jd program guide

8/2/2019 JD Program Guide

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From the DeanA Uvryof oroo, we oer one o the worlds outstanding legaleducations. To be a student at our law school is to join a wonderul community o the

fnest law teachers and scholars, and the most promising law students in Canada.

As Dean, I believe our law school has an important public mandate. Our leadership

position within Canada has enabled us to serve as a national orum or rigorous debate on

domestic policy in a range o dierent contexts. Each year the Faculty is host to a plethora

o conerences, workshops and public lectures that bring together scholars, policy-makers,

jurists and students rom around the globe to examine and comment on complex

social issues.

While our aculty are educating the leaders o tomorrow and our students are engaged

in the learning and community building that they do so well, were also deeply engaged

beyond the University. Our aculty members are regularly called upon to litigate at the

Supreme Court o Canada, drat important new legislation, head commissions o inquiry,

advise countries around the world on the rule o law and constitutional issues, and work

with our governments to produce policy papers with national and international reach

and scope. A legal education at U o T reects our belie that law is a powerul tool or social

change, and that lawyers canand shouldmake a positive dierence in the world.

You are about to embark on a antastic journey. I wish you all the best and hope to see

you at the law school next year.

Mayo Moran (99), Dean

University o Toronto Faculty o Law

2 Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program20122013 University of Toronto Faculty of Law


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University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Profile of 2011-2012 First-Year Cla

195 students

50% women

36% visible minority students, including Aboriginal students

23% with graduate degrees

10% mature students (five or more years of non-academic expe

53% from Ontario universities

31% from universities in other provinces

11% from universities outside of Canada

Experience the camaradeof an academically giftedand engaged student boAS A FACULTYOFLAW STUDENT, you will quickly become

our very special community. You will learn alongside an except

group of the countrys top students who bring a broad and c

set of life experiences to the study of law. Our students are h

educated, extremely diverse and deeply committed to justice a

and around the world. Academically, they are the strongest stbody in the country and they rank among the top in North Am

Students come to our law school with a unique and varied

of racial, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and expe

intellectual interests and political commitments. For a numb

years, women have made up more than 50% of the studen

In the academic year 2011-2012, we have 26 Aboriginal students enrand 36% of the first-year class identifies with a visible minority

The relatively small size of our student body, combined wi

diversity of backgrounds, ages, experiences and ambitions,

distinctive opportunities for the exchange of ideas among studen

between students and faculty, and helps to foster a sense of comat the law school. Ours is a community institutionally commit

intellectual openness and collegiality, where students are con

challenged by new ideas and experiences.

Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program2012


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Learn the law from world-renowned facultyw Ar comm to recruiting and retaining the best academics in the world and delivering the fnest legaleducation possible, one that meets international standards o excellence.

Proessors at the Faculty o Law are leading experts in their felds who regularly shape the most important

policy issues and debates in our society. More than 60 ull-time aculty members and 15 visiting scholars romacross the globe create an intellectually robust and exciting academic environment or the study o law. Internationally

renowned or their research excellence, our aculty members have published many groundbreaking books with

major academic publishing houses. They also regularly publish leading articles in prestigious national and internationaljournals. Their academic textbooks are some o the most widely used texts at law schools across Canada and

worldwide. Our aculty members have earned a number o prestigious prizes, ellowships and other honours,

including several Killam and Connaught awards, two Molson Prizes, and countless book prizes.

U o T law proessors are engaged in traditional legal scholarship and theoretical and inter-disciplinary study.They draw on a range o dierent intellectual perspectives and more than one-third are cross-appointed to other

aculties, departments and centres at the University. Our inter-disciplinary strength and diversity is reected

in many ways: with vibrant academic workshops and lectures sponsored at the law school each year; with the

breadth and innovation o our curriculum; and with the range o our collaborative and combined programs.

Left to right: Proessors Yasmin Dawood,Jutta Brunne and Douglas Sanderson.


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Rosalie Abella (70)Supreme Court o Canada Justice

MytimeattheUniversityoTorontolawschoolfewby,butthewonderulmemoriesdidnt.Itstheplacewherewelearnedthatlawwasevenmoreascinat-ingthanwehadhoped,andthatworking

atitwasevenmoreexhilaratingthanwehadexpected,allenhancedbytheincrediblegenerosityoteachersandcolleagues.Anditsbeenlikethateversincetheascination,exhilarationandgenerosityhaveneverstopped.Thethreeyearsatlawschoolwereallweneededtobepropelled,enthusiastically,intotheproession.Itwasmagic.

Our graduates include a ormer Chie Justice o Canada,

a ormer Chie Justice o Ontario, numerous ederaland provincial court judges, almost hal o the Court

o Appeal or Ontario and several current and ormer

members o the Supreme Court o Canada, including

The Honourable Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella,pictured here, the frst Jewish woman to be appointed

to the Supreme Court.

University of Toronto Faculty of Law Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program2012


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Ideally located in North Americasmost multicultural and diverse cityoUr pycAl locAo provides an exceptional opportunity or studying law inCanadas largest urban centre, an exciting multicultural city o more than 2.5 million

people with a richness and cultural diversity no other city can match. Nestled in the heart

o old Toronto, bordered by the tranquil tree-lined pathways o Philosophers Walk, the

Faculty o Law is just steps away rom the provincial legislature, the Ontario Court o Appeal

and Superior Courts, and the countrys largest legal and fnancial district.

