Volume 94
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Reviving your creative self
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Law school is replete with creatives. From STEM to PHLEGMs, any ordinary person walking down Gowlings Hall on a busy weekday will come across at least five different kinds of students, each of whom comes from a different field in their pre-law life. This diversity is what makes us unique. Our past experiences are often the fires that fuel our desire to enter the legal profession in the first...
Fifty years of hip-hop at the Grammys
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Complicated feelings about an important celebration The 2023 Grammys were a mishmash of the heartfelt (Kim Petras giving the late, pioneering SOPHIE their flowers), the predictable (“Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” winning Rap Album of the Year), and the shocking (Bonnie Rait!). However, the singular moment that towers over the flashiest of Harry Styles’ fits was the celebration of hip-hop’s...
Super Bowl LVII preview
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Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles kicks off on Sunday, 12 February, as one of the most anticipated events of the year. With a halftime performance by Rihanna and two MVP-caliber quarterbacks, this year’s Super Bowl will surely not disappoint. In this preview, we take a deep dive into what we expect will happen and who will ultimately host the Vince Lombardi...
Nothing was the same: Since migrating to Zoom, our Osgoode experience has changed significantly, but the sense of community remains
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A certified lover boy once titled an album “nothing was the same.” If I were to look for a phrase to dub what life at Osgoode has felt like since March 2020, I might reach for that one. While no doubt a pithy problem in comparison to larger ones the pandemic has presented, the loss of the Osgoode community my 3L peers came to know in our time on campus has been a tough pill to swallow...
Dear 1Ls
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Dear 1Ls, This one’s mostly for you. You’re about to get your first round of law school grades back, and you’re probably not feeling great about that. You may find some surprises, and it might set the tone for the rest of the term regardless of whether you’re happy with your results or not. It’s a hard time for students every year, but you’re going...
Genetic Technology: A Blessing or Curse?
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Osgoode Health Law Association: Perspectives in Health Completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 ushered in a new era of genetic technology that offered significant promise of scientific advancement in the areas of medicine, life sciences and biotechnology. However, along with the potential for benefits also came serious concerns about the improper retrieval, storage and utilization of...
Osgoode and the Picket Line: What does the strike mean for law students?
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Written by the Osgoode Strike Support Committee As of March 5, our campus is on strike. Members of CUPE 3903 voted overwhelmingly to reject the offer presented at the end of last week, and regrettably, York declined the union’s offer to continue bargaining over the weekend. While all indications are that the university administration is attempting to maintain academic activities, the reality is...
Racism at Osgoode: Graffiti and Vandalism
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In or around January 30-31, two posters that were part of a display created by the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) for Black History Month were defaced. Specifically, the eyes of the people in the posters were scratched out. Osgoode students received an email from Dean Sossin late on January 31 explaining what had happened. The BLSA released a statement on February 1 that is...
FORMER OLYMPIAN GETS THIRTEEN YEARS
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South African Court of Appeal Doubles Oscar Pistorius’ Prison Sentence Recently, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa increased Oscar Pistorius’ prison sentence to thirteen years and five months for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Known to many as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, Pistorius captured the hearts and minds of...
Osgoode Health Law Association: Perspectives in Health
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Canada’s Fight Against Fentanyl: Will 2018 bring an end in sight? Canada is currently facing an epidemic of opioid dependency, involving both prescribed and illegal forms of the narcotic substance that, in recent years, has led to an increase in fatal overdoses. This epidemic may ultimately stem from prescribing methods practiced by North American doctors and the dangerous addictive nature of...
Your House for Sale? The McInnis v McInnis Story
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Do you always have the final say when you sell your home? Don’t be so sure. The recent 2017 decision in McInnis v McInnis (2017) reminds us all that the court can order the sale of a matrimonial home during a divorce proceeding, even if one of the parties contests such an action. For all you married or separating homeowners, this is worth reading. The McInnises were married in 1979 and separated...
Writing the Bar
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What Third Years Need to Know About Taking the Bar Exams In a word, nothing. Seriously. There isn’t a lot of talk about the bar exam during law school, which seems strange, because isn’t that what it’s all about? To be a lawyer, you have to pass the bar, and you go to law school in order to become a lawyer, so you’d think there’d be some overlap, but that’s not the case. The processes are...
What do Legal Entrepreneurs Do?
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A Reflection on LEO’s Den: A Career Panel of Roaring Proportions I will begin with a disclaimer: I am by no means a successful entrepreneur. At the very most, I am an ex-lemonade hustler with a knack for pocket change profits. I do not know how to run a business, and, aside form zippy lemonade, I have never monetized my ideas or creations. I once met with a colleague, a lawyer with all the grey...
North Korean Defector Visits Osgoode
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Bio: Trevor J. Fairlie is the Director of Policy on the HanVoice Development Committee, and is the President of HanVoice’s York Chapter. He is a 2L Osgoode student and the Vice Chair of Student Caucus. On Tuesday, October 17th, Osgoode hosted Ellie Cha, a North Korean defector who now studies in South Korea. Ellie came to York University as part of the HanVoice Pioneers Program, which hosts a...
Presenting the New Alumni Support Program
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The Osgoode Peer Support Centre (OPSC) sat down with Darryl Singer (’91), creator of the Alumni Support Program, to discuss this initiative which seeks to connect students facing wellness crises with legal professionals who have gone through similar experiences. This program was inspired by the Member Assistance Program and is a collaborative effort between the Osgoode Alumni Association and...
REWRITING NAFTA
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Negotiations Underway to Overhaul Free Trade in North America The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a longstanding trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, is being renegotiated. Enacted in 1994, NAFTA was introduced to facilitate greater economic activity between the signatories through the elimination of tariffs on agricultural and manufacturing goods, removal...
Hugh Hefner and Not Growing Up
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Hugh Hefner died on 27 September 2017, at the age of 91. It seemingly took all of five minutes for people to start arguing over whether he was a progressive icon or a glorified sleaze merchant. As a prospective lawyer, I naturally spent far too much time trying to explain to several people that the truth is somewhere between those two extremes. It was honestly surprising to see the magnitude of...
What’s Next for Syria
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I and the public know, What every school child has to learn, He who has evil done to him, Will do evil in return. H. Auden, 1939 In exchange for six years, five-hundred thousand lives, and the destruction of all things agreeable, Syria has secured its own immolation. The first protests in March 2011, which later turned into armed opposition, were intended to lighten the yoke of...
Being a Lawyer is No Joke
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Nor is it a Gold Mine I recently had one of those experiences that always gets me lathered up for a fight: someone told a lawyer joke. Lawyer jokes really piss me off, especially the ones about killing lawyers or comparing them to slugs and slime. I take them personally. After all, I left the law after only nine years of practice because it was physically exhausting, emotionally gruelling, and...
Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) Offering 141 Placements for Osgoode Students
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Osgoode has long been a leader in experiential education. Administration, Faculty, and student leaders understand that it is critically important for students to gain the competencies and skills they need for the practice of law during their time at law school. Today, Osgoode offers a wide array of opportunities for students to hone their legal skills during their studies while also addressing...
Osgoode Health Law Association: Perspectives in Health
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A Lawyer’s Contribution to Scientific Research: The Link Between Universal Human Rights and Studying Healthcare Healthcare in Canada is a public concern, governed by acts, statutes, and regulations. Canadians value healthcare as a fundamental human right, as reflected by the sentiments of the Canadian Health Act (CHA) with the promise of facilitating reasonable access to health services...
Disruption in Legal Services Delivery – Tips and Tricks for What’s Ahead
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In March 2017, I had the pleasure of attending the Disruption in Legal Services Delivery: What Students and New Lawyers Need to Know program held by Osgoode Professional Development and Queen’s Faculty of Law. The evening provided JD students, articling students and new associates with fresh perspectives, insights and tips on current trends in the legal profession through four informative...
Small Claims Court Judges to Receive Training On Illegal Interest Rates
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Desperate borrowers were paying 59.99% interest to local lender, but actuaries found the “true” interest rate in high risk lending can often be much higher After a Toronto Star investigation last October into a series of judgements against people in debt to private lenders, it was announced today that judges of the Small Claims Courts of Ontario will receive training in how to effectively...
Using Culture to Get Your Foot Through the (Firm) Doors
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A Message from the Canadian-Italian Association of Osgoode (CIAO) by Rocco Scocco and Alessandro Perri Networking. Some people may love it, others may not. But whether you’re an energetic social butterfly or an introverted genius, building relationships within the legal profession can be just as essential as spending hours pouring over those course summaries to get that coveted A...