Editorial

Editor-in-ChiefJanuary 25, 2024

Volume 25 – Issue 4 – January 2024

New year, same great UV! We’re proud to present Ultra Vires’ first issue of 2024. The articles contained in this issue will be published to […]

Editor-in-ChiefDecember 27, 2023

Letter From the Editors

November 30, 2023 Dear Readers,  Welcome back! It’s here! We’re excited to welcome you to UV’s 2024 recruit special. This year’s recruit was especially chaotic […]

Editor-in-ChiefNovember 30, 2023

Volume 25 – Issue 3 – November 2023

It’s tiiiiiime! We are so excited to present Ultra Vires‘ final issue of 2023 is here with our annual Recruit Special. Inside, you’ll find coverage […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 29, 2023

Letter From the Editors

Welcome to our second issue of the year! Dear Readers,  Welcome back! We are nearing the end of the scariest month of the year, filled […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 26, 2023

Volume 25 – Issue 2 – October 2023

Welcome to our second issue of the year! In this issue, you’ll find Toronto articling and New York 2L recruit information, alongside some creepy crawlies […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 9, 2023

Letter From the Editors

September 28, 2023 Dear Readers,  Another year, another volume of UV! This year is the big two-five, as we mark Ultra Vires’ 25th anniversary. Maybe […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 28, 2023

Volume 25 – Issue 1 – September 28

We’re happy to present our first issue of Volume 25 and of the 2023-2024 school year. In this issue, you’ll find our brand new Puzzles […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 6, 2023

Get Involved with UV’s 2023-2024 Team!

All years are welcome to apply! We are looking for students to join the editorial team for Volume 25 of Ultra Vires. Positions are available […]

Editor-in-ChiefApril 3, 2023

Letter from the Editors

March 30, 2023 Dear Readers, Well, folks, that’s a wrap. For the last time this year (!!!), in this issue, you’ll find all the tea […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 30, 2023

Volume 24 – Issue 6 – March 30

This is it—our final issue of Volume 24! In this issue, you’ll find all the tea on competitive mooting, the Toronto 1L recruit, Follies, our […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 12, 2023

Join the Ultra Vires Team for Volume 25 (2023–2024)

We are looking for students to join our Volume 25 editorial board as well as students interested in ancillary roles for the newspaper. Applications are […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 3, 2023

Letter from the Editors

February 28, 2023 Dear Readers, You made it! Reading week has come and gone, and we are at the halfway point of the term—only two […]

Editor-in-ChiefFebruary 28, 2023

Volume 24 – Issue 5 – February 28

You made it! Reading week has come and gone, and we are at the halfway point of the term—only two more months ‘til sweet, sweet […]

Editor-in-ChiefJanuary 30, 2023

Letter from the Editors

January 26, 2023 Dear Readers, Welcome back, folks! We hope you all had a restful break and managed to recover from New Year’s Eve in […]

Editor-in-ChiefJanuary 26, 2023

Volume 24 – Issue 4 – January 26

Welcome to 2023! It is the start of a new year and a brand new term, so we’re sharing our New Year’s resolutions and a […]

Editor-in-ChiefDecember 5, 2022

Letter from the Editors

December 1, 2022 Dear Readers, The 2022 instalment of UV’s highly anticipated annual recruit special is finally here! After yet another hectic recruit season, we’ve […]

Editor-in-ChiefDecember 1, 2022

Volume 24 – Issue 3 – December 1 (Recruit Special)

RECRUIT SPECIAL! The 2022 instalment of UV’s annual recruit special is here, and we’ve got you covered with 2L hiring numbers from coast-to-coast. This issue […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 31, 2022

Letter from the Editors

October 27, 2022 Dear Readers, Boo! Spooky season is upon us, and it’s time to pull those dusty costumes out of the closet once again […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 27, 2022

Volume 24 – Issue 2 – October 27

Boo! Spooky season is upon us, and it’s time to pull those dusty costumes out of the closet once again for another fright-tacular Halloween. In […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 3, 2022

Letter from the Editors

September 29, 2022 Dear Readers, We’re back! To the 1Ls, welcome to our hallowed halls, and to the upper-years, we hope you had a restful […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 29, 2022

Volume 24 – Issue 1 – September 29

We’re back! In our first issue of Volume 24, you’ll find an update on this year’s instalment of the never-ending 1L curriculum revamp, an exit […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 4, 2022

Get Involved with UV’s 2022–2023 Team!

