of dollars o£..

CON71NUED ON PAGE 22

We lawyers could learn something from the real doctors

BY JBPF RYBAK. (1L)

While sitting in the dentist's chair the othe:t day- doped up on nitrous oxide and experi.en.cing a very uncomfortable wisdom tooth extraction, I had a revelation. It had to do with why I call my dentist "doctor:• why he deserves it, why lawytts do not (n:gatdlc:ss of any prett:nsion associated with our Juris Doctor degrees), and what we should be doing about it.

Some years ago, aftet going far too long between dental check-ups, I found myself in screaming agony at about 6:30a.m., in desperate nc:c:d of what turned out to be a root canal. No exaggeration here: it was the most painful experience of my life. All I could think to

do was wander out into the street and seuch for any kind of dental office that might be open. And I did find one, even at that ungodly hour, right at Hubo.rd and Bathurst. In that o£fi.ce was a saindy old man named Dr. Jack Cooper. who sat me down in his dental chair., froze my mouth, took some x-r:ays, and gave me the bad news. As he no longer performed surgeries, he packed me off to another dentist who saw me immediately and straightened out the mess I'd made for myself That's still the dentist I see.

Dr. Cooper never asked how I intended to pay him, or even if I was able to pay him. I stumbled intn his office, scruffy and miserable, and he took cue

of me simply because that was his job. and the common usage of the tide "docI did pay the very modest fee he charged. tor." It's perfectly fine for scholus in of course, but that iso?t the point. I'm any field, be it math or English or sure he would have done the same for botany, to distinguish the highest formal anyone. That's what it means to be a degree of education in that tidd with the doctor. You relieve suffering where you term. But when we identify the entire find it. Of coune, it's also a job and at medical profession as doctors it isn't bethe end of the day you get paid, but cause they've all achieved the highest there's a deeper obligation inherent in level of education. It's because the servthe calling. If someone should suddenly ice they perform, in our society, is decollapse in a theatre you know what serving of our respect:. And if there you're going to hear: "Is there a doctor happened to be a doctor in that theatre, in the house?" And everyone will be and he turned and w:al:ked away, I think very grateful jf there is. we'd all agree he has failed his ptofc:sNeve.r mind all this crap about aca· sion, and we'd feel an appropriate degree demic doctors. We unc:lerst2Dd the dif- of disgust. ference between an academic honorific CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

22

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

ULTRA VIRES

Letter to the Editor DearUV, Re: SLS Funding Anyone who has had experiences with the organization of a student club this year is keenly aware of the issues surrounding funding for student clubs. It's been said that the - formula is too inflexible and that it has turned the SLS into a glorified pizza wholesaler. It's hard to argue with some of these claims.

As Vice President of the SLS Student Affairs, I am committed to im. -- proving the current system. As you may know, previously overflowing coffers were suddenly found dry and funding schemes that used to function adequately were now woefully inade-

The Real Cost - from page 21 ...taxation of the manufacturers and providers of goods and services that we consume on a regular basis, which will make almost everything in our economy more expensive. It will require billions of dollars in expenditures on alternative energy sources to reduce our reliance on sources that emit greenhouse gases. It also requires billions of dollars of invest-

Big Problems - from page 21 ... too artificial. Ultimately, I've decided that the straightforward application of an environmental principle the precautionary principle, is sufficient to ground individual action on the environment and climate change.

Although there are several versions of the precautionary principle, the one that I would put forward is a

r:OUR

1

VALUES AND NORMS

SHOULD NOT DISAPPEAR BECAUSE WE HAPPEN TO 'SERVE THE INTERESTS' OF CLIENTS."

~

positive/non-preclusionary articulation that "activities that present an uncertain potential for significant harm should be actively discouraged." Or simply, "if there is a Big Problem, it is better to be safe than sorry, so try and do something about it." As an optimist, I do not think that "doing something about it'' means you should start stock piling batteries and shotgun shells for the inevitable descent into Road Warrior-like anarchy however. But I also don't think you need to bust out the patchouli oil either.

Personally, I take a broad view of what environmental activism may look like. On perhaps the smallest scale, you can take individual action in facilitating a norm change among your so cial circle

quate. It can be difficult to learn the lunch in late November to present and ropes in a student club; it has taken get feedback on the funding scheme. this year's SLS some time to adapt, but Please look to Headnotes for the date we are in the and time and if process of formyou're interested ing initiatives to in how this move forward works out, please more effectively. attend.

We are going to Unfortunately, be proposing a the new funding new funding scheme will not scheme for the solve all of our winter. This fundproblems. The ing scheme will Students' Law Society: delivering 9 kinds of fact remains that allow clubs more pizza daily there is still not flexibility, reduce the bureaucracy of enough money to go around to all the the funding system, and be a more ef- clubs. In the winter we will explore ficient allocation of our resources. We and present various solutions to that will be holding a brief session during problem. If the solution requires a ment in various measures to encourage conservation and reduce our carbon footprints resulting from much of what we do. I openly adopt a Chicago-style economic argument that if complying with Kyoto was both easy and not very expensive, we wouldn't be having this debate. A consensus would have already emerged, not only in Canada, but in the United States as well, to do something about it. towards supporting sustainable lifestyles, the signalling effects of which are unpredictable but potentially significant. You can do this in really easy ways such as turning off lights, recycling, or simply not buying a Hummer (or even just flipping hummer drivers the bird- www.fuh2.com). Or better yet, you can encourage and support those policy-makers who are trying to implement new environmental regulations or legislation. And of course, we shouldn't take for granted the fact that we are law students who may (hopefully?) end up in positions of varying influence and power.

It is not unheard of (thanks to our professors) that scholarly legal work may have some impact on policy.

Moreover, as (future) lawyers we may be in a position to help draft policies, advise individuals, and negotiate deals that will likely have some environmental element or impact. Accordingly, it will likely be in the best interests of our (future) clients to take into account phenomena such as climate change and increasingly aggressive and dynamic environmental regulation. Our values and norms should not disappear because we happen to "serve the interests" of clients . . .but I digress. The precautionary principle leaves very little room for excusing complete inaction on the part of individuals in the face of significant harms. But if you are still unconvinced, all I can ask is ... please .... THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

So in short, the Kyoto proposition boils down to committing a tremendous amount of our wealth for a difference of 7 /100th of a degree centigrade by 2050: the tiniest of baby steps towards what it will ultimately require to meaningfully address climate change. And that is where I believe most people misperceive the true costs of collective plans to reduce greenhouse emissions. Advocating in favour of Kyoto is one thing, but to actually reverse climate change at some point in the future, which has to be the end goal of all of this, it will require a fundamental change in way we all live, down to the most miniscule detail.

To name a few examples, it necessitates we change the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the services we consume and the extent to which we travel both within our communities and around the world.

With the world population projected to grow by several billion more people in the 21st century, the magnitude of the changes needed not merely to slow down global warming, but instead to actually reverse it, will rival those of the industrial revolution itself. Simply put, there is no permanent solution to global warming that does not entail each of us consuming drastically less. Although some people might instantly dismiss this line of reasoning as either alarmist or untrue, all of the evidence demonstrating the severity of the problem suggests otherwise. It is nice to equate doingsomething-about-global-warming with popular measures like buying a Prius or turning the lights off or using public transportation, and I'm sure those measures placate people who want to believe they are making a contribution to fight global warming, but that kind of advocacy is ultimately disingenuous and significantly understates the magnitude of change that fighting global warming necessitates.

Even if you still think that climate change is worth the vast sums of money that it will cost to address it, consider in-

constitutional change, a referendum may be necessary.

We are committed to finding a solution that will work in the long term.

We are creating proper funding schemes, we are improving the SLS' institutional memory and we are going to explore various permanent solutions as well. We are committed to ensuring that next year's SLS has a smoother transition. Thank you for your patience and understanding. And of course, if you have any questions feel free to fire me an email at pkarvanis@gmail.com.

