Episodes
Friday Apr 08, 2022
Friday Apr 08, 2022
Our host William Lundy is joined by Professor Leonid Sirota who is an Associate Professor of Law at Reading University in the UK. Professor Sirota is the founder of the Double Aspect Blog https://doubleaspect.blog/ and has written extensively on administrative and constitutional law issues. In this episode, Professor Sirota discusses the Supreme Court of Canada's 2021 Toronto (City Council) v Ontario decision, arguing that the majority opinion goes too far in holding that constitutional principles can never be used to invalidate legislation.
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
202. Discrimination Against Indigenous Child and Family Services (with David Taylor)
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
In this episode host, Kelley Humber chats with David Taylor, who has spent the last 8 years as counsel of record in the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society complaint at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal about the underfunding of Indigenous child welfare in Canada. Kelley and David discuss the discrimination experienced by Indigenous families who access child and family services on-reserve and in Canada’s implementation of Jordan’s Principle. The pair also discuss some of the more procedural aspects of the case, such as the systemic remedies being asked for and how Human Rights Tribunals function differently than the courts.
David also shares about his journey into public law litigation, his current role at Conway Baxter Wilson LLP, and advice he would give to law students or new lawyers making early career decisions.
The Federal Court decision from 29 September 2021 discussed in this episode can be found here. A more recent Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling from 11 February 2021, which lays out much of the case history and progress on implementing the remedies ordered can be found here.
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Our host William Lundy is joined by Professor Leonid Sirota who is an Associate Professor of Law at Reading University in the UK. Professor Sirota is the founder of the Double Aspect Blog https://doubleaspect.blog/ and has written extensively on administrative and constitutional law issues. In this episode, Professor Sirota discusses the Supreme Court of Canada's 2014 Senate Reference decision, which he argues effectively incorporated certain constitutional conventions into constitutional law.
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
200. Seven Ways of Living with the Law: A 200th Episode Supercut
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
For the Law School Show's 200th episode, we focus on alumni. We reached out to several Univerity of Ottawa law grads to ask them about their stories within the profession, and our responses ranged from articling students to long-time practitioners, inside and outside conventional practice. Over a series of mini-interviews, Kenya-Jade Pinto, Aditya Rao, Helen Berry, Samantha Peters, Wali Ahmad, Jolene Hansell, and Stephanie Wright showed us the places our studies can take us, from international documentary projects to Supreme Court clerkships and beyond. If you've ever been curious about human rights law in a global pandemic, how to get involved in start-ups, the similarities between law and ballet, or just how to find your place in our profession, then you'll find a lot to like in our great big bicentennial.
Thursday Mar 10, 2022
Thursday Mar 10, 2022
The Canadian Bar Association has openly acknowledged a lack of diversity in the legal profession. While provincial law societies have made strides towards an inclusive workplace, the racial composition of the legal profession remains predominantly white. This episode compiles candid conversations with racialized law students and a practitioner who recently completed the formal and informal recruitment process. Join our host, Rayleigh Minhyu Lee, to hear about their experiences, how they approached difficult topics, and advice for law students.
Thank you to Timothy Chan, Jessica Gill, Bianca Knull, José Rafael Caraballo, and Jane Lee (pseudonym) for your time and participation.
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
198. Let’s Talk Pot: Cannabis Law (with Russell Bennett)
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Our host, Shannon Reid, sits down (digitally) with Russell Bennett, expert cannabis lawyer, author, and fellow podcast host, to discuss the implications of legalization, the racist history of prohibition, and what it means to be a cannabis lawyer.
Russell's petition can be found for those interested in supporting expungements to Canadian citizens convicted of offences involving cannabis, pursuant to Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3752.
Russell’s podcast, Cannabis Law in Canada, can be found wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Friday Feb 25, 2022
197. Overcoming the 2L Recruit (with Corey Willard)
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Friday Feb 25, 2022
The 2L recruit can be a very stressful and sometimes even discouraging time for some students. For students who want to work in a large law firm or are dreaming of a specific firm, this podcast reminds students that there is more than one path to becoming a successful lawyer. Our host, Harleen Bhangoo, speaks to Corey Willard, who is now a partner at Gowling WLG. In Corey's 2L recruit, he was unable to secure a position with a law firm. Instead, he spent his summer working and volunteering for various not-for-profit organizations and working at the House of Commons. This episode discusses his perspective on the 2L recruit and provides insight to students who are also struggling with securing a law firm position.
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
196. The Best Interests of the Child (with David Morneau)
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
In this episode, our host Nurulayn Noor speaks to David Morneau, a collaborative family lawyer, regarding the best interests of the child in Canadian family law. Using his extensive experience, David overviews efficient ways to advocate for children using empathy and compassion. He discusses the importance of moving away from an adversarial approach to make the process more amicable for the parties involved, particularly the children. David reminds us of the various ways we can show up as legal professionals for vulnerable clients, such as using a more holistic approach through collaborative family law.
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
195. So you want to practice prison law? A conversation with Jennifer Metcalfe
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
In this episode, Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS), sits down with host Hailey Berge to discuss how Jen’s passion for activism has led to her career in prison law. Join them as they discuss a wide range of topics such as PLS’s mandate, the effect that Covid-19 is having on the prison system, and the evolution of segregation. They wrap up the conversation by giving advice to students who are interested in becoming involved in this area of the law.
Note: this episode was recorded in November 2021. Therefore, reference to Covid-19 policies or other recent events refers to those at the time of recording.
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Join Amos Vang as he interviews Sandrine Mainville, a labour lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais in Montreal, one of Canada’s pioneering Olympic swimmers of the 21st century!
Since starting swimming lessons at the age of 11, Sandrine balanced her Olympic journey with her legal journey. Sandrine has seen it all through ups and downs and triumphs and trials. Through the power of family and friendship, Sandrine persevered, overcame the odds, and helped lead Canada to a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay. In doing so, Sandrine broke a 40-year medal drought in this particular event for Canada alongside Penny Oleksiak, Chantal Van Landeghem, Taylor Ruck, and Michelle Williams (now Michelle Toro). Join Amos and Sandrine as they take a trip back in time through Sandrine’s early days as a swimmer, qualifying for the Olympics and winning an Olympic bronze medal.
Fun Fact: Did you know that Sandrine also took piano lessons for four years BEFORE she started swimming?
This episode is also available on our YouTube channel. To get the full experience, you can watch the YouTube version.