Now hiring 1L positions and welcoming new writers! We are looking for students to join our Volume 24 editorial board as well as students interested […]

Sabrina MacklaiMarch 31, 2022

Letter from the Editors

March 31, 2022 Dear Readers, This is it! We’re at our final issue for Volume 23. We’re not crying, you are.  In this issue, you’ll […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 9, 2022

Join the Ultra Vires Team for Volume 24 (2022–2023)

We are looking for students to join our Volume 24 editorial board as well as students interested in ancillary roles for the newspaper. Applications are […]

Sabrina MacklaiFebruary 28, 2022

Letter from the Editors

February 28, 2022 Dear Readers, Can you believe that this is our penultimate issue of UV for the 2021-2022 year? Oh, how time flies! We […]

Sabrina MacklaiJanuary 26, 2022

Letter from the Editors

January 26, 2022 Dear Readers, We’re back, back, back, back again! We hope you all had a restful break and are adjusting well into another […]

Sabrina MacklaiNovember 25, 2021

Letter from the Editors

November 25, 2021 Dear Readers, It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for—UV’s annual recruit special is here! Containing 2L hiring numbers, survey results, reflections, […]

Sabrina MacklaiNovember 25, 2021

On the Annual Recruit Special

Another year, another recruit Since the inception of Ultra Vires in 1999, we’ve reported on results of the annual Toronto recruit for 2L summer students. […]

Sabrina MacklaiOctober 28, 2021

Letter from the Editors

October 28, 2021 Happy spooky season, U of T Law!  From scares at the recent Call to the Bar events, OCI disaster moments, and the […]

Sabrina MacklaiSeptember 29, 2021

Letter from the Editors

September 29, 2021. Dear Readers, Welcome back to another year of law school and another volume of Ultra Vires! We are thrilled to be your […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 9, 2021

Get Involved With UV’s 2021-2022 Team!

Now hiring 1L editors and welcoming new writers! Read through the descriptions below, and send us your application materials (email to [email protected]). UPDATE: Applications are due […]

Vivian ChengApril 29, 2021

Letter from the Editors

April 7, 2021. Dear Readers,  Drumroll, please! It’s what you’ve been waiting for —  the one, the only — the Recruit Special is finally here! […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 24, 2021

Join the Ultra Vires Team for Volume 23 (2021-2022)!

We are looking for students to join our Volume 23 editorial board as well as students interested in ancillary roles for the newspaper. Applications are […]

Vivian ChengMarch 3, 2021

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,  We are halfway through the second term, and three-quarters of the way through this strange school year. We wanted to acknowledge some of […]

Vivian ChengJanuary 27, 2021

Letter from the Editors

Happy 2021!  Another year, another semester at U of T Zoom School of Law. The new Dean, Jutta Brunée, has begun her term, students are […]

Vivian ChengNovember 27, 2020

Letter from the Editors

Dear law school community,  It’s November! With days getting darker earlier, full lockdown looming, and exams approaching, it’s an especially stressful time. We wish you […]

Vivian ChengNovember 2, 2020

Letter from the Editors

October 28, 2020. Dear law school community and beyond, Happy spooky season! We hope you are staying healthy and safe as the law school locks […]

Vivian ChengOctober 6, 2020

Letter from the Editors

October 1, 2020. Welcome, and welcome back to U of T Law! It’s undoubtedly a strange year, but shaping up to be an eventful one.  […]

Editor-in-ChiefAugust 20, 2020

Want to be part of Ultra Vires? Here’s how you can join:

Read through the descriptions below, and send us your application materials (email to [email protected]). Please include the position(s) you are applying for in the subject […]

Angela GuJune 3, 2020

Statement of Solidarity

To our law school community and beyond, You have probably heard this a million times in a million ways over the past few days, over […]

