Opinions
Marita ZouravlioffNovember 27, 2014
In Defense of 3L
Marita Zouravlioff (3L) President Obama famously suggested last year that law school should be two years, not three. He offered this as but one simple […]
Aron NimaniNovember 27, 2014
Diversity on Bay Street: Knocking on the Diversity Wall
Nabila Pirani (2L) On November 13th, the South Asian Law Students’ Association (SALSA) hosted its first of two panels on diversity in the legal profession. […]
Aron NimaniNovember 27, 2014
Darlene Necan and Her Fight for a Home of Her Own
Riaz Sayani-Mulji (1L) When I reflect on settler colonialism in Canada, its different aspects come to mind, like land dispossession, destruction of the Earth and […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
Politics Literally Makes You Stupid
David Pardy (3L) Are differences in political opinion attributable to misunderstandings of fact? As in, if we all had the same, perfect information on every […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
Point-Counterpoint: New System vs. Old System (AKA Semestergate)
Harrison: Nothing says, “we care, but not quite enough to do anything while changes can be made”, like an article about implementing semesters at the […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
John Tory Event Write-Up
Amir Torabi (2L) As the mayoral election heats up, lawyers from McCarthy Tetrault and a handful of law students from the Faculty of Law gathered […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
OCI Reaction Piece
Just before stepping into the booth for my first on-campus interview, I stopped to compose myself—straighten the tie, swipe the hair, try to get my […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
Getting away with murder? Not so much.
Amber Neumann (3L) Vincent Li. Allan Shoernborn. Richard Kachkar. Luka Magnotta? The drill is almost routine by now. A shocking act of violence occurs. A […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
The CBA Has A Lot To Answer For
Riaz Sayani-Mulji (1L) Shameful. That is how I would describe the Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) conduct over the past few weeks. After its national board […]
Web EditorOctober 29, 2014
Forging a Space for Female Corporeal Autonomy in the Law
Nadia G. (3L) Prija pouted sultrily in garters and thigh-highs as she took turns lounging on the various pieces of dusty furniture littering the room. We […]
Aron NimaniOctober 29, 2014
1L…The Story So Far
Nathaniel Rattansey (1L) It’s freaking October is the first thought that comes to mind as I write this piece—and by the time many of you […]
Aron NimaniSeptember 24, 2014
Financial Aid: New Changes – And New Ideas
By Spencer Burger (2L) Now that everyone’s settled in, I wanted to take this opportunity to make a public service announcement of sorts regarding changes […]
Aron NimaniSeptember 24, 2014
Behind Closed Doors
Ella Henry (3L) Dean selection process remains a covert operation The current decanal selection process, by design, ensures that meaningful student input is precluded. The […]
Aron NimaniSeptember 24, 2014
JD/MBA—The Prodigal 3rd Year Students Return
Like a pilgrim whose lips touch the sweet cool waters of a mountain stream after wandering for months through the barren desert, like a four […]
Eryn FanjoySeptember 24, 2014
Point-Counterpoint: Is it Better to Go on Exchange or Staycation In Toronto?
Point: Go on Exchange – The World’s Most One-Sided Debate Eryn Fanjoy (3L) and Jacquie Richards (4L) We’re sceptical that this issue is worthy of […]
Aron NimaniJune 29, 2014
Convocation 2014: Daniels dodges on tuition
Brett Hughes (1L) This year’s convocation season saw rescinded invitations and canceled appearances for several high-profile speakers at American universities, including Condoleezza Rice and Christine […]
Aron NimaniMay 6, 2014
TWU believers bear false witness following law society rejection
In late April, the Ontario and Nova Scotia law societies voted to withhold accreditation from the proposed law school at Trinity Western University (TWU), while B.C. lawyers […]
Aron NimaniApril 2, 2014
1Ls Outraged by Final Exam Circumstances
Exam room conditions are unacceptable, and are not a “viable option.” On Monday afternoon the faculty announced that all of the 1L exams (three hours […]
Aron NimaniMarch 28, 2014
Letter to the Editor: Hit Me Baby, One More Time
In response to “Stop Right Now, Thank You Very Much“ Dear Anonymous, As both an active member of the Tuition Action Committee, and your elected […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
1L In Review
With the upcoming revamp of the 1L program next year, it looks like I get the last word on ours. Here’s hoping I can give […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
Legal Methods and O-Week: Seven reasons why an August start will ruin an august tradition
A notable change in the 1L curriculum is the addition of the “Legal Methods” intensive, which has been scheduled to take place from August 18-29. […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
Heard that you were talking sh*t and you didn’t think that we would hear it…
Okay so maybe not necessarily talking shit, and maybe no real connection to Gwen Stefani or Hollaback Girls …am I aging myself with that lyrical […]
Katherine GeorgiousMarch 26, 2014
A final plea to start the revolution…or at least a conversation
“Hi. Are you interested in sharing your thoughts on tuition?” I was asking this question to students as part of a project worked on by […]
Aron NimaniMarch 26, 2014
Point/Counterpoint: Which is the best year currently at U of T Law?
