Journal des étudiant-e-s en droit de l’université McGill

Published by the McGill Law Students’ Association

Volume 37, no 327 Octobre 2015| October 27, 2015

QUID NOVI

QUID NOVI

Journal des étudiant-e-s en droit de l’université McGill

McGill Law’s Weekly Student Newspaper

Volume 37, no327 Octobre 2015| October 27, 2015

QUID NOVI3644 Peel Street

Montréal, Québec H2A 1X1

quid.law@mcgill.cahttp://quid.mcgill.ca/

http://www.quidnovi.ca

EDITORS IN CHIEFHyacinthe HuguetNathan CudicioAlexa Franczak

LAYOUT EDITORSPeggy GiordanoMarie-Pier GauthierChen Yu

ASSOCIATE REVIEWERSKaishan HeLindsay LittleElspeth McMurrayShy ShalevAndrew StuartKayla Tink

COLUMNISTSCharles DaoustHyacinthe HuguetLindsay LittleSuzanne Zaccour

The Quid Novi is published weekly by the students of the Faculty of Law at McGill University. Production is made possible through the direct support of students. All contents copy-right 2015 Quid Novi. Les opinions exprimées sont propres aux auteurs et ne réflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’équipe du Quid Novi. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the McGill Law Students’ Association or of McGill University.

What’S iNSide ?QueL eSt Le coNteNu ?ÉDITO: 3PrOjeT De SeNSIbIlISATION A UNe eDUCATION NON SeXISTe 4GETTING cALLED TO ThE (GrANOLA) bAr 5PrO-bONO, A SyMPTOM 6PUT YOUr STUDIeS FIrST 8PEEr-TO-PEEr PErSPEcTIvES 9STUDENT-rUN cLINIc FOr STArTUPS TEAMS UP wITh DENTONS 10 IF yOU’rE TOO bUSy TO rEAD ThIS 11

WaNt to taLk ?tu veux t’expriMer ?

Envoyez vos commentaires ou articles avant jeudi 17h à l’adresse : quid.law@mcgill.ca

Toute contribution doit indiquer le nom de l’auteur, son année d’étude ainsi qu’un titre pour l’article. L’article ne sera publié qu’à la discrétion du comité de rédaction, qui basera sa décision sur la politique de rédaction.

contributions should preferably be submitted as a .doc attachment (and not, for instance, a “.docx.”).

Quid Novi is published by the McGill Law Students' Association, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the McGill Law Students' Association and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University.

HYACINTHEHUGUET FIAT lUX

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 3

co-editor-in-chief

L’université a récemment déposé un rapport sur le projet de rénovation du complexe rassemblant les bibliothèques McLen-nan et redpath intitulé : « Fiat Lux, que la lumière soit ». cette initiative vient s’inscrire dans la lignée des projets de réfection visant à moderniser et à agrandir certaines des infrastructures de l’université. Le projet de rénovation de McLennan-redpath témoigne non seulement des efforts mis en place pour combler le manque d’espace à McGill, mais semble également proposer une vision novatrice des espaces affectés à l’étude et à la recher-che. En ce sens, ce projet confirme qu’il est impératif de repen-ser le modèle actuel de bibliothèque à McGill.

