Talking Rights & Freedoms with the CCLA’s Michael Bryant Walk five minutes east from Eglinton subway station past city arteries exposed by crazed LRT construction and take a left at the lights. Nine floors up, you’ll find seven people in seven offices working carefully and conscientiously to protect rights and freedoms that most of us probably take for granted. Those seven people – five...
A few of the albums that defined 2019, in a non-exhaustive, unranked list Vampire Weekend – Father of the Bride Having completed a trilogy of sorts with the release of Modern Vampires of the City in 2013, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig confessed to needing a break from music. Amongst other things, Koenig wrote an animated show for Netflix called Neo Yokio that starred Jaden Smith and Jude Law...
Over the holiday break I had the unique pleasure of reviving a long-dead friendship. My friend and his family live an hour north of Toronto in a cozy, quaint town. Our interactions evolved in the natural way: beginning with typical, childish generalities before maturing and taking on an idiosyncratic friendship replete with ridiculous noise-gags and inside jokes. There was no predicting the...
Protests against CAA/NRC and lessons from Modi’s India When India gained independence from her British oppressors in 1947, she vowed to remain secular, in contrast to neighbouring Pakistan, who chose to be a theocratic state. On December 12, 2019, India’s long-standing and cherished ideal of being a secular state suffered a massive blow when the Narendra Modi-led government passed the Citizenship...
How Ontario’s new legal aid bill will impact Parkdale Last June, the province of Ontario implemented its funding cuts to Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), impacting different sectors of the legal community. LAO provides funding to over 73 community legal clinics; one of them being Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS). Ontario cut LAO’s budget by $133 million in 2019 and had planned to further...
Tireless advocate rose awareness on anti-trans violence in Toronto The Osgoode community remembers and mourns for Julie Berman, 51, a transgender rights advocate in Toronto who was tragically assaulted and killed on December 27th, 2019. Berman is remembered as a fierce and tireless advocate and trans-rights activist who spent over thirty years raising awareness of anti-trans violence in...
Hello Osgoode! Grades release is a tumultuous time for students for a whole host of reasons. Whether you are deciding on what to do with your summer, choosing whether to do the 1L recruit, or wondering about clerkships to clinics, OPSC wanted to remind you that we’re here to help you navigate all of that no matter where your grades are. We’ll be sharing stories from alumni throughout...
What the courts of equity have to say about Taylor Swift’s contract dispute with Big Machine Records Welcome to Nashville Taylor Swift is one of the most powerful musicians in the world. In 2019, Forbes estimated the country starlet turned popstar boasted a net worth of approximately $360 million. On social media, Taylor holds an impressive 123 million followers on Instagram. Yet, a...
What HBO’s Watchmen can tell us about the relationship between law and justice. In the fall television season, HBO debuted their newest series Watchmen to great critical and consumer praise. The show is a continuation of the story depicted in the Alan Moore series of comics which ran in 1987 also titled “Watchmen.” The story of Watchmen — like its comic source material — takes place in an...
The view expressed herein reflect the view of the author, and does not reflect the opinion of Obiter or its Editorial Board. Obiter Dicta stands for freedom of expression, and commits to reflecting in its print editions the variety of viewpoints submitted for publication. We always welcome student feedback, whether we agree with it or not. This is one such viewpoint. Against the backdrop of the...
HELL—Earlier today the price of a human soul has plummeted to a record low when Osgoode student April Smith sold her soul for a B+ in Dale Lastman’s Securities class. For many in the 9 circles of Hell, this is proof of a robust economy and is encouraging others to take advantage of the situation. “You know, a decade ago, only the highest lords of Hell could afford purchasing an eternal slave, the...
Forecasting the outcome of Football’s Final Four AFC Championship — #6 Tennessee Titans vs. #2 Kansas City Chiefs Tennessee Titans The Titans are the surprise story of the playoffs. First, they sent the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots packing early with a 20-13 victory in Foxboro — the first time in nine seasons where the Patriots will not be in the AFC Championship. Then...
Reflecting on how each of the seven Canadian NHL teams have fared so far in the roller coaster that is the 2019-20 season As we hit the mid-season mark for the NHL, it’s time again to review our Canadian teams to see how they’ve done thus far. It’s also time to review my pre-season thoughts and note how inexplicably wrong I was. Montreal “Kovalchuk” Canadiens The Habs have had an interesting...
The 2020 Law Games transformed into a breakout campaign for Osgoode Earlier this month, 44 of Osgoode Hall’s finest descended upon Montreal for the 2020 Law Games hosted by the Université de Montréal. Over 5 days, the Osgoode Law Games team competed against 17 other law schools across Canada in a multitude of sports ranging from volleyball to capture the flag to inner tube water polo. Your...
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...
An Interview with Uriel, from lawstudents.ca Introduction If you were to take a Facebook comment thread, anonymize the users, narrow the subject matter, adopt in-group acronyms, outdate the web design, and convince the users they could improve their prospects of university acceptance or a job by posting vigorously, then you would have something resembling lawstudents.ca. How did the site become...
If You Don’t Like What We Have To Say, Why Don’t You Write Why & Attach Your Name to It?
Why do it? Why shouldn’t you? Last year around this time, it was all anyone could talk about. Are you applying, where to, what are your grades like, do you think you want to do corporate law, etc. Everyone has an understandable and deep personal desire to be the best, to stand out from their peers, and send a message that their choice to go to law school was the right one...
On January 3rd, 2018, I went to visit a friend, Simon, at North York General Hospital. We met in high school at De La Salle College (‘Del’), where he was a year behind me. Simon had beaten cancer once, before coming to Del. I spoke to him over the summer, when his osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, was back. This time, he said it was terminal. I started law school in September. I...
A few great pieces of cinema from a year full of them 2019 was a wondrous year for film. The following list is meant to highlight a few of my favourites rather than be an exhaustive one. Uncut Gems is obviously one of the best of the year, but a review will come in the following issue. Little Women Fresh off the success of Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig continues her burgeoning directorial career...
It is a new year and time for a fresh start! On behalf of the Osgoode Women’s Network (OWN) Executive Committee, we wish to give you a few pieces of advice to kickstart this new year: Remember that balance is key. Try not to forget about your friends, family, and the hobbies that you love. Taking the time to recharge will only benefit you.Reach out if you need help! Whether it’s connecting with...
Industry, regulation, and lawyering Every time you are using your phone to pay, check a bank statement online or transfer money through an app, you are using FinTech. Short for “financial technology”, FinTech includes any innovation and automation in the use of financial services. The technology helps business owners, companies, and consumers to better manage their finances by...
Upper year advice for applications, interviews, and morale In the annual law school life cycle, January marks the beginning of the 1L summer frenzy for Osgoode students looking to find work. While the east coast and the Ottawa intellectual property recruits for 1L happened in first semester, the beginning of this semester is when students begin applying for other opportunities, mostly in...
Initial Public Offerings are arguably one of the most exciting times for both investors and the firm itself. The step of bringing a company public is an incredible milestone, allowing businesses to access what is likely the largest pool of capital available to grow and expand. The year 2019 had no shortage of IPO drama, with several tech unicorns––a unicorn being a privately held company worth at...
A Note from the Editor in Chief: We are pleased to welcome Priyanka Sharma to Obiter’s Editorial Board, as our News Editor. Her previous experience with campus newspapers, and her enthusiasm for student journalism will make her an excellent addition to our team. What is news writing? For the Obiter, it’s many things. It means reporting on the impact of legal aid cuts to the Parkdale...