Sincerely, PAUL KARVANlS (2L) SLS VICE PRESIDENT, STUDENT AFFAIRS

stead the difference we could make if we immediately directed those kinds of resources elsewhere. We could end poverty around the world. We could put an end to smog, and deforestation, and animal

~

..THE MAGNITUDE OF

TH~

CHANGES NEEDED NOT MERELY TO SLOW DOWN GLOBAL WARMING, BUT INSTEAD TO ACTUALLY REVERSE IT, WILL RIVAL THOSE

~

OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ITSELF."

~

poaching. We could clean up our lakes and fresh water supply. We could increase investment in cancer and AIDS research several times over. Global warming has never killed a single person, whereas these problems kill thousands of people each and every day. Unfortunately, many environmentalists either focus exclusively on fighting global warming (at the expense of all other societal problems), or instead unrealistically advocate that we can do all of the above at the same time.

So at the end of the day, let's call a spade a spade. The question before us all is not "should we do something about the problem of climate change," which invites the answer "yes," but instead should be "of all the significant problems facing us today, which ones are most worthy of our finite resources?"

When you frame it that way, the answer is far less clear. With that in mind, let's relax, take a deep breath, and ask ourselves again if doing something about global warming is as clear-cut and obvious as some might suggest. I respectfully submit that it is not. But for Pete's sake, let's stop branding those who disagree as irrational, self-interested fools. If your argument were stronger, it wouldn't be necessary.

NOVEMBER

23

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

20 2007

Bringing the corporate smackdown

BY MATHEw GoLDSTEIN

For anyone interested in the battle lines that divide this intellectually-schizophrenic school, try Ian Lee's seminar on Corporations, Individuals, and the State.

In the spirit of Barney-the-purpledinosaur's adage ("caring means sharing''), we thought we should let the rest of you in on the debate raging in FLA from 4-6 on Wednesday afternoons.

The following dialogue more or less captures the crystallizations of the classroom's two main camps: Professor Lee: What are corporations?

Socialists: Evil incarnate!

JDMBAs: Benign legal entities with no moral responsibility other than to produce wealth for shareholders. Greed is good, people. What's wrong with you, didn't you ever see Wall Street?!

Socialists: Yes, but that was a satire.

JDMBAs: Nonsense. The world is entirely black or white.

Professor Lee: Should corporations lutve to pay tax?

JDMBAs: No-one should have to pay tax. Taxes are evil.

Socialists: Hell yes. At least one hundred percent.

JDMBAs: That makes no sense. That would completely eliminate their economic incentive to exist.

(3L) AND EDDIE CLARK (ll.M)

Socialists: What's an economic incentive?

JDMBAs: That's what drives the system that maximizes our freedom and wealth. Be wary of government. Viva el individual!

Socialists: The false consciousness of capitalist hegemony! Opiate of the masses!

JDMBAs: You mean Religion?

Socialists: Don't change the subject!

Professor Lee: To whom should corporations be accountable?

JDMBAs: To their shareholders alone.

That's what a corporation is for. All other legislation infringes upon the voluntary contractual will of the parties.

Socialists: That's ridiculous. Who cares about contracts - that's just your selfserving capitalist ideology masking itself behind signatures on a page.

JDMBAs: Here comes Karl and Fred ...

Socialists: Oh, come on. All of our lives are affected by the activities of corporations. Why shouldn't these huge, power-wielding entities lutve to conform to the same rights-protecting norms as government do?

JDMBAs: Because government is bad and corporations are good. Corporations help us make money; government

takes it away.

Socialists: Is that some kind of a theory?

JDMBAs: Hmmm. We don't really know. Get off my property!

Professor Lee: What about the point that corporations are creatures of the state. Isn't it part of the state's obligation to human rights to ensure that corporations are effectively regulated?

JDMBAs: Again with the nanny state?

N ooooooooo! What ever lutppened to liberalism?

Socialists: It was exposed as a fraudulent justification for the protection of the property-based, socially unjust status quo, remember?

JDMBAs: Haven't got anything better, remember?

Socialists: Hey, we only tear down. We don't propose ...

JDMBAs: Just let people decide for themselves how they want to organize their lives. If you don't like that Wall Mart pays its workers three cents an hour, don't buy from them. If you don't like being denied maternity leave, go work someplace else.

Socialists: How about simply not lutve kids?

JDMBAs: Totally up to you. Humans are in no way influenced by the socio-

economic structures that comprise their environments.

Socialists: So leave everything to the market? You don't believe in protecting human rights?

JDMBAs: Human wha's?

Socialists: Capitalist pig-dog monkeys!

JDMBAs: Smelly hippie freaks! Take your patchouli stink out of my store!

And that's basically the discussion.

Sometimes Locke, Hobbes, Nozick, or Rawls make an appearance in some form or another, and Hegel is so deliciously vague as to be capable of supporting either side. Of course, what we're really talking about is the particularly Canadian version of modern political liberalism, the one that absolves the State from the constitutional responsibility of taking positive steps to care for the population but then voluntarily makes the State do so anyway. The socialists reject it because of its protection of status quo, the JDMBAs don't like it because it's insufficiendy libertarian. And so, we conclude, if both camps are equally pissed off, it might be the case tlutt we're doing something right...

OGILVY RENAULT

24

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

ULTRA VIRES

Where did HELMUT go?

According to the results of a cursory Google search, the opposite of a "shout out" is a "whisper-in." And why am I procrastinating with my SUYRP to undertake such a seemingly silly search, you ask? Well, because whatever the official opposite of a "shout-out'' is, that's what I want to send to HELMUT. The first-years among you might be thinking, ''Why does the co-editor of Ultra Vires want to send out a critical message to that well-dressed SJD student from Germany? Shouldn't we be more wdcoming to his sauerkraut-eating and Rammstein-listening ways?" And that's a fair question given your brief tensure at the Faculty. But HELMUT, as about two third-years may recall, is actually the onsurprisingly wordy acronym of a law student group - Health Enables Legal Minds at the University of Toronto.

While the origins of this group remain shrouded in the mists of time, in recent years HELMUT has been known as a dispenser of sage advice and organizer of stress-reducing activities for JD students. Almost from the start, HELMUT developed a deeply symbiotic relationship with Ultra Vires in its quest to address its beneficiaries and promote its comforting messages.

"HELMUT started in the mid-90s, generally as a response to mental health issues," explains Andrew Pilliar (Law '06) who was involved with HELMUT. "UV was central in all of this, as one of the early issues ran a full centre-piece on mental health, mental health and law, and included one student's detailed account of being hospitalized."

Over the years, HELMUT launched a two-pronged attack against law school stress. It provided activities such as yoga, movie nights and recipes designed for time-challenged students. Its on-campus activities reached a high watermark by hosting a conference on mental health in the law highlighted by a keynote address from the Lieutenant Governor. In addition, HELMUT collected pleas for hdp and provided well-thought out answers in the pages of your friendly neighbour-

BY ROBERT WAKULAT (3L) hood newspaper. Sadly, this ancient est for students to take a leadership role." covenant has been broken. And it's not Whatever the case may be, it does seem clear that students are at the very least just UV that has suffered as a result.

Today, the HELMUT page on the Fac- uninterested in looking out for each ulty's website has a hotmail address to other, which is a shame because there which students who find themsdves have definitely been some students won"facing serious challenges or are just feel- dering how to balance their lives and ing stressed and need someone to talk mental energy this term. Perhaps we to" can send their questions. Unfortu- have to turn to our administration. nately, reaching out to this ostensibly sup''The Administration takes student portive address results in a "Delivery wellbeing very seriously:' said .Krakauer, report about your mail." As you'd ex- "The Assistant Dean, Students is typipect, it's a pretty disheartening report - cally the first point of contact for stuthe mailbox is unavailable. Similar to the dents who are struggling with health fabled MSN Group, which was the Holy issues. We have a good network of supGrail of U of T case summaries, some- port and resources available at the law one left the house, turned out the lights school and the university to ensure students with mental health issues are well and tossed away the key.