Editor-in-ChiefMay 2, 2020

Letter from the Editors

Happy March!  This is the final Ultra Vires issue of the year and our last as Editors-in-Chief. We thank all of our readers, writers, editors, […]

Editor-in-ChiefMarch 8, 2020

Letter from the Editors

Happy February! Reading week has passed, another Valentine’s Day is over, and we are now over halfway through the Winter semester.  In this issue, you’ll […]

Editor-in-ChiefFebruary 3, 2020

Letter from the Editors

Happy January! Welcome to another semester at U of T Law. The add/drop deadline has now passed, students are settling into their Winter classes, and […]

Editor-in-ChiefDecember 2, 2019

Letter from the Editors

November 2019 Happy November! As class winds down for the semester and exams approach, we wish you well with your studies and hope you have […]

Editor-in-ChiefNovember 2, 2019

Letter from the Editors

Happy October! Congratulations on making it through the first half of the semester. Things are kicking into high gear with 2Ls preparing for in-firms, looming […]

Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 28, 2019

Letter from the Editors

Welcome back to another year at U of T Law! It’s shaping up to be a big year for legal news: tuition has dropped to […]

Web EditorApril 3, 2019

Thank you to all of our contributors

The masthead thanks all the contributors to Volume 20: Aaqib Mahmood, Alex McLennan-Brown, Angela Hou, Anne Marshall, Ben Miller, Brian Huang, Cameron Cotton-O’Brien, Dana O’Shea, […]

Web EditorMarch 27, 2019

Editor’s Note

This year, we have been humbled to hear from such a broad, diverse cross-section of the law school. Your stories have been motivating, sobering, and, […]

Web EditorFebruary 28, 2019

In this issue…

Welcome back from Reading Week! In this issue, we finally release the much-anticipated results from our Class of 2020 Survey. Thank you again to those […]

Web EditorJanuary 31, 2019

In this issue…

Happy New Year! May your days be longer and your workloads lighter. With the ringing in of every new year comes a period of reflection. […]

Web EditorNovember 28, 2018

In this issue…

We’re keeping this one short and sweet. This issue, we reflect on debt and tuition and the recent Toronto Recruit. Our Recruitment Special provides the […]

Editor-in-ChiefNovember 20, 2018

Letter From the Editors: In This Issue

Autumn is in full swing. Classes are ramping up and procrastination can now take the form of frolicking through a colourful campus and sipping warm […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 11, 2018

Letter From the Editors

Welcome back and please, please submit pieces Honghu Wang (2L) and Chloe Magee (3L) It’s 2018. Tuition has risen to $38,183.45.1 The articling crisis looms […]

Web EditorMarch 28, 2018

Letter from the Editors: We’re Just A Little Tired

Don’t be sorry it’s over; be sorry it ever happened in the first place. Kevin Schoenfeldt, c. 2018 (who had been sitting on this great […]

Web EditorFebruary 4, 2018

Letter from the Editors: Winter Term Reboot

Welcome back! As 3Ls, the end of our time at U of T law is fast approaching. Many of us just came back from exchange, […]

Web EditorDecember 4, 2017

A Letter from the Editors: Aidan & Amani Kill Your Vacation Vibes

Aidan Campbell (3L) & Amani Rauff (3L)   Surprising no one, this year’s grad trip will be at an all-inclusive Carribean resort. The annual spectacle […]

Web EditorSeptember 28, 2017

A Letter from the Editors

Aidan Campbell (3L) & Amani Rauff (3L)   “I can’t say I found it all distasteful,” opens a Faculty of Law Review article published thirty […]

Web EditorMarch 1, 2017

Convocation Capitulation: A Letter from the Editors

Nick Papageorge (2L) and Maud Rozee (2L) ¡Viva la revolución! In the face of overwhelming, vociferous pressure from students, the administration announced that it has […]

Web EditorFebruary 8, 2017

The UV Editorial Board: Give Us Back Our Convocation

Displeased. Very disappointed. Unbecoming. No rational connection. Punishment and censorship. Utter bullshit. General strike. Mutiny. Revolution. Fuck this. This was the reaction of U of […]

Web EditorJanuary 26, 2017

Letter from the Editors: Welcome Back

Nick Papageorge (2L) and Maud Rozee (2L) Welcome back! We hope that you’re finally starting to recover from the blow that was having our classes […]

Web EditorSeptember 28, 2016

Welcome from the Ultra Vires Editors-in-Chief!