L’attractivité des espaces de travail au sein de la bibliothèque doit être revue en considérant les nouvelles méthodes de travail préconisées par les étudiants de manière à promouvoir une vie intellectuelle collégiale dans une atmosphère stimulante. La configuration actuelle des bibliothèques n’invite guère à la coopération entre étudiants et à l’intégration de la technologie dans les méthodes de travail. Au contraire, les locaux semblent être conçus pour un travail monastique, centré sur l’utilisation de ressources papier. cet arrangement spatial semble refléter une idée désuète du labeur estudiantin et du rapport entre l’élève et l’information. En effet, si certains étages de McLen-nan permettent à présent aux étudiants de parler entre eux – ils ont été dézonés pour ainsi dire – la plus grande partie de l’espace sur l’ensemble des bibliothèques à McGill demeurent inhospitalier aux étudiants souhaitant s’entretenir à voix haute, utiliser un projecteur lors d’une rencontre en équipe ou pour une vidéoconférence ou encore manger dans l’espace qu’ils oc-cupent parfois durant de longues heures. cette inadéquation des espaces mis en place à la disposition des élèves explique peut-être l’exode de ceux-ci vers les cafés et les lieux de l’université où conversation et collation ne sont pas prohibées. À cet égard, le projet de rénovation du complexe McLennan-redpath semble accorder une prépondérance à l’interaction entre étudiants et à leurs modes d’utilisation des ressources physiques et numé-riques. Le projet prévoit notamment la construction d’un grand atrium pouvant abriter des zones de travail communes. De façon générale, la vision mise de l’avant dans le rapport témoigne d’un désir d’ouvrir l’espace et d’y laisser pénétrer un usage grandis-sant de moyens technologiques et de la nécessité d’agrandir l’espace réservé aux étudiants en réduisant proportionnellement celui étant occupé par les ressources papier. cette idée corres-pond pour beaucoup à une désacralisation du livre, d’autant plus profane qu’on envisage de la perpétrer dans un temple du savoir écrit, s’effectuant au bénéfice des technologies de l’information et au détriment du travail universitaire construit sur la recherche et l’acquisition de connaissances.

Pourtant, sur ce point, le rapport est sans équivoque : il suggère une réduction de moitié de la superficie utilisée pour l’étalage des ressources papier et une augmentation correspondante du nombre de places assises réservées aux étudiants. cette recon-figuration vise bien sûr à pallier le manque de places assises par rapport au nombre total d’inscrits. Sur ce plan, McGill affiche des statistiques inquiétantes en comparaison d’autres universités de la même trempe. Il ne fait aucun doute que les constats du déclin de l’utilisation des ouvrages papier et de la montée en popularité des ressources électroniques ont motivé cette recom-mandation. En effet, l’actuelle circulation des livres ne justifie plus une configuration de la bibliothèque où ceux-ci occupent la majeure partie de l’espace. Le rapport avance que 40 % de la collection papier de McGill n’a pas été mise en circulation depuis 20 ans ! De ce point de vue, la logique d’un plan troquant des étalages pour des pupitres ne peut être remise en cause. cette position ne commande bien évidemment pas un rejet en bloc de l’utilisation des ouvrages papier. En revanche, elle s’appuie sur les changements d’habitudes de travail du corps étudiant dont la dynamique doit impérativement guider la façon dont il se doit d’être desservi au sein de la bibliothèque. Par ailleurs, la collection d’ouvrages papier de l’université demeurerait à la disposition des étudiants puisque la première phase du projet de réfection de la bibliothèque consiste en la construction d’un système d’entreposage sous-terrain capable de contenir les livres qui auront été retirés des rayons. Il est facile de succomber à une conception romantique de la bibliothèque comme un lieu du savoir où le foisonnement des idées trouve écho dans des couloirs de livres et acquiert comme une texture intellectuelle au bruit des pages et à l’odeur du papier. Toutefois, il convient de faire preuve d’un certain sens pratique lorsqu’on doit composer avec une superficie restreinte et un nombre d’usagers grandis-sant.

En somme, il appert que la configuration actuelle des bib-liothèques ne répond pas adéquatement aux besoins de la population étudiante et que, pour cette raison, il est souhait-able de repenser le modèle actuel de bibliothèque à McGill et notamment d’accorder plus d’espace d’étude rendant possible l’interaction entre étudiants tout en relocalisant une grande partie des ressources papiers de façon à maximiser le nombre de places assises.