As a first-year, I remember reading supported and accommodated."

HELMUT's advice in Ultra Vires, rolling While this is comforting to know about, wouldn't it be nicer if we never my eyes and wondering to myself who actually read this stuff. However, in time had to use it because we cared enough I realized that HELMUT was more than Doctors - from page 23 just a 'Dear Abby' column for law students who couldn't cut it-it was the ... Lawyers perform an important funclocus of an infrastructure that provided tion in society, too. Lawyers protect some semblance of a mental safety net people's rights and entidements. Somefor all of us. It was a gateway for stutimes it means defending a big corporadents facing serious issues at any point in tion's rights just as sometimes it means their law school life. It was organized by defending a criminal's rights, both of students who knew what they were talkwhich are important services. If we ing about and had their hearts in the right ever lose sight of these rights, we begin place, and it was also able to provide reto undermine the basis of our society. ferrals to more professional counselors We feel particularly strongly about this and mental health resources. in Canada, and we have a Charter of HELMUT's disappearance remains a which many people are justifiably proud. mystery. "HELMUT stopped existing beBut that Charter is only as strong as the cause law students are self-interested and legal profession has made it, and is willdon't want to help out their peers in ing to maintain it, through advocacy and need," was one cynical graduate's rejurisprudence. In our modern society sponse to the query of what happened. people are aware of their rights almost Lianne .Krakauer, Assistant Dean of Caas much as they are aware of their reer Development Services, was more health. They may not always understand generous in her assessment of the situathem, but they want them to be protion: "Shannon Leo was in contact with tected. So there's no reason why the proall of the student club leaders earlier this fession that does this shouldn't be term to invite them to a leadership trainhonoured alongside the profession that ing workshop that we organized with sees to bodily health.

SLS. At that time we learned from SLS The tide of "advocate" can and that HELMUT was not active this year. should be a proud one. But at some This happens with student groups from point we lost the sense that a lawyer is a time to time if there is not enough interpublic servant, with allegiance to any-

about each other to ease the day-to-day pressures of this journey we're on together? I'll give a shout-out to Pilliar who can provide insightful last words: "First, I think it's important that someone acts as a barometer of student wellbeing, particularly during first-year exams and OCis ... students should play a role in tackling the unhealthy aspects of law student life. Second, mental health has a low profile at law school, and this should change. It's a significant issue, both in terms of the disproportionate number of lawyers who report mental health issues during their careers, and insofar as lawyers often interact with individuals who have mental health issues - anything from committal issues, NCRMD, police interaction with distressed persons, etc.

Even if it were under another name, rd like to see something like HELMUT fill either or both of these roles." thing other than a paycheque. If my rights were being trammeled on in some urgent way, and I walked into the nearest lawyer's office just as I walked into the nearest dentist's, would I have received similar treatment? Would anyone have helped me, no questions asked, and without discussion of payment? Sure, we have free legal clinics, staffed by the least appreciated members of the legal profession, but when someone falls in a theatre we don't wait for the free doctor to show up. We expect every doctor to answer the call. As well we should.

When the legal profession starts taking its role in society as seriously as the medical profession takes its role, we won't need to argue over whether a lawyer may be properly called "doctor."

Our own tides will carry the appropriate distinction. When someone is injured in a public place, and people shout for both a doctor to see to his health and a lawyer to see to his rights, there will be no more question of status. But if that day is ever to arrive, we'll have to stop the lawyer from checking the victim's credit rating, while the doctor is still checking his pulse.

IT'S NOT PRACTISE THAT MAKES PERFECT, IT'S WHICH PRACTICE Lenczner Slaght is one of the leading Canadian litigatio n firm s, rated in the top ti er by Chambers and Partners and at th e centre of LEXPERT's Toronto Litigatio n bulls-eye. Training and experi ence bro ught us here .

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He Was America: Could Stephen Colbert Become Rt. Hon. Stephane Colbert, P.M.?

BY 1\WK PwcAN (3L} On Octobet 16, Ameli~ satil:ist Stephc:n Colbert, ho&t of td~ popular CIJ!Wt Rtpm, announced that he would be aeekillg the Amcticatt p11:$-

idc:ncy in 2008. Colbert would NO. cxchudvdy b the South Cqrol!na prin:wy as both a RepuhliCllll and a Democrat.

A mere two weeks Ia~ Colbert's ptoepecu to nlll ~ either party WCte daobM On Oc:U>ber 31.Ju: annC>IlDced !holt 1u: CCRild. .ll.Ot Pf.Y the $35,000 fCgi&ttation fee that the Republialll Patty 1»quires from 211 p:ro«pcccive p.a:llidential. al1didatcs. One day later, the South Cuoliwl Democratic Party's sixteenmember esea:~~ council quuhl:d his bid to ran in the Democralic Party's primary. It latu came to light that some o£ Baw:k Obllma'll &appottue had ptessun:d the council to put !be kibosh on Colbett'a cudidacy. While 110 one seri~ belin-ed that Colbert 'WOuld • the Whille H01l.!le, it Ul tt11t that Colben's p.te&idc:txlial. c:=palg:o. gametcd OllC million supponen 011 Fucbook in two 'fteb, 'WI:dle Olmn2. oould mw~tu only a modest 380,000 in nine months.

What does ill d!i$ mean £or .Ameaca?

Whatdoeull thi&meatt fordemocxaq?

Well for swtu:s,. there's a cerWo. il:ony to the ~ that !be ''Dc:m.oC!IItic" Party 2llows a small council a> derail !be election hopes of a popular C1111didatc.

behalf of the C~djao lllltiOil, do oordiAlly umte Mt. Colbett to ollf gteat northem expante ro nm in our next election. Wbilc prohibitive party %Ulea

andsea:et

Concert Review:

Sharon Jones &. the napKings

BY CMsANnu. hauo (lL) 1'bflee decades after sbart-tigbted (Uid appouently deaf) m;md em:utivr.t di&miased bet u being too cWk, too short and too &t to be a good bet for

commetOalcuc:ccee, Sharon joocs i8

itics llllly ju.stbetb5 u t d

ellOugh

.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-'1,.,.. fot rosucColTher:c•s alao the gtatet diaillusio11.a1e11t w.ith dcctnW politics that the Colbert

c:ecd whcse his American e.atctptise £ailed. .Af:cu all. we li.ve in a utioo issw: patrlcuW:Iy undencotc~~: a ll1IUl 'Whcse the Pmgs:euive Con!IC1'WI:ivu ptet~:nclingto be a politician baa enough and Canadian Alliance metge.d shortly support to mW actual potiticialls woay. after the £ormet's leadet promised that It against thia backxhop that I. an CONI1NUED ON PAGE 29

a

To Tee, or Not to Tee

taking the 50ul muaic acme, and indeed !he wodd, by swrm. I n - on November 13 to pll.y a show at the Phoeuis Cona:rt Theattc u put of an intemational tour to ptomote hct new album 100 Days, 100 Nights, Jo~ hq plsyed a MAjor mle io. thecent movelnmt to revive claa&ic soul ud fuak groove& ud feturll them to

the popular maiDa-.

Cbancea are yolift ncvct heud of Slwon Jooea. Bom in 1956 in Augustll. Georgia, jones moved to New Ymk at a young age, and gteW ap admirillg the wmlr. and vibc o£ fellow Augustm james B1owll. Uuble to launch a viable catcet o£ bet own far yem, J<me~ wotbd mwu:lane jobs to pay het way, at one point &mously WO!king u a prilon ggri at Sing-Sing In the mid..mnccies. afa:t yean of mlirlmg sdin 011 the gospel scene,

jones finally got a brak, .teC01'ding with funk 50ul legend Lee Pidda.