The uniqueness o the U o T experience extends to the charming heritage buildingsand classrooms where you will be studying. Two architecturally beautiul buildings, Flavelle

House and Falconer Hall, house the many classrooms that make up our law school. The

Bora Laskin Law Library, named ater one o the acultys fnest scholars and the ormer

Chie Justice o the Supreme Court o Canada (1973-1984), is a more recent addition to

Flavelle House. It is an outstanding resource or the Facultys students and proessors, with a

team o fve dedicated librarians and more than 270,000 volumes and primary legal materials

rom the major common law countries such as Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Study space

occupies three oors and includes a computer lab and wireless Internet connectivity.


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Change the world: locally, nationally, globallyA fAcUlyof lAw, we believe an outstanding educational institution is one that demonstrates extensivepublic engagement with a broad cross-section o society, and a strong commitment to social responsibility

in local and global communities. As such, public service is a critical component o the Facultys mission and

o every law students legal education.

Clinical Legal Educationowow lAl rvc is the Facultys agship public-interest clinic or low-income clients. Each

year, approximately 200 students rom the Faculty o Law provide important legal services to low-income

clients in Toronto under the supervision o the clinics our lawyers. Students have the opportunity to dratpleadings, develop case strategies, and conduct their own trials, hearings and negotiations in areas such as

criminal law, housing law, reugee law, amily law and university aairs.

The Faculty has three additional clinical programsAdvocates or Injured Workers, the Barbra Schlier

Commemorative Clinic, the Asper Constitutional Advocacy Clinic and the International Human Rights Clinic.

Above: Cara Zacks works a volunteer shit at the Faculty Downtown Legal Services, where law students help low-in

Torontonians with criminal, tenant, amily, reugee or academ

under the supervision o sta lawyers.


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Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS)lAw A UqU three-year academic and extracurricular high school program aimed

at inner-city students who are interested in the law but ace barriers to succeeding in school.

LAWS provides a range o interactive learning experiences that exposes students to legal

issues, the justice system and the legal proession. It assists students to stay engaged inschool, access postsecondary studies and become inormed and engaged citizens.

To deliver its unique programming, LAWS partners with lawyers, judges, justices o the

peace, courts, law frms, legal aid clinics and public interest organizations. Law students

volunteer as ater-school tutors, workshop developers and acilitators, and coaches or

clubs such as debate and mock trial.

Above: High school students celebrate their LAWSgraduation at the Faculty o Law, June 2011


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University of Toronto Faculty of Law Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program2012

Diane Goodman (83)International Human Rights Activist

Deputy Representative,

United Nations High Commissioner or Reugees,

Nepal

Beingintheeldwithreugeewomenandchildrenandseeingtheirresilienceandwhattheycanachieveinthemost

dicultcircumstanceswithabsolutelynothinghasbeenincrediblyinspiring.

Protecting the rights o displaced women and children

has been a lielong calling or Diane Goodman, who

has witnessed brutal human rights violations while

working with the United Nations. Her career has

taken her to countries around the world, including

Sudan, Rwanda, Cambodia and Haiti, to reunite

amilies separated by war, help establish reugee camps

and secure the release o the wrongully imprisoned.


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Number of applicants: 2110

Size of first-year class:195

% of incoming students with graduate degrees: 23

Median LSAT score: 168 (96th %)

Median GPA for best three fulltime years: 86%

Number of student-run journals: 4

% of graduating class who secure articling positions: 90+

# of U of T students who have clerked for the Supreme Court since 2004: 34

$ distributed in financial aid for 2010-11:$2.5 million

J.D. Admission Requirements and ProceduresAdmission RequirementsUndergraduate study

To be considered for admission in 2012-2013, applicants must have completed at least three years of post-secondarystudy no later than the end of May 2012. Almost all of our students have completed a four-year undergraduateuniversity degree.

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)The LSAT must be taken no later than February 2012. For entry in September 2012, LSAT scores taken on or afterthe June 2008 administration of the test will be accepted.

In recent years, successful applicants had a median LSAT score in the 95th percentile and a median cumulativeundergraduate academic record of about 86% (this statistic is based on the best three years of an applicantsundergraduate academic record). Very few applicants are admitted with cumulative undergraduate records

below 80%, and LSAT scores below the 90th percentile, unless their backgrounds, other qualifications, or personalaccomplishments would, in the opinion of the Admissions Committee, contribute significantly to the class.

Admission Procedures

The following documents constitute a complete file and should be submitted directly to the Ontario Law SchoolApplication Service (OLSAS):

kOLSAS application formkOfficial and original copies of all post-secondary academic transcriptskLSAT score reportkPersonal statementkRsum (for mature applicants only)

The deadline for submitting applications for the 2012-2013 program is November 1, 2011.

For a more detailed explanation of our admission policies, requirements and procedures, please see the ProspectiveStudents section of the Faculty of Law website:www.law.utoronto.ca.

University of Toronto Faculty of Law

84 Queens Park, Room 108Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM5S 2C5T/416-978-3716F/[email protected]

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