Point- 1Ls are Best Aron Nimani (1L) Go ahead, say what you will about the 1Ls. Seriously. We love to hear it, because you’re […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
Contempt of Course: The business of law school is school
The thrashing of our institution began almost by accident. Following a turbulent period under the leadership of Bob Rae, Ontario swung to the right, as […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
Why John Tory will (and should) be the next mayor of Toronto
I’ve served as President of the University of Toronto Law and Politics Club for the past three years. In this role, I’ve attended speaker’s events […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
(Not so) reasonable accommodation
I recently looked into our policies on late papers and extensions, and found them to be quite harsh and restrictive. Papers lose 0.6 of a […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
Stop Right Now, Thank You Very Much
I would like to begin by clarifying why I am writing this article. I am not writing this article to discredit the hard work that […]
Web EditorMarch 26, 2014
This is How You Do It: The 1L Recruit
Having had some time to reflect upon the 1L recruitment, here are some thoughts, opinions, and suggestions about how to be successful in the process. […]
Daanish SamadmotenMarch 11, 2014
Convocation Speaker Adds Insult to Injury
Former Dean Daniels to Receive Honorary Degree at 2014 Convocation The man largely responsible for our high tuition is coming back to pick up a […]
Web EditorFebruary 26, 2014
Contempt of Course: Diversity or Diversion?
Henry Ford—himself a certified bigot—famously quipped that his customers could order cars in any colour they liked as long as that colour was black. For […]
Web EditorFebruary 26, 2014
Point-Counterpoint: Is Law Follies or Law Ball the Leading Event of the Law School Calendar?
Point: [Law] Ball so Hard, Mothafuckas Wanna Fine Me David Pardy Like Hitler in his 1942 invasion of Stalingrad, I will make use of […]
Web EditorFebruary 26, 2014
So (Un)Inspired
Let me preface this with a disclaimer: no offense to the organizers or the presenters. UofT Law Inspires failed to …inspire. Feeling down with the […]
Web EditorFebruary 26, 2014
Why A Day Spent on Professionalism and Ethics was a Day Wasted
It is with great disbelief that upper years look at a 1L who complains about a mere two days (one day per term) of professionalism […]
Web EditorFebruary 26, 2014
To Semesterize or to Not Semesterize
The significant changes to the 1L curriculum are designed to address problems with student workload, learning, and stress. This year, I was the 1L student […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
My Life in New York
Even as I applied to New York firms, I never really expected I’d come here, and as I flew back from my interview, was pretty […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
Contempt of Course: Why Lawyers Are Such Bad Writers
Faithful counsel-in-waiting may be taken aback by the title of this week’s column. After all, isn’t the written word the essential tool with which the […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
Point/Counterpoint: Is Love Moot?
Point: By Emilie Lahaie (3L) Now, before you roll your eyes and throw your hands up in disgust at the mushy point you assume is […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
Backlash Brewing in English Canada?