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 4

cet article s’adresse tant à nos camarades étudiant.e.s qu’à nos professeur.e.s. Nous désirons vous y présenter un enjeu dont nous discuterons tout au long de cette année scolaire : l’enseignement inclusif. Le projet pour un enseignement non sexiste est né l’an passé, à la suite des discussions entre plusieurs étudiantes sur certains aspects de l’enseignement qu’elles rece-vaient et qui les mettait mal à l’aise. certaines en avaient assez des listes de lecture presque exclusivement masculines, d’autres n’arrivaient pas à participer aux discussions en classe autant qu’elles le souhaitaient, d’autres encore constataient des mises en situation genrées, voire sexistes, dans les fact patterns. À la suite de ces discussions informelles, des étudiantes du collectif féministe ont recueilli plus largement ces témoignages, recher-ché les meilleurs pratiques en matière d’enseignement inclusif et rédigé un Guide pour un enseignement non sexiste à la faculté de droit de McGill. Durant l’année 2014-2015, des discussions ont été tenues à travers la faculté afin de partager nos préoccu-pations et de recueillir des commentaires des étudiantes, des professeur.e.s, de l’administration et des organes représentatifs, le tout dans le but de perfectionner le Guide. cette année, nous souhaitons poursuivre ces démarches avec l’objectif de:

1. Sensibiliser la population étudiante et le corps professoral aux biais sexistes dans l’enseignement et aux pratiques d’inclusion dans l’éducation

2. recueillir le soutien de l’AED/LSA et du conseil facultaire pour qu’un groupe de travail soit créé afin de favoriser l’implémentation des mesures d’inclusion dans l’éducation

3. continuer à recueillir des exemples de meilleures pratiques et de pratiques problématiques en vue de la publication du Guide d’enseignement non sexiste à l’hiver 2015.

Évidemment, nous sommes tout à fait conscientes des efforts que notre faculté fait déjà pour favoriser une approche multidimensionnelle à l’éducation légale. En ce sens, certain.e.s professeur.e.s ont déjà réalisé une réflexion sur leurs méthodes pédagogiques et même, dans plusieurs cas, appliquent des mesures qui favorisent l’égalité en classe. Or, il est essentiel de poursuivre sur cette lancée vers un enseignement encore plus inclusif qui non seulement bonifiera la qualité de l’enseignement dispensé par McGill, mais qui contribuera aussi à la création d’un environnement sain et propice à l’épanouissement personnel et académique de tout.e.s les étudiant.e.s. À cette fin, nous publierons chaque semaine, dans votre hebdomadaire favori, une présentation détaillée d’une des dix mesures pour un enseignement plus inclusif que nous proposons. Nou espérons ainsi démystifier les pratiques quo-

tidiennes d’égalité, encourager les professeur.e.s à considérer certains changements et inviter les étudiant.e.s à discuter des enjeux présentés avec leurs enseignant.e.s N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour plus d’information sur le projet ou pour vous impliquer dans celui-ci. La première étape sera d’assister à l’assemblée générale de l’AED pour voter en faveur de la résolution que nous y présenterons!

FrANCEsCA FrANCoEUr

&sUzANNEzACCoUr

Projet de sensibilisation à une éducation non sexiste:Introduction

Law i & Law ii

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 5

Okay, slight exaggeration… I think most of us saw the sun over Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was incredible! I hope that everyone had the chance to get out into the beautiful fall colours, feel the (warm!) wind, eat copious amounts of turkey, and nap it off instead of studying for those midterms (optional or otherwise). Now those assignments are fast approaching for many, and time to cook is non-existent.

Free coffeehouses and turkey leftovers can only get you so far though, folks! The key to performing well on a midterm is having a good breakfast beforehand (and maybe some studying, but I can’t help you with that).

but what if you don’t have time to cook? Then these are perfect! Make these, eat these, and increase your chances of mid-term suc-cess… and by reasonable inference, increase your chances of getting called to the (granola) bar.

INGREDIENTS1½ cups rolled oats

½ cup shredded coconut

¼ cup flax seed (optional)

2 tbsp chia seed or sesame seed or both (optional)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup honey

½ cup peanut butter or other nut butter

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup chocolate chips or cocoa nibs

½ cup raisins or cranberries or cherries

DIRECