The recent terror attacks in France have, apparently, opened the floodgates for opinions from both sides of the political spectrum on the values and risks of freedom of speech. Across countries and continents, Twitter trolls and Facebook stalkers alike have begun to self-identify as either a French cartoonist, or not-a-French-cartoonist. I find the whole exercise extremely unnerving given the...
I came across a story this weekend that struck me on a personal level for several unexpected reasons. The story began with a real estate listing, a semi-attached commercial space at 716 Gerrard Street East, listed for $539,000. I didn’t know the building, nor was I familiar with the area, but it was the subject of the story, the late resident of the space, that drew my attention. From the early...
It’s not about Jian Ghomeshi; it’s more about us. Chris Brown, War Machine, Ray Rice, and now, the most recent addition to such a disgraceful list, Jian Ghomeshi. It seems somewhat horrifying to acknowledge the increasing number of celebrity scandals involving physical abuse that have taken the spotlight within the past several months. What is it about these stories that seem to draw our...
Because candy My relationship with Halloween is complicated. I like to compare it to eating half a pound of gummy bears in one sitting, or attempting the cinnamon challenge. They may seem like great ideas, but once I start to follow through on them, I abruptly regret my actions. Halloween should come together so much better than it does. Prima facie, the combination of candy, adorable children in...
5 Follow-Up Tips After the First Date For those of you who recently participated in the legal dog and pony show that we like to call “OCIs,” I extend a tip of the hat to you all for such a dedicated effort toward your future careers – however masochistic it might be. One can only hope now that the summer months spent personalizing those cover letters with a level of detail that would make a...
How I turned an idea, a passion, and four months of free time into a business. This summer, I decided to dedicate my time to building a legal information website. I made this decision without any particular affinity for web development, or any real business or legal experience to guide me. The decision had something to do with the weak job market, my lack of confidence in my professional...
I don’t take advice well. I think I’m naturally mistrustful of the presumptuous, despite being very presumptuous myself. When people give me well-intentioned guidance, I usually disregard it. Thus, I have no expectation that any of you will consider the following seriously. In fact, I’ve never expected anyone to agree with anything I wrote here (there’s a special circle of hell for those that...
Though this issue of the Obiter hits stands (or MacBook screens) two weeks after the finale of the most explosive depressing season of The Bachelor, your EICs were so struck by the similarity between us law students and Clare Crawley that we decided to forego timeliness ever so slightly in aim of expounding this cautionary tale of love, rejection, and self-delusion. For those of you who have been...
This week’s theme is “Go Green.” Environmental law and related practice areas are extremely important to Osgoode, to Canada, and to the world. Just ask Al Gore. Unfortunately, at least one editor-in-chief of our esteemed editorial board knows nothing about environmental law, other than its incredible magnitude on our future. However, this editor does know something about going green. I’ll leave...
Dear Obiter: Osgoode is set to compete this week in the International Law Student Mediation Tournament in Chicago. As a member of one of Osgoode’s teams, I received an email from Loyola University providing me with a few tips for my anticipated journey. They advised that “[i]n an effort to be eco-friendly[,] water facilities are available at Loyola,” and that “water...
Dear Obiter: In November 2013, a Black female law student at Osgoode Hall Law School was racially profiled while studying in the Osgoode Hall Library. The student was asked by an Osgoode staff person to provide identification because “she did not look like an Osgoode student.” The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at Osgoode is deeply concerned about incidents of racial profiling and...
Dear Editors, I recently became aware of the passing late last year of former Osgoode Hall Law School professor Michael Mandel. Many of the hagiographic obituaries, such as that in the Canadian Lawyer Magazine, portrayed one element of his impact on legal education at Canada’s largest law school. I attended Osgoode in the mid-1980s and had a different perspective on the quality of education...
There has been a lot of ink spilled over the fresh demise of Heenan Blaikie LLP. The legal landscape of downtown Toronto has been recently altered, as a well-known and prestigious mid-size firm unraveled before our very eyes. Every agonizing blow narrated, almost in real-time, by newspapers and legal blogs across Canada. For many of us in law school, this is the first time that we have borne...
AS THE winter weeks drudge on – somewhat confusingly, might we add, what with a polar vortex and spring-weather preview within the span of a week – your friendly neighborhood EICs are feeling thankful to have found respite from the January blues in all the usual places. And what might those be, you ask? Have we joined the New Year’s resolution train and gone on a health kick? No. Do we suddenly...
In late November, the Obiter Dicta ran a seemingly light and playful article on how Osgoode students could hide any extra pounds gained in the winter months. The article detailed how bold colours, structured tops, and “make up enhancers” could create a slimmer look. While these recommendations may aim to help individuals gain greater self-esteem in their appearance, they also have the effect of...
Maybe that’s an overstatement. There are lots of good things about Christmas, especially since I moved away from home six years ago. Free from the burdens of exam season, I return to my parents’ home and relax. Every year, it’s the first time in months that I’ve had nothing to do and nowhere to be. I spend the time preparing baked goods, reading books, watching movies, and, more recently...
As the year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on past misgivings. Sadly, I had done nothing of importance to be considered for the Top 20 Under Twenty before I turned 20 myself. In response, I wrote this lamentation: Due to the unfortunate condition that will be imposed on me in a moment’s time, and the utter urgency for me to perform some magnanimous action, I have decided to compose this...
On October 27, 2013, the Osgoode community experienced the significant and tragic loss of an alum and cherished professor, Michael Mandel.
Many students received an email from the Dean, twitter and facebook headlines soon followed. Within hours, the Osgoode community reacted. Lawyers, academics, alumni and current students began to express their feelings of loss across various outlets.
Sam Michaels gets right down to work this week on the page opposite, taking three Senators to task for their well-publicized abuse of reimbursement privileges, and Senator Wallin in particular for her lawyer’s subsequent lack of tact in comments he made about a Senate motion that would suspend Wallin’s privileges of office. Michaels, in the best sort of Obiter Dicta way, exemplifies the public...
It’s no secret that trudging through the more stressful and overwhelming times in our lives can encourage escapism, day-dreaming and basically anything other than attending to the things that need to be attended to. Case in point: readings, no; falling down the rabbit hole of endlessly Googling corgi pictures, yes. It is in this spirit that we feel particularly inclined to regale you with musings...
KYLIE THOMAS
<Contributor>
I intend to be as polite as possible in responding to your incredibly discourteous email you felt the need to forward to the entire class.
The importance of making a great first impression is one of those truths about the job interview that is so renowned, it has become a cliché. There is a significant amount of pressure placed on those first critical seconds of a new encounter or interview that supposedly define your relationship going forward.
Welcome back Osgoode. The hallowed halls of Osgoode are alight again with the beaming faces of fresh faced first years and their much wiser and more weathered second and third year counterparts.
The fight for gay rights in Canada has been a long and difficult one, but it is undeniable that the seeds of this struggle have successfully blossomed into the fruits of increased social acceptance and legal equality. Unfortunately, it is simultaneously undeniable that while gays and lesbians may have accomplished formal equality before the law, significant strides still remain to be made with...
EVAN VELLA
<Letter Writer>
I have been dismayed by this publication’s policy of publishing anonymous opinion pieces.