Nick Papageorge (2L) and Maud Rozee (2L) To the upper years, welcome back! To the 1Ls, welcome to law school! And to everyone, welcome to […]

Web EditorMarch 31, 2016

Ribbon Cutting

Brett Hughes (3L) Another year draws to a close and we burrow into our textbooks, treatises, and upper-year maps and summaries, just like Falconer Phyllis […]

Web EditorFebruary 24, 2016

Editorial: Give Us Back Our Facebook Groups

The Editorial Board The Facebook groups for each year’s U of T Law class provide an important platform for communication between students. They allow students […]

Web EditorJanuary 27, 2016

Everyone Calm Down

Brett Hughes (3L) Welcome back to school, and to the third-last issue of Ultra Vires for the year! There remain only two and a half […]

Web EditorNovember 26, 2015

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Brett Hughes (3L) Dear first-year students, it’s the time of year you were warned about during orientation week, when your happiness hits the minus 1-2 […]

Web EditorOctober 28, 2015

Fundraising campaign should reflect student voices

Brett Hughes (3L) Last week, Canadians voted for change in Ottawa, but U of T Law students were reminded yet again that they had been […]

Web EditorSeptember 30, 2015

Editor’s letter

Brett Hughes (3L)  Hello and welcome, or welcome back, to law school! By now, you have probably finalised your extracurriculars and course selection, and started […]

Paloma van GrollMarch 29, 2015

Well, that was fast.

Paloma van Groll (3L) and David Gruber (3L) And we’re reminded yet again how easily we can let a school year pass, without learning a […]

Paloma van GrollFebruary 25, 2015

Spring is Nigh…right?

By Paloma van Groll (3L) It’s a that fun time of year for Law, right after Follies and right before Ball, when we law students […]

Aron NimaniFebruary 25, 2015

Dear Sirs: You’ve Taken All Our Money, Now Kindly Fuck Off

By David Gruber (3L) The debate about tuition and debt has been had, and—from the perspective of the righteous—lost. Tuition for a three year degree […]

Paloma van GrollJanuary 29, 2015

Let’s Hear It

By David Gruber and Paloma van Groll Every year around this time students interrupt their rampant careerism to undertake more noble endeavours. The Promise Auction, […]

Paloma van GrollNovember 27, 2014

Letter from the Editors

It’s that time of year again. No, not the time for friends and family and taking a moment to reflect on the important things in […]

Paloma van GrollSeptember 24, 2014

Editor’s Letter

Paloma Van Groll (3L) & David Gruber (3L) The law school is operating out of borrowed space for yet another year. Construction of the new […]

Emily DebonoMarch 26, 2014

Thank You… and You… and You… and You…

This year has brought a lot of change to our school. What we expected to be a year dominated by discussion of the “transition space” ended up being […]

Web EditorMarch 5, 2014

Let Students Elect Their Own Representatives to the Advisory Committee to Appoint the Next Dean

Our law school is at a crucial crossroads. The legal market looks stagnant, tuition is at a record high and increasing, and numerous concerns have […]

Emily DebonoFebruary 26, 2014

An Open Letter to Everyone Who Considered Writing for UV This Year

Many of you have told me that you’d write something for UV this year. In the middle of completely unrelated conversations, you’ll say “Hey, when’s […]

Emily DebonoJanuary 29, 2014

This Was Not Supposed to Be a Valentine’s Issue

When I found out that I was going to be Editor In Chief this year, I immediately knew what I wanted my legacy to be. […]

Emily DebonoNovember 27, 2013

Being Yourself: A Double-Edged Sword? Reflections on the OCI Survey

In preparing this year’s OCI survey, we decided to change the tone from surveys of the past. Rather than focusing on the firms’ blunders (interesting […]