Approximatdy o11e year ago,. I bega.a

----------~

oomposinganartick c:ntided ·~s Cuualty'' in which I would h:m: delivcsed a.o iaqe.;tive the lihs of which have never been seen by Uh!!l Vues teaden. The fublon 1enae of my law school pee!:$ bad become a tid Rot;. .aw~esque £or my~ Luclaly, a few too Dl.Ol!J' eout!tuc:mmplea popped up and con'Yinced me that the :mide w.a.s ill~

Ill the word, o£ my formet editor, the inestimable Dsve Seclv:uatmm, "Nab, it'& just more busineas-y than ~." Alld ao I

have since tefraioed from ~Oil the clodtcd 'III'Orld -until now.

One of the most repul&ive ICCdlt

!%ends is the so-called umessage" Ti!hlrt. Tbo~e 'Who bmnd!llh lbe&c attlcles o£ clothing do nothing but imite the furlhet etlllblislxment of the T-11hirt "WOm as Ullderweu But what has I» (X):D:le of :pour gtest-gmnd&rhm uppet~ a billboard Olthet t1w:t 'What it ttuly is body kl:rlc:kera? It has been co-cpa:d -a simple tmp o£ cotton..

Fact: Weuing a T-Sbirt 011 top of a and ~ by 1he illdividualists tong..sleevt.d shirt. is equivalent to wear- -who ~eek to publicize their foul tastes Ing your boun aver :pour jeam.. Tbatla mil~ themsems as if I!Wrviews C01'1'eCt, sit. The T-shitt wu originally actually mattet to attyolle else.

Now these T-shirts oome ill alllci1!cb,

so I will attelllpt to cattgo:lize the most vile example~ 'Which lUC most WOtthy of beli~ ru illlo tty to mention whete yoo WI. get yow: hallds Oil this lWI&eating~ ~ rm willing to enable your id!ocy}.

The Kitechy Fan: Thete Ut DO dettying that this law scl1ool (ud all othett) hausea a few ~eks. A!! all ncn-~eks will surely be aware, thea: is nothiag'WOtllc tbm a selfcooidc:nt geek. Geela should be shamed into beingm.ore ~ 00'11-geeks.

That o haw !be world fWlcdo.oa: :w.lmilate ot be ridiculed. Ullfol:tll.llall:ly. thia individaalitt tl:etl.d has~ believUig it Ia accep!Qblc to have unique ~!&.

In olbet WOlds, it's okay 10 lave Knight

R.idet. Alld.nolhiDg suys "''m okay wid!. ~elf" like a Kiuchy Paodom Tee. It is not aD. right. A T ~is prodw:ed CD

c:ovu your law-Kbool-weatbei:Cd trunk -not to btoackast your love of Gteen Laatem. Av.dlable u 80:I%le n.etd a!D:fC. If you're intztcsted in one of these. ..

CONI1NUED ON PAGE 28

From thete,J011Cs fCil in with a gmap o£ ~Brooklyn~soulenthu­ tiutt, and fmm that initial collabomtion SharonJones and the Dap-Kingls WCte hom. Puumg out fCrords on their independent Daptnlle Record8 label. the young aew began m guncr attMtion from all over the globe for their funky and dynamic new sound.

Sought after and sampled by prodmlelll the world em:; the Dap Kingls recently made their biggest mazk Dtl the to date 'When thq wete n:craited a the studio IDU5iciana fol lu:Ay W'mebouse's sophomoM tmMh album Back to Black. While early happy that soul muaic ia n:gainU!gpopular momentum alld admittil!g that it's flattering that other artists want to tetain the Dap Kinga• lt:n'ia:s,J011Cs ~deas jom that they should liDd tbeir own balds- she and the Dap KiDgJ have placr.t to go and ClOWds to impi1e. By 7:30, the line to get into !be Pt.oeais was alteady wiading way down !be block. W'Jth

m• -

u.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

26

DIVERSIONS

An international party in your mouth

BY CYNTHIA YANG

Given the Faculty's fixation on reaching out internationally and a good chunk of third years on foreign exchange study, it's high time for an outsourced edition of the food review. No, this isn't written by an English-is-a-fourth-language-callcenter receptionist from Bangalore (suspiciously named "Greg''), nor is it written by a prepubescent Cambodian labourer sewing Nike sneakers with their teeth (though it'd probably be cheaper, more efficient and less wordy,) rather, this is a review of food from places that you may find yourself in should you be training your would-be replacement when law firms start to outsource their work.

Also, I've been criticized for my lack of patriotism-mainly because of my disenchantment with hockey and Toronto-centric mindset-so I figured I'd take it one step further and review anything but Canadian food. Note, however, that a Canadian food review would consist only of discussing Timbits, icewine, Montreal smoked meat and caribou. That being the case, the review would be as follows: snacklicious, awesome, tastes like corned beef with less fat, and only in jerky form please.

(3L)

AND WAYNE CHANG

(3L)

is, but also because you'll wonder why you haven't ever had tacos like this before. The squash pupusa (a thick handmade corn tortilla stuffed with squash) didn't come close to my friend's far superior Cheese and Bean Pupusa- not on the menu, but they'll make it when ordered. We agreed that the cheese really brought it home. I was underwhelmed by the cheese quesadilla, but that's my own fault; I should've gotten something with more substance; perhaps the chicken or the chorizo quesadilla (both still priced at $2.50). In all, well worth the price of admission; especially those crispy tacos.

Gandhi Indian Cuisine, or Gandhi Cuisine, or simply Gandhi's (554 Queen Street West, just east of Bathurst)

gurt based curry used many spices (but it's not necessarily spicy) and would rival anything at a fancier Indian restaurant.

Vegetarian friends of mine have raved about their vegetarian rotis, of which there are plenty, including spinach and potato, cauliflower, eggplant, mixed-vegetable korma and many more.

Samosa and vegetable Pakora appetizers at Gandhi's ($1.50 each) don't disappoint in either quantity or quality. The mango lassi (a mango and yogurt milk shake like drink) is slightly overpriced ($3.95), but it would've been more enjoyable (read: cost-effective) if the weather wasn't so blisteringly cold-I knew A1 Gore wasn't going to come through on his promise of year long balmy weather when he invented global warming.

Cafe Crepe (246 Queen Street West, at John St.)

Tacos El Asador ( 690 Bloor Street West, at Clinton St; Cash only)

Nestled in the bosom of Korean Town on Bloor, this authentic Mexican eatery seems as out of place as the sushi stands in Greektown's Taste of Danforth. Still, it's quite welcome as it's one of the few places to get real Mexican food on the cheap. This place looks like what all TexMex places aspire to be, but fail miserably trying to achieve. Unassuming with its picnic benches, it works with the Mexican decor. The entire menu is very reasonably priced. I had the Crispy Pork Taco ($2.50), Squash Pupusa ($2.50), and Cheese Quesadilla ($2.50), and left incredibly full.

The crispy pork taco was amazing.

The pork was tender and succulent. Try it. Your conception of tacos will change not only because of how damn good it

Despite the confusing assortment of names, this place is so crazy good and inexpensive that it's a disservice to yourself not to eat there in the next little while. The decor is nonexistent and there's limited seating, but there's a reason why there's always a lineup and a revolving door of people with takeout orders at Gandhi's: the roti (or rotti).

For the uninitiated, roti is an unleavened Indian flat bread, and at Gandhi's, the rotis are stuffed with a variety of

meats and vegetables. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala Roti ($10.95). It was gargantuan, and the curry chicken was plentiful. This takeout cream/yo-

Considering my "theme", there's really no explanation as to how this review got in here other than its foreign and I wanted some crepes. This cafe has a European feel with its retro art, dark colors and high back leather benches. Scintillating wafts of the smell of crepes hit you before even stepping into the place.

