Opportunity for law students to present their research
The inaugural U of T Faculty of Law Students’ Research Symposium will be held virtually on March 24–25, 2023. The submission period has closed, but ticket registration for guests is open until March 17, 2023 and is free. It will feature a variety of panels on various areas of law and presentations from law students. I sat down with the Research Symposium’s founder, Nik Khakhar (3L), and co-organizer Emily Sarah Hean (2L), to learn more about the Research Symposium.
Ultra Vires (UV): In your own words, what is the Research Symposium?
Nik Khakhar (NK): Most law schools have internal research symposiums where only students from their law school can make submissions and present their research.
The Research Symposium is U of T Law’s first student-run, student-targeted conference that invites law students from across Canada to present research on any topic they want about the law. We are inviting faculty, law professionals, moderators, and U of T Law’s LLM program to ask questions to student presenters to think about their ideas more critically.
The Research Symposium serves two main purposes. First, to get students interested in academia and academic research. Second, to get students to look at how research applies to day-to-day practice. Social science research has taught us that we can use quantitative or qualitative evidence to prevent wrongful convictions, save lives and improve society. Getting an appreciation for the link between legal research and legal practice makes for more resounding legal competence.
UV: What made you decide to found the Research Symposium?
NK: I did my 1L at the University of Windsor and then transferred to U of T in 2L. At Windsor, they run the Canadian Law Student Conference, which is similar to the Research Symposium. I presented at the conference in 1L. I was surrounded by 3Ls from whom I learned about diverse legal topics. I felt super intimidated but also learned so much. It gave me a lot more confidence in presenting, as well as approaching people from different walks of life and in my own research. It gave me an appreciation of how academia intersects with practice.
When I transferred to U of T, I realized that U of T doesn’t have an equivalent conference. I went to U of T workshops almost every other week since my second year of undergrad. One of the reasons I transferred to U of T was for its appreciation of academic research. I thought that getting students immersed in this academic culture would be one of the most powerful ways to get students to make the most of the school and what it has to offer.
Emily Sarah Hean (ESH): This was really Nik’s law school dream and throughout the journey, it also became my dream. It’s a really cool way to share your research. I also noticed that a lot of the Faculty’s certificate programs have a requirement to present a paper at a conference, but it’s really hard to find where to present. The Research Symposium provides that opportunity for students. It makes it more accessible to complete a certificate.
UV: What is the structure of the conference?
NK: It’s all online. We wanted to showcase the law school buildings, but getting space for an inaugural conference was difficult. We also wanted to make it accessible to the broader community: the legal community, family, friends, and everyone who supports academic research. We didn’t want travel or cost to be a barrier.
ESH: Each day will be different. The keynote speaker will be the Honourable Justice Gloria Epstein, a retired justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal. We will update https://uoftlawsymposium.wordpress.com/ with the other speakers, presenters and moderators as they are finalized.
People are welcome to drop in and out throughout the two days. There’s no requirement for guests who register for the Research Symposium to attend all of the sessions. We want people to be able to engage with it in the way that they learn the most.
UV: Who would you recommend to attend the conference?
NK: We recommend faculty, legal professionals, and law students to attend. It will let faculty see what students do outside of class. Students not presenting will be able to get exposed to academic research.
We’ve been reaching out to lawyers at different firms and different Crown offices to invite them to attend and ask questions to student presenters. We want to help lawyers see the ongoing research of their future colleagues and give students a chance to connect with legal professionals. We want law students to get a better sense of what questions they will be asked in research and in the courtroom.
ESH: I really think that all law students should try to attend. I was lucky enough to moderate the Canadian Animal Law Conference in fall 2022, and that was the first academic conference I attended. We kind of forget that you can learn for the sake of learning. Going to that conference reminded me that learning is fun. It’s so fun listening to smart people talk about stuff that they know a lot about. The Research Symposium is such a great opportunity to expand your mind further, and I think that’s why a lot of people chose to go to law school.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Editor’s Note: Taylor Rodrigues submitted a paper to the Research Symposium.