Emily DebonoOctober 30, 2013

UV Expands Its Attempts at Legitimate Journalism

The MBA portion of the JD/MBA constantly makes reference to the idea of “integrative thinking.” While nobody is sure what exactly that means, we know […]

Emily DebonoSeptember 25, 2013

UV isn’t just the school paper, it’s YOUR paper

Despite the Faculty’s best efforts, we do not have an effective space to congregate, hang out, or discuss what’s on our minds. While this lets […]

Patrick HartfordMarch 27, 2013

Our Best Issue Yet

Emily Debono and I are proud of this year’s Ultra Vires.  Our editorial board has accomplished so much together.   This issue, more than any of […]

Web EditorMarch 26, 2013

An Open Letter to Administration Regarding Diversity

In recent months, the student population at large has raised concerns about the rising cost of tuition and financial aid with the Faculty. The Faculty […]

Patrick HartfordFebruary 27, 2013

The Tuition Petition is a Worthwhile and Futile Cause

Tuition for next year’s incoming class will be over $30,000.  In response, law students have started the Tuition Petition (see TuitionPetition.ca) in an attempt to […]

Paloma van GrollJanuary 30, 2013

Report From a Coupla Guinea Pigs: What it’s like to be graded on the new system

So, results are in. We have official been graded using Ps and Hs. How does it feel? We’re not really sure. We have no feelings […]

Patrick HartfordJanuary 30, 2013

Miscellaneous Ideas

Flu Shot Day The SLS sits on a giant pile of money that grows every year.  What if we used a tiny portion of that […]

Web EditorDecember 7, 2012

In Memory of Samantha Clarke

Ultra Vires has solicited letters and notes in memory of Samantha Clarke, and collected them here. If you would like to submit something to be […]

Web EditorNovember 28, 2012

Remembering Samantha Clarke

On IMDb.com, there is a film short called “Orange Sarong”.  In it, a businessman watches a woman in an orange sarong on a nearby boat.  […]

Web EditorNovember 28, 2012

Thinking about Drinking

One of my projects this year as news editor is to include at least one piece per issue that is, in one way or another, […]

Patrick HartfordNovember 28, 2012

A Rough Month at UT Law

I ostensibly write my editorial after the rest of the paper’s contents have been submitted so that I can tie everything together.  But I’m actually […]

Web EditorNovember 28, 2012

Remembering Sam Clarke

I met Sam during the early part of 1L. She was sitting in the Rowell Room knitting – this was a constant, throughout my year knowing […]

Web EditorOctober 17, 2012

Dark Comedy

Last February we sat around, got warmly drunk, and laughed at ourselves. As usual, Law Follies built most of its comedy on mocking law school […]

Editor-in-ChiefOctober 17, 2012

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor: Your last issue contained a good story on the new law school grading scheme by Michael Portner-Gartke. I am one of the faculty […]

Patrick HartfordOctober 17, 2012

Is UV too Cliquey?

Yes, obviously. Well that was a short column. This is a complaint that we hear often. And if we can hear complaints over the nonstop […]

Web EditorSeptember 12, 2012

Yea, I’m down here now

When Patrick seized the reins this year he promised some big changes. Like covering actual events that really happened. This is called news. News is […]

Patrick HartfordSeptember 12, 2012

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Welcome to another year of law school. After a year of self-imposed exile in the Munk School’s Global Affairs program, I am back in law […]

Web EditorMarch 29, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Response to Niqab Ban

[This is a response to “A Perspective on the Niqab Ban” in the March issue of Ultra Vires] I really do not understand why the […]

Web EditorMarch 27, 2012

Everyone Just Look at Me One Last Time

You know how this whole things works by now: I spend most of my time seriously undermining UV just so I can get cheap laughs […]

Web EditorFebruary 27, 2012

Letters to the Editor: Prof Phillips on Grading Scheme

Dear Editor: Aaron Rankin and Justin Nasseri raise substantial procedural concerns about the law school administration’s proposal to change to a new grading scheme (Faculty […]

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