There are plenty of different crepes to choose from. Divided between savoury and sweet, the crepes are filled with various combinations of egg, emmental, feta, spinach, chicken for the savoury, and banana, Nutella chocolate spread, almond, strawberry for the sweet. The strawberry, nutella and whipped cream ($7. 9 5) was too sweet, and I never say anything is too sweet. Also, the strawberries were a bit overcooked. I've had the banana nutella crepe before, but only for takeout, and it's always been superb--perhaps the mild bananas temper the sweetness and makes it more enjoyable. Those feeling a brunch vibe should try the spinach, egg & feta crepe ($6.75); the egg and softened spinach contrasted with the sharp feta is good.

Lastly, I don't know what they do to their cafe lattes, but I'm addicted to it.

ULTRA VIRES

Dap-Kings - from page 25 .. scalpers hawking tickets at exorbitant prices, at least some last-minute fans managed to take advantage of the few rush tickets released at the door. It was apparent that this was going to be a packed and energetic show. By the time the band took to the stage at 10:30, the crowd was clearly ready for them. MC Binky Griptite led the Dap Kings through their paces on a few introductory tunes, including his own release "Mellomatic Mood." As they played, the tension and anticipation in the room eased, but not for long.

Happy as the crowd was to hear this funky bunch, it was also clear that the boys alone were not going to satisfy their appetites. The Kings were not enough. They needed their Queen.

As soon as Binky introduced her, and she emerged onto the stage, Jones was in control. After ironing out a few kinks with her mic, she launched into classics from her earlier releases, bringing members of the audience (mostly attractive younger men) up on stage to boogie with her on such tunes as "How Do I Let a Good Man Down?". She then moved on to some of her newer tracks, reminding the young man she was dancing with of the importance of slowing things down a bit, as she crooned her way through "Be Easy." The set flew by, and seemed to be over all too soon.

The crowd would have none of it.

After some encouragement from Binky to entice the rest of the crew back for an encore, Jones ended the show with a tribute to James Brown.

Covering the classic "It's a Man's World," Jones left the stage only after showing off all her moves -including the Mash Potato. As electric as their show is, the unfortunate fact is that you can't take the Dap Kings and their Queen home with you. Anyone wishing to experience their soul excitement would do well to pick up any of their three releases: Naturally, Dap Dippin', or 100 Days, 100 Nights. While the first two are largely funky uptempo efforts, their most recent release is full of songs that give Jones a chance to show her voice off to its fullest. However, 100 Days, 100 Nights also comes with a complimentary copy of Binky Griptite's own GhettoFunkPowerHour, which will give any budding soul brothers and sisters all the initiation to the scene they could ever ask for - an hour of beautifully sampled and mixed selections from the entire roster of Daptone artists. As Jones and her crew continue rolling their act across the continent, they certainly seem to be living out the lyrics of a song they made only too funky on Naturally - "This Land is Your Land" ... this land was certainly made for them.

NOVEMBER 20.

2007

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Weakerthans deliver a •e --- wait for it -- strong •ee performance • say e

27

:Handy First-Year Case Briefs!:

BY PluiDJUCK SCHUMANN (3L)

:Hey Fint-Yearsl

• Don't ever Ultta Vites doesn't look e out for your well-being. We latow e you're too busy debating hot legal • ethics topics to spe.ad writiJlg out case • summaries. We also know you've been • de.Di.ed access to the case summat:y • MSN Group. Fret no longe.t:, het:e is : ow: FU:st-Te.rm Case Summaty Compi• lation for you. We guat:antee you a ''B" • if you use these. You're welcome!

•

•• •

Peevyhouse v. Garland Coal and Minina Co.

•

e Willie Peevyhouse: Good news, Wife e Lucille! Ow: money problems ue over.

• • • • •

: • •

e e e • • • •

:

LuciDe Peevyhouse: My Stat:&, Willie!

What on earth has happened??

Willie: Some fancy big-city minin' types have just agreed to lease ow: vacant land for the coal minin', and they'll pay us handsome for the privilege.

Lucille: Oh, Willie! As I always say.

Providence takes cue of its own.

Willie: Why Lucille. I haven't yet told you the best part. The best put is, once these minin' types haw! finished a-diggin' about with their new-fangled digf).n' machine, they"w! promised me solemn they'll put the land back as it W:lS, beforehand-like.

As 1brJ SPEAK. j, er;mu WILLJE ]UN-

e lOR. 1Pho it L4ME IJIIIi DEATHLY ellL e Willie Jt. (weakly): (desperate cougb) e Does this mean we can pay for my ope eration?

• Willie: Of course, son. of course!

• This here contract says we can. God • bless America! (wipes away a single tear • of joy) : Willie Jr.: Oh P:a! (desperate cough) • Garland Executive #1: That's right, e you'll get your operation. all rit;ht! Oh e ho ho bee bee!

• Willie (puzzled): Why, yes. The con• tract requires it.

• Time PASSES ~J~~J thejllf'lll gets MINED • RIGHT UP. • Willie (nervously pulling on his • ORtall suspenders): So, gentlefolk, e when do you think you'll see your way e to puttin' my land right? e Garland Executive #1 (superior e sneer): Who says we: will? e Willie (enraged): Why-this here con• tract, that's whatl • Garland Exea~tive #2: That conttact • don't mean a damn thing. Peevyhousel • Ah hahaha ho ho ho HAl : Thg DRIVE OFF, 11/hill THROWING e COAL Ill PEEVYHOUSE. e Willie {sinking to his lmees, surveying e the ruined landscape): NOOOOII! e NEBRASKA, I LOVED THEE,

•

e e

HOW COUlD YOU LET YOUR

OWN SON DIIIJEBEEII Justic::e Jackson: Suck it up Peevy- : house! Your rarm was t:eally crappy to begin with. You think I'm giving you • $29,000 to fix your crappy farm? Think • ~P~usel • Willie WEEPS BITIBRLY, ami GOES e BlJND. • }ustic::e Jac::kso:o. (helping hi1n3elf to a • BOWL of COAL): :Mmmm, delicious • coal The fuel of the future! Now • • that's what I call gooooood eatin'l

•• Anglia Television Ltd. v. Reed • •

By STBvB WJwmt {3L)

There are very few occasi0.11s where I will spend a sigoittcant amount of money for the privilege of being in a room full of Torontollians all singing in Wlison '"''he Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway, and I hate Wmaipeg." A Weakttthaos concert is one

of those occasions.

On Thursday, November 9, in the spirit of the: joint pub night going on the: same: c:vcaiog, I wcot with my friend Producer #1: It"s 1968-let"s make a • Latty from Osgoodc: (of Uoff law limovie!

• brary &me:) to the: sa:ond of two soldProducer #2: Let"s make a movie : out Wc:akttthacs shows at The: Phoc:nix. about a man!

• I know the: mst O.llC was sold out beProducer #3: Let"s make a movie • cause when I loob:d for tickets at the about a wood!

• venue 0.11 Wednesday all I could find Prodw::er #4 (sudden tluh of insight): e "Rre scalpers hawking seats for over five Let's make a movie about a man in a • times thett &ce value. With ticket ssles wood!

• that hot, the Jets might have never left Producer #1: Who will dit:ect the • Wlmlipeg fot ...the movie?

• H you havm't clued yet, the WeakDirec::tot: I will dittct the moviel • etthans ue from Winnipeg. Which I Producer #2: You're hit:c:dJ (He PAYS • guess is why one reviewer described the DlRECTOR.} : their type of music as "Wwupeg Folk Producer #3: But who will design the • Rock." I don't know what Wumi.peg set? e Folk Rock is supposed to sound like., but Designer: I will design the set. e if dtat"s what they play. I like it. As do a Produc::er #4: And who will rnatlage e lot of others. The group has a strong the stage. and who will assist him?

• following amongst the Pitchfork-worStage~: I will manage thee shipping indie set, and should pick up stage.

