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In my previous article, I discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on law students and on the legal system more broadly. Attending law school remotely is an unprecedented feat, and while it has its benefits (such as the ability to roll out of bed and attend class), it also has its challenges. In this article, I will provide some tips that will hopefully abate some of the difficulties law students are facing. While times are certainly difficult, with some preparation and planning, online law school can be made less daunting.
Thursday, October 22, 2020 @ 2:32 PM
What it’s like to be Black@Blakes | Kyle Elliott
This past summer, the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and too many others have brought to light issues of racial injustice that have long plagued our institutions. At home and abroad, these events have led to protests, policy debates and many difficult conversations about what we can individually and collectively do to combat anti-Black racism. It reminded many that the fight for equality and inclusion is as urgent as ever. ... [read more]
Thursday, October 22, 2020 @ 12:43 PM
Lessons of 1970 | Julius Grey
For a third-year law student that I was, the October Crisis illustrated the reality of the questions of legal philosophy and human rights which until then appeared to be somewhat theoretical. The illustration came in two waves, first the terrorism and then the repression. ... [read more]
Thursday, October 22, 2020 @ 9:52 AM
Feminism’s true ‘she-roes’ | Naomi Sayers
Every year, on Oct. 18 or Persons Day, I sit and wait for all the feminist lawyers to talk about the strides that Canada has made in terms of its equality and equity in treatment of women in Canada. Yet, it is with each year that I am reminded of Canada’s past that does not permit us the space and time to honour the true “she-roes” of Canada’s legal history — all the Indigenous sex workers who have come before us, before me and who continue their fight for recognition of rights as persons under and before the law. ... [read more]
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 @ 2:07 PM
Legal helping hand needed in uncertain times | Meena Ansari
At the top of my law school application, I wrote out the hope of who I wanted to be: “A strong voice for those who have been overlooked by Canadian society.” ... [read more]
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 @ 10:55 AM
Sorkin’s movie reminds us how we got to today | David Israelson
There’s a new Netflix movie called The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and all about a courtroom drama that almost defined the 1960s. It’s great entertainment, has an all-star cast and it’s instructive, focusing on many of the legal and political threads that wove through that turbulent era. ... [read more]
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 @ 9:46 AM
Justice leadership in a pandemic | Maaike de Langen and Trevor Farrow
Hopes that we will swiftly overcome the pandemic may be fading, but the conviction that we need to transform our societies for the better is spreading. Not just the health and economic impacts of the pandemic require recovery, the societal and political consequences call for a profound rethink and — as some are now arguing — a fundamental reset. ... [read more]
Monday, October 19, 2020 @ 2:08 PM
Lawyers, students urge Parliament to protect rights of marginalized | Derek Ross
On Oct. 5, the federal government re-introduced Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). Among other things, this bill would remove the requirement that a person’s death be “reasonably foreseeable” in order to obtain a physician's assistance to end their life. ... [read more]
Monday, October 19, 2020 @ 11:43 AM
Dangers of library science denial | Joan Rataic-Lang
They warned us when I was studying for my master’s degree in library and information studies that libraries are always the first to suffer when budgets are cut. We were told to always be prepared to justify our existence. ... [read more]
Friday, October 16, 2020 @ 12:32 PM
Juries: Trick or treat? | Marcel Strigberger
Juries first scared me at the age of 9. How?
I grew up in Montreal, the son of immigrants from Belgium. One day my late father, a humble tailor, received a letter with an impressive-looking logo of the scales of justice.
My dad, whose literary skills did not approximate his ability to alter a fine pair of trousers, asked me to read and translate it. I noticed the word “jury,” whatever that meant. I suspected it had nothing to do with hockey. ... [read more]
Friday, October 16, 2020 @ 9:21 AM
Jessop file: It is never too late to correct a wrong | Bhavan Sodhi
Two hundred and 10 years is a long time. Comparatively, 210 years ago was 57 years before the confederation of what is now Canada; it was more than a century before both world wars; 172 years before the introduction of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and it is a duration spanning over 28 different Canadian prime ministers. Two hundred and 10 is also the total number of years that 23 Canadians have collectively spent in prison for crimes they did not commit. ... [read more]