After the ice storm, half the power to my house was cut off. I had no working furnace but I did have high-speed internet and […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
The Health and Wellness (Student Advisory) Committee: Haters Gonna Hate
A good polemic is the thinking person’s TMZ clip of Miley Cyrus twerking with Robin Thicke, complete with catty voiceover. I love them as much […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
The Uproar on Reasonable Accommodation at York is not about Gender Equality; It’s about Racism
The story has been well played out in the Canadian media: a student taking an online course at York University asks to be exempt from […]
Web EditorJanuary 29, 2014
1L Hire
Last year, law firms hired 44 people in the 1L summer recruitment process, from seven law schools across Canada. 19 were from U of T […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
No 2L OCI Job? Still No Problem
By now the dust has settled on the 2L Toronto recruitment process. Many students ended the first week of November with a summer job in […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
Because We Know Better
“When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
A Tale of 2L Misery: Eleven Things We Wish We Had Known Before In-Firms
Students are inundated with advice about the 2L recruitment process. There’s never any shortage of intel on how to ‘be yourself’ (but not actually) during […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
Contempt of Course: Disband the Health and Wellness Committee!
Has anyone else noticed the odd way the Dean’s Office and CDO have been signing off their emails lately? “You are not alone.” “You may […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
A Crisis is an Opportunity in Disguise: Figure out what you enjoy and do it
I’m a 2L and this is my first UV article. I’ve been to the OCI circus and did not get a position. Please forgive any […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
The Wright Man: “Qualitative Factors” in Admissions are Classist Barriers to Law School
The shift that many law schools are taking towards admissions – giving greater weight to non-GPA/LSAT factors for prospective JD students – is erecting additional […]
Paloma van GrollNovember 27, 2013
In-Firm Games: The Odds Are Not in Our Favour
In-firm interview week fell on the November break. The “week” is more accurately 2.5 days: Monday, Tuesday, and a bit of Wednesday (“Day 1,” “Day […]
Web EditorNovember 27, 2013
Point/Counterpoint: Is Movember a Stupid Waste of Time?
Point David Gruber (2L) At best, “awareness” is but the first of many steps towards solving a complex problem. But its import has been taken […]
Web EditorOctober 30, 2013
Is Debt Burden Influencing Career Choice?
There were a number of frustrating moments at the October 16 Tuition Town Hall. Among the most frustrating was the re-presentation of the data on […]
Web EditorOctober 30, 2013
Contempt of Course: Return to Reading Law
“Law school is where you learn the theory of law; articling is where you learn the practice of law.” Or so explained a thoughtful professor […]
Web EditorOctober 30, 2013
Drop the charade and make law an undergrad
Amidst the ongoing discussion about our ballooning annual law school tuition, we overlook another cost incurred by every lawyer in Canada outside Quebec: we all […]
Web EditorOctober 30, 2013
Faculty’s financial aid can’t justify high tuition
Judging by Dean Mayo Moran’s comments at the October 16 town hall, the Faculty’s financial aid system is the lynchpin in the administration’s defence of […]
Marita ZouravlioffOctober 30, 2013
Point/Counterpoint: Should Queen’s expand their class size?
POINT – Queen’s Law: Abandon Your Wayward Plans! Marita Zouravlioff Queen’s is tired of playing second fiddle to the big bad Toronto schools. The self-appointed […]
Web EditorOctober 30, 2013
Diversity stat too simple to be useful
A new promotional pamphlet produced by the Faculty of Law boasts that one-third of the incoming class are “students of colour.” At the Dean’s Town […]
Paloma van GrollOctober 30, 2013
I Survived OCIs
“Maybe I’ll just sleep here tonight!” I said – manically – to my friend, as we wrapped up day 1 of the OCI process down […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
What should you look for in a career?