• acclaim across the pond when they vmAsr.i8Wlt Stage Manager. And I will • tttte abroad for a European tout: in the assist himl : coming months. To everyone else, ThrJ PAY the DESIGNER. STAGE e they're likely best known. for the song .M.ANA.GER l#lld ASSISTANT e Aside, which played at the end of WedSTAGE MANA.GER. e ding Crashers.

Producer #1 (thinking hat:d): But e But they should be bigger. Each time there is one last question. Who will • I listen to them fm left asking: How can pla.y the man in the wood?

• these guys not be wicked famous? Or at Producer #2 (thinking very hard): We • the very least, Why didn't Josh Schwam need a strong actor, • h2ve Seth Cohen listening to these guys capable of holding the play together. • instead of Death Cab on The: OC? Producer #3 (dililking hatder than di- : I don't know the answer to these amonds): He will be on the scet:le the • questions, so let's move on to the show. whole time. e The: ~hour set, which included two Ptoduc::er #4 (anguished beyond all e long encores, cove.red the full Weakhope of redemption): But WHO?? e enlwls discognphy, including a nwnber Producers #1 through #4 (m unison): • of tracks from their newest album, ReROBERT REED, WHO PLAYED • WliO.Il Tour. Reuni.0.11 Tour is consistent MIKE BRADY, THE FATHER IN e with the band's other albums in that it's AMERICAN TELEVISION'S THE e packed with a number of songs with BRADY BUNCH! HE WILL PLAY e great lyrics about strange subjects. I 1HE MAN IN 1HE WOOD! : might be going out 0.11 a limb here but I Ptoduc::cr #4 (spark of genius): He • think it might be safe to say that "Tout:will be matti.ed. to an English 'WOman. e nament of Hearts" is the best song ever Producers #1 through #4 (m unison): e written about the Wtnn.ipeg curling seaWhat good producers we ate. e son, and "Elegy for Gump Worsley" is Thg TELEPHONE ROBERT REED. e the most moving ballad about an NHL Producer #1: Hello, Robert ~d.? e player...or at least, it gives The Hip's Robert Reed: Hello!

• ''Fifty Mission Cap" (about furmer Leaf Producer #1: We at Angli2. Telc:visi.O.Il • Bill Barilko) a good run for its money. are going to m2kc a movie about a man : In an interesting choice, the set e opened with ''Psalm for the Elb Lodge CON71NUED ON PAGE 30 e

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Last Call" off of Ra:onstruction Site album, a melodramatic track with the repeated refrain of "before we say goodnight"' that one would think would be more suited to a closing number. From there, the tempo picked up with "Civil Twilight," arguably the strongest track on Rcwrion Tour, before moving on to some: of the group's eadiu hit& Tiu: highlights of the show wttc two soaga that had the whole crowd si1lging along; "One Gn:at City1' (aka "I Hate Wumipeg''), which was done the: second encore, and "Left and Leaving," which is my f1Lvotitc Wc:ab:rthans song.

And if it wasn't a soag. it would be my &vor::i.te poem fot: the lyrics ~ If you haven't heatd it before then stop reading this and go download it right now (o.r

m

Phoerux. m

better yet, finish reading this, then read the rest of UV, write an article for ow: next issue, and then. go download it.)

As the guy standing near me said to his friend at one point, "This is awesome! They sound exactly the stme as on their CDsl" And it was ttue. Credit fo.r this goes to the band, especially singer John. Samson, but it also owes to solid acoustics at the venue. A combiMtiO.Il like this is rue, and the only other time I've experienced something as good was at an Interpol show at the legendary 9:30 Oub in DC. At the end of the day, the Weakerthans are one of those rue groups that, no matter how many times you listen to their albums, they s1ill sound great. They pass what I call the toQd trip test: H you're going 0.11 a long trip, and when you get in the car you. realize that you. forgot all yow: O>s except thAt one, are you OK with that? If it"s a Weakerthans album, my answer is yes.

In this t:eSpect, I put them in the rarified company of Dave Matthews and the better Wilco albums like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Sky Blue Sky. I had never heard of the warm-up act, and if they continue to recottl songs like the 0.11es they performed at the sh~ you'll never hea.r of 1km either.

28

DIVERSIONS

ULTRA VIRES

Silver Age Heroes Have Some Competition

BY RANo DAOUD

One of my favorite things about reading comics is talking about them later. The first two comics here both provide great discussions: The Requiem because of its amazing story and Sinestro Corps because of its impact on the DC universe.

The last one well... well that one is just pure fun.

(2L)

Earth. As punishment, he was exiled to Earth.

Contrary to what you might expect, there's almost no fighting in this story. Its greatest aspect is just how well it deals

race and how it can be ruined sometimes.

My personal favourite is the perspective it takes on war. It looks at a meaningless religious war, but the underlying ideas can be applied to any kind of war. This

with some huge philosophical notions in such a short length. It examines how a person can face their own mortality and how they want to better the world. It deals with the potential of the human

story will be a classic. Oh, and to top it all off, the art is just beautiful.

If you want a cross-over eventSinestro Corps

The Vintage Grab-Bag:

The Sexually Suggestive:

shirts, you probably know where to get one because you already own 17 others.

Kensington Kids go crazy for anything that previously inhabited a garbage can.

The Derivative:

Available at: Thrift Stores and otherplaces with a.fon'!Y smell. Tryyourparents' attic.

Nothing says, 'Tm a douche" like wearing a T-shirt that proclaims your sexual prowess/interest. But that's all right. You totally embrace your shallow, shallow life.

Not Available.

For simply an amazing story Silver Surfer: The Requiem When you mention great comic books to those who've read it, you'll get various reactions. But with this one, the reaction always seems to be the same. A pause, a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

This is one of the greatest graphic novels I've ever read, and is a prime example of how deep comic books can really be. The story is simple; the Silver Surfer is dying.

This 4-part mini-series follows the Silver Surfer as he deals with this realization.

The Silver Surfer has gained some recognition thanks to the latest Fantastic Four movie, and the book gives a pretty nice background story so I won't go into details. Basically, the Silver Surfer was a herald of Galactus, a giant all-powerful entity that devours planets to sustain itself (which, contrary to the movie, is not just a big cloud). The Silver Surfer went against his master and joined the Fantastic Four to stop Galactus from devouring

Tees - from page 2 5

Directly related to the Kitschy Fan is the Derivative, which capitalizes on the current popularity of a show like The Office by printing "That's what she said" shirts. Valued less for their irony than the Kitschy Fan, the Derivative makes you ashamed you like the same show as anyone who would wear one of these T-shirts.

Available at snorgtees.com and too maf!) otherplaces.

The Walking Advertisement: The "brand" T-shirt prominently features the logo of some random company, which the wearer is obviously beholden to in some way. I love wearing a stock portfolio - don't you? Now if this company was secretly (or not-sosecretly) paying you to wear their logo, perhaps you're being somewhat resourceful. But you're still a shill.

Available at corporate websites.

The Texter: Often combined with The Sexually Suggestive Tee, the Texter keeps it short and sweet. And really, really blatant.

Available at Wai-Marl.

The Humourous Designer: Hal What a clever tee you're wearing, that more than makes up for your rather dour personality. Often featuring a visual pun or maybe Jesus doing something totally out of character, like being friends with Buddha, the Humourous Designer gives a tactile example of what a given wearer believes to be "ironic" or "amusing." These shirts aren't guffawworthy - they evoke more of a "Oh, I see what they're going for ...Heh" reaction. I'm not even mentioning the designer fetish focus on pirates, ninjas, zombies and other unsavoury characters.

Available at threadless. com and other sites for high schoolers.

The Arty Designer: Featuring either an abstract design or something crudely drawn (on purpose, of course), the Arty Designer is for those of you who can't get enough skinny jeans and Henry Kissinger frames.

A vailable at designbyhumans.com and excessivelY expensive stores.

The Offensive: Subscribing to the school of shocklaugh, the Offensive goes balls out for racism, sexism, or something like that.

If you're 15 years old and want to upset your parents, you'd love it.

Available at tshirthell.com and West 49 (one would imagine).

The Sporty: We get it. You're a fan. But, frankly, your attempts to mooch off the glory of your idols make you look more than a little lame.

Available at Sportchek orJocktown.

If you're looking for some redeeming tee that saves all others in my harshly critical eyes, you'll be sadly disappointed with this article. In truth, I would much rather see you bareback it then wear another one of these T-shirts. Yes, even with your law-school-weathered trunk.

Events are happening a lot in comics lately. Some were amazing but have really disappointing endings (Civil War), some were just boring fights (World War Hulk), and some are just plain boring (Countdown, Amazons Attack). But the one that has done it best is easily The Sinestro Corps. Sinestro has created his own army and declared war on the Green Lantern Corps and Earth. There's lots of action, but it's not just that because the guardians always debate every decision they make (which might annoy you, but it's actually suppose to).

The Green Lantern Corps is a galaxy police force - not just the 1 or 2 Green Lanterns that people know about. This allows them to create great battles. They are able to have a real war because people do die, not simply get hurt just to return in the next issue. This is the perfect example of how to do an event. Make them fast-moving, and have a huge lasting impact.

Keep in mind that this event utilizes every major character in the DC universe.

So you either have to know DC well, or just be willing to spend some time on Wikipedia.

For a superhero book without tons of history - Invincible I just heard a resounding "huh?". Not many know this book, but those who do absolutely love it. The great thing about this book is that you don't have to know anything about anyone. The entire story and all the characters (which include a pretty large collection of superheroes and villains) starts and is completely contained within the one title. Because it is on its 45th issue, you can either get the paperback collections from the beginning (which I do recommend) or start with issue 42. The writer takes that issue to give a nice review of everything that has happened so far.

The main character is Invincible himself, the teenaged son of the world's greatest hero Omni-Man. He has some of the classic powers such as flight, super-speed and super-strength. What I love about this book is that it does some of my favorite things in a comic. It has a great story where the characters encounter serious problems that are more than the cliche " saving the world" (although there is a lot of that too). However, at the same time, the book doesn't take itself too seriously. Invincible has the Spiderman-like wit - so he's always joking around, even if he's getting the daylights beaten out of him.

I don't want to ruin anything, but the book has some great revelations pretty early in the storyline that create real problems for Invincible. And the writer is leading to something huge for issue 50 that will be a blast to read.

NOVEMBER

20 2007

29

DIVERSIONS

Colbert - from page 25 no such merger would ever take place.

We live in a nation where skewed preferential ballots ensured that Stephane Dian, the distant third or fourth choice of the vast majority Liberal Party members, could become leader of Canada's largest political organization. We also live in a nation that is overly receptive to celebrity candidates: ex-astronaut Marc Garneau ran for the Grits in '06 and exanchorman Peter Kent for the Tories.

Ex-NHL goalie Ken Dryden has been a Grit MP since '04. The Tories have even approached Don Cherry to run for Parliament, but to no avail.

What I'm saying is that the climate is

Sustainability - from page 7 ... C02-efficient companies.

Whether the Working Group endorses any given proposal will depend largely on its deemed effectiveness in benefiting the environment, but the cost to be incurred by implementing any given proposal will arguably be the most significant factor affecting the committee's decisions. Is there an alternative, more cost-effective way of benefiting the environment than by offsetting the "carbon footprint" of Faculty-span-

changing. The time is ripe for Colbert to do for us what the South Carolinians wouldn't allow him to do for them. Colbert should run in Canada. If he prefers, he could run as both a Liberal and a Conservative. I reckon the man would stand a good chance in Oshawa, the city that he incessantly lampoons on his show and which, to my knowledge, is the only Canadian municipality to have an official "Stephen Colbert Day''. Heck, "Colbert" itself is a French name, which can't hurt in a bilingual country like Canada.

With some clever manipulation of !'accent aigu, Stephen Colbert, American could become Stephane Colbert, canadien.

And if Stephen Colbert isn't up to the job, that is, if he's just too demoralized from his pre-emptive defeat in the South Carolina primary, well, why not another comedian? Rick Mercer, Brent Butt and Mike Myers all come to mind. With Canada's love for celebrity and porous party infrastructures, it wouldn't be hard for the funny men to invade Parliament en masse.

So, to Stephen Colbert: keep trying. Just as you don't confine your campaign to one party, nor should you conftne it to one country. Canada needs a solid Liberal-Conservative Prime Minister; one who's not afraid to tell the truthiness.

sored travel? How much money is the Faculty willing to earmark for environmental initiatives, and how do we get the most bang for our environmental sustainability-designated buck? Beyond funding, how can students, faculty and staff change their behaviour so as to make ours an environmentally friendlier law school?

These are questions that we all need to ask one another. In its second year of existence, the Working Group has their work cut out for them, as do all of us.

The Environmental S ustainability Working Group invites student~ faculty and sttiff to submit suggestions about how UrifT Law can be a more environmentallY sustainable law school Pleasefowardyour suggestions to the Chair of the committee, Assistant Dean, Student~ Bonnie Goldberg, at b.goldberlf8)utoronto.ca.

••••••••••••••• • Case Briefs - from page 2 7 • •e in a wood, and we want you, Robert •e • • • • • • : •

e e e • • • • •• :

e •

e e e • • • •

Reed, to play that man.

• Robert Reed: What an exciting • offer. I accept. My agent will be so • pleased!

• Producer #1: We have already • d . .

• rna e many expens1ve preparations • for the movie. If you do not agree • to appear, they will all have been • wasted. e Robert Reed: I understand, and I e accept anyway. What a great oppor- e tunity!

• Producer #1 (to the others): I feel • totally secure in our decision.

• Robert Reed: No, wait. I will not • . your movte. . N o way guys.,e appear tn • He HANGS UP ANGRILY. e Producers #1 through #4 (in uni- • son): OUR FILM IS RUINED. e (Minor key organ music.) e Producer #4 (shrugs, wide-eyed, to e the camera): RELIANCE DAM- e AGES??!!???!! e Lord Denning: I guess so guys. • Oh man, that movie would have • been so bad. You guys sure thought • up a bad movie.

•

•• • •••••••••••••••••• • • • •

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MCCARTHY.CAILEADERS HIP

30

DIVERSIONS

UL1RA VIRES

Anonymous Rant: Living Large with my extra $15 Dear U of T Students, It is I, the Anonymous Ranter again, writing to you from across the sea. I know you might think that I really have no idea what to even complain about.

First of all, I am not at school to see how shitty it is. Second, my life is great.

Well, I will admit - both of those things are true. But that does not mean I don't have spies at home to tell me what sucks.

And, they just let me know, in order to funnel it through my filter of anger. And as a result, you get to read my witty and creative rants about our wonderful school. So, with that prelude, I implore you to read on.

This time, I have decided to address the decision to reduce our exam software fees from 65 to 50 dollars. 15 whole dollars? Wowee Zowee! Now, I can buy that extra pack and a half of cigarettes to keep me sane while I try to figure out my debt loads. Or, maybe get that much drunker at the SLS student bar nights. Thanks Administration, you really saved my entire career with that 15 dollars. How could I ever repay you?

Of course, none of us really care about fifteen dollars. At least I don't. But

then again, I have a job. That poor sap who got rejected from Shithead and Douchebag LLP really DOES care. But I don't need 15 dollars.

What I need, is for the bureaucracy of our school to acknowledge that they are ripping us off. We pay, what now $19,000? Something like that anyway.

And, what have you done for us?