Some of you will think this article makes an obvious point. You have thought about your career goals for years, researched the implications of each […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
A 1L Reflects on the Transition Space
As I strolled through the Victoria University campus on my first real day of law school, I was struck by the historical gravitas of the […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
UTSU: The Union That Doesn’t Serve You
Dear Class of 2016: Welcome to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law! I’m sure that some kind upper-year students have pointed out to you […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
Québec’s Proposed Charter is one of Intolerance, not of Liberal Values
As debate over the proposed charter of Québec values – which would, inter alia, ban overt religious clothing – continues, let me make one thing […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
Tuition vote “a violation of student trust”
Following three months of fragile progress on the tuition file, Governing Council voted to raise our tuition at a meeting with no input from law […]
Marita ZouravlioffSeptember 25, 2013
Point/Counterpoint: Birge Life – Are We Better Off? Two Idiots Weigh In
Point: Good Riddance, Flavelle Marita Zouravlioff, 2L Stop. Just stop. I think we’ve all had enough whining. You’ve relentlessly complained about the transition space. You’ve […]
Web EditorSeptember 25, 2013
The Sound and the Friendly: One 1L’s Take On His Orientation Week
My first day of Orientation Week, I overheard a table leader – to my ear, quite seriously – ordain that there was to be no […]
Paloma van GrollMarch 27, 2013
Is Publishing Professor Rankings Tacky?
The administration does not love the idea of disseminating information about teacher rankings. While the class evaluations are publicly available in the library, you can […]
Web EditorMarch 27, 2013
Point/Counterpoint: Has UV jumped the shark?
Point: Yes. UV is full of shit. Michael Robert (3L) UV was once a forum for law school gossip, ribaldrous humour (dick jokes) and the occasional […]
Web EditorMarch 27, 2013
Teach Me How to 3L
Dear 2Ls, Your third year of law school is an incredible opportunity and you must not waste it. SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR GRADES AT […]
Web EditorMarch 27, 2013
Dr. 3L: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Law School
Law students like to joke about how little work 3Ls do and how fun their lives are. Well, I have three things to say to […]
Web EditorMarch 27, 2013
This is what law students live for
1. Jobs, Stupid The universe is 14.5 billion years old (or 6000, if you believe in that sort of thing). Some think that during our meaningless lives […]
Kevin SiuMarch 27, 2013
Time to get out of UTSU before this ship sinks
Law students have always been an odd fit with the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU). Talking to our peers around the school, most have […]
Web EditorMarch 27, 2013
Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand
It never did and it never will. The tuition petition may not have produced concrete results, but students’ demands for change have put tuition fees […]
Web EditorFebruary 27, 2013
An Evangelical Law School should have a Place in Canada
In the last issue of Ultra Vires was an article entitled “The Wright Man: An Evangelical Law School Has no Place in Canada” by Louis […]
Web EditorFebruary 27, 2013
Talk Has Just Started: A Dissident’s Views on the Tuition Petition
Over the past month, over 400 hundred students have signed a petition to end annual 8% tuition fee hikes at the University of Toronto Faculty […]
Daanish SamadmotenFebruary 27, 2013
Our Exchange Program Sucks
Two Wednesdays ago I fractured my right index finger and got two stitches in a Law Follies related injury. I found out that I would […]
Web EditorFebruary 27, 2013
Haters gonna hate: Seven misperceptions about the fight to end annual 8 percent tuition fee increases
Notes from the tuition petition whirlwind: since the petition was launched on February 4, it was signed by 400 students and delivered to Dean Duggan. […]
Katherine GeorgiousFebruary 27, 2013
Why You Don’t Have To Take Biz Org (Or Any Course You Don’t Want To Take)
Another plea to get you to be the lawyer you said you’d be on your personal statement This year I didn’t take Business Organizations (or […]
Web EditorFebruary 27, 2013
Give Us More Information Instead: A bigger issue than an excess of tuition is a deficit of information
If UV ink spilled is any indication, a number of U of T Law students think our tuition is too high (or, at the very […]
Paloma van GrollJanuary 30, 2013
1L December Exams Do(n’t) Matter
I don’t think marks are the be all and end all of success in law school. If you know of a job or career path […]
Daanish SamadmotenJanuary 30, 2013
How Your Tuition is Spent: And Why Wacky Left-Wingers Are Right to Question it
I know what you’re thinking: another left-wing nut writing about how tuition fees are too high (no offence intended, fellow left-leaners). Actually, I have serious […]
Web EditorJanuary 30, 2013
Less Muffin, Less Madness: How Crippling Tuition Fees Make the Administration’s Health and Wellness Initiative Seem Hollow
In March 2012, Dean Moran formed the Health and Wellness Student Advisory Committee (HWSAC) in an effort to help students have a healthy and balanced […]
Web EditorJanuary 30, 2013
The Fall Recruitment Process Is Bullshit
To reduce any perception of bias, I’ll start by saying that I’m one of the lucky ones who got a job through the 2012 fall […]
Web EditorJanuary 30, 2013
Talk Has Failed: Act to Stop the Gap between Tuition and Financial Aid
I talked and wrote a lot while I was at U of T about our Law School’s tuition. In retrospect, I’m not so proud of […]
Web EditorJanuary 30, 2013
The Wright Man: An Evangelical Law School Has no Place in Canada
Trinity Western University (TWU) – a private, evangelical Christian university in Langley, British Columbia – has submitted its proposal to open a new law school. […]
Web EditorJanuary 30, 2013
Point/Counterpoint – Online Dating: Yes or Never?