Heaven forbid we fix the 19th century sinks around here, so let's just install hand sanitizers outside the washrooms instead. What else could I presume has been done with the money? Maybe a new prof... or maybe just increasing their already exorbitant salaries. Why not help the students a bit? Just a bit? You think we are satisfied with the education?

Come on .. give me a break. We could care less about that part. We all could have gone to Windsor, or Ottawa, or some other half-price school, gotten straight As, and done better in the end than we ever could have at U of T. But instead, we spoke to Judy Finlay, got convinced us that it was such a great innovative place, and then realized when we got there, that there are better facilities in a Chinese slum. Trust me, I know.

I have been to those slums. They are

called Hutongs, as I am sure Mayo learned on her trip.

Anyway, just get it straight already. 15 dollars is nothing. You want to make even a remote difference? Exams should be free. They are punishment, why should we pay for them? You think I feel good paying to take it up the***? No, I am not into that kind of thing. That is for weird, kinky people.

We pay enough that it shouldn't even be an issue. The school has enough money and resources (well, would have anyway, if we weren't spending it on completely useless shit) to do the students one favour for once, and reduce our costs significantly. We don't need Muffins or Madness, and def:tnitely not together. Ed Morgan does not need over 1OOK per year. Have you even been to his classes? I'd rather listen to the woman dressed in black who wanders up and down Bay Street waving her hand and smelling like dead animals.

So, there you have it. What I think is a completely unreasonable argument in favour of eliminating exam fees. And even though it is unreasonable (which, you all know, is the most overused and abused word in the legal dictionary), it is

still correct. And if you disagree, you are a liar and I will find you. And punishment will be swift and severe.... whoa, sorry. I got carried away there for a bit.

On one final note, I understand that this is the last rant of the year. With that, I wish you all a wonderful Winter Holiday, and enjoy your vacations. But while you are away remember... ask yourself this: What did you get from the school?

I'll tell you what: a bunch of B+s.

Until the New Year, The Anonymous Ranter

~---------------~

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DIVERSIONS

31

â&#x20AC;˘

Ultra News

â&#x20AC;˘

Briefly

Law students attempting to be funny New pro bono system announced for JD /MBA students In an effort to expand pro bono work at Uoff, the JD /MBA Students Association has been approached by the administration with a proposed incentive system aimed direcdy at JD /MBA students. Under the current proposal, students who commit to two hours of pro bono work per semester will be invited to a lavish lunch with Dean Moran to discuss this new-found awareness of volunteerism, as well as be awarded scholarships of $5,000 each.

Reaction amongst JD /MBA students was decidedly negative. Charles Wickershaft III, Esq. (2L) remarked "Why would anyone possibly work for free? It doesn't make any sense. I mean, I could understand if like they paid Toronto wages and not New York ... but nothing? Who would possibly agree to that?" In the spirit of compromise, the Students Association agreed to discuss the matter over watercress sandwiches and Perrier at their next executive meeting, originally scheduled to discuss plans to lobby Dean Moran to increase tuition to $60,000 per year.

Fight erupts over Moran's selection of BFF Controversy has erupted within the administration over the selection of Dean Moran's "best friend forever." The ritual of selecting the Dean's BFF extends back to Cecil Wright, who notoriously selected Bora Laskin. At the time, the decision was panned as one of Wright's biggest mistakes, but he was later vindicated. Laskin was frequendy sported wearing his "CW & BL, BFF" cufflinks at the sec. This law school tradition was only briefly interrupted during the Ron Daniels' Deanship, during which no faculty member would willingly volunteer to be his BFF. Daniels allegedly chose "money" instead.

The current selection had appeared setded after Moran decided to take Lianne Krakauer to Asia. According to an inside source, Krakauer and Moran "bonded big-time" in Asia. Krakauer had already ordered her "MM & LK, BFF" pendant when she later discovered that Bonnie Goldberg had been invited on the Dean's trip to Paris. The race now appears wide open, and incoming Vice Dean Sujit Choudhry hopes to be the selection for the dean's trip to Australia and New Zealand in February.

When asked for comment on her final decision, Dean Moran shot back: "Listen to mel Selecting a BFF is an important part of my legacy. I'm cer-

tainly in no hurry. If this means that I have to take every single member of the administration on lavish vacations to exotic locales at the school's expense, then that's what I'll do."

Pool table to be replaced after mysterious stain found Already facing a significant budgetary shortfall, the SLS announced last week that they would be spending $300 to replace the felt lining of the basement locker room pool table. The repairs became necessary after the edge of the table became inadvertendy stained with a mysterious substance. Details have been hard to come by, but at least two students reported hearing suspicious grunting noises emanating from the basement following the law school's Hallowe'en bash last month.

The culprits have not yet been found, but SLS has hired Downtown Legal Services, who in turn retained Kenneth Starr as Review Lawyer to investigate.

That investigation experienced a setback, however, as Starr prompdy resigned citing intolerable working conditions at DLS. No DLS representative was available for comment; however, a 43-member Task Force has been convened to consider the matter andreport back with broad, useless recommendations 8-10 months from now.

Hand sanitizer exonerates law school from all mistakes Law students are unanimously praising the introduction of hand sanitizer into the law school facilities. Kate (3L) gushed, ''Throughout my law school career, I've been asking the law school to fix the decrepit bathrooms, or add internet access to the moot court room, or reduce incidental fees, or stabilize tuition, or improve financial aid, or increase flexibility within the administration, or add a decent cafeteria to the law school. or eliminate Bridge Week, or get rid of Muffin Madness, or add some sort of climate control to the Moot Court Room, or improve the class selection process, or extend book store hours, or increase funding to the SLS, or generally respond to my inquiries and ultimately acknowledge my existence as a human being... but with this new hand sanitizer, I've finally realized what's been missing from my law school life these past three years."

The law school administration has responded to this praise by discussing plans to either charge fees for the sanitizer or eliminate it altogether.

Faculty stink up the ACC, manage only one basket against Osgoode foes Described by one observer as "pathetic" and another as "embarrassing to watch", Uoff's esteemed faculty fought their Osgoode colleagues to a 2-2 tie last week at the first annual Black & Blue Charity Tip Off. Let by Jim "Flash" Phillips and Ben "Babyface" Alarie, the Uoff squad had been heavily favoured by Vegas to come out on top. Apparendy, nobody told Phillips that dribbling is an integral part of the game, and that when opponents fall down, the appropriate response is to stand over them and curse, and not to stop and apologize.

When asked why his team was so bad, Head Coach Arnie Weinrib equivocated. ''As in every scenario I analyze, there are 3 possible explanations. The first is, we simply ate too many pregame doughnuts. The second is, we didn't stick to my game plan of giving the ball to Alarie and getting the **** out of the way. And the third is, there is no explanation. Get it? Three explanations, just like Holmes and Brandeis in AP v.

INS!" When asked to evaluate the team's performance, Osgoode professors unanimously gave it an ''N', whereas Uoff professors waffled between giving them a ''B" or "B+".

Noted One week after UV feature on stagnant articling wages, Bay Street raises pay to $1450. You're welcome, people!

After basketball game, students realize that doing anything with Osgoode is the real charity Former Law School Dean Martin Friedland takes 2 years to write memoirs, UV takes 2 minutes to discard complimentary copy in recycling

As exams approach, First Year students to be rewarded for efforts with approximately 542 B+s Rich Luft, instant YouTube celebrity. Check it out, ladies.

Windsor students report "steamrolling11 up 17% Years later, former UV editor uses Briefly Noted to impress girlfriend with inside joke Ultra Vires struggles to find Bachelor of the Month for November issue Students discover that hand sanitizers comprised of 80% alcohol, decide to hold after-school party to test mixer potential As promised, illtra Vires paid $50 to one student who submitted an Ultra News that was published. That could have paid for your examsoft software! Where is your Ultra News?

Ten incredibly handsome members of the UoiT Law 2007 flag football team. If only their football skills matched their charm...

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