Point Michael Robert (3L) & Robbie Mac (2L) There’s a comedian who has a great bit about a garbage man trying to pick up women on […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
A Bust for Beverley: Reconciling Privilege & Progressivism
Busts have long adorned the halls of the privileged and powerful, serving as mementos of victories by history’s oppressors over the oppressed. In the 19th […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
Top 10 Reasons to Work in New York
In recent years there has been a striking decline in the number of U of T students who recruit at New York law firms. The […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
Under Pressure: OCIs and the Making of a Bay Street Lawyer
The choice of where to work is one of the most important decisions one can make. For many law students, that choice is reduced to […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
U of T Needs a Business Law Clinic
Earlier this year a classmate and co-founder of the Venture Law Society pointed out a serious gap in U of T Law’s pro bono legal […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
Connecting the Articling Crisis and the Access to Justice Crisis
When I first heard about the articling crisis, it perplexed me that a legal system which excludes so many from access to justice could simultaneously […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
Ontario Student Legal Clinics Deny Representation to Men Accused of Domestic Assault
In September of 2012, a memo circulated to local defense attorneys by Community Legal Aid, the student-staffed legal aid clinic affiliated with the University of […]
Paloma van GrollNovember 28, 2012
Seven Problems with Ethics Week
The grumblings about Ethics Week began almost as soon as we found out about it. The general sentiment was that it seemed kind of boring […]
Web EditorNovember 28, 2012
Point/Counterpoint: Are UT Law students as hot as they think they are?
Point Matt Brown According to the 2012 UV Recruitment Survey, the average 2L is about a 7.5 on the universal attractiveness scale. 1/3 of respondents […]
Web EditorOctober 17, 2012
The Wright Man: On which side of the 49th would you rather practice?
Canadians have been comparing themselves to their cousins south of the border for over a century. Americans, for an equal length of time, have been […]
Web EditorOctober 17, 2012
New Building Campaign & the Rise of Private Funding
The New Building Campaign and the Creeping Privatization in the Faculty of Law With Hal Jackman’s $11 million total donation to the Faculty of Law, […]
Web EditorOctober 17, 2012
Point/Counterpoint: What makes for better Pub Night venues – dance clubs or pubs?
UV Poll! [poll id=”2″] POINT: Please don’t stop the Music. Music. Music. On an average Thursday you go to school. You sit down. You talk […]
Web EditorOctober 17, 2012
You owe the firms nothing
Dear 2Ls, The recruitment process is an adversarial process in which you will match wits with professionals who are trained at matching wits with students. […]
Web EditorOctober 17, 2012
Should Law Schools Be Proactive About Mental Health?
Last year, the Toronto Star and the National Post both published articles criticising our new grading scheme. They’re not alone in thinking that this scheme […]
Emily DebonoOctober 17, 2012
Why You Should Do a JD/MBA
We like to think of ourselves as mysterious, and you probably agree, because you have absolutely no idea who we are. We’re never on campus […]
Web EditorSeptember 12, 2012
Bring on The Star
Earlier this year, Assistant Dean Students Alexis Archbold invited students with an interest in furthering health and wellness in the law school community to a […]
Web EditorSeptember 12, 2012
New Grading System Actually Makes Sense
The first thing you need to know about the new grading system is that it is not a cosmetic change. Your As will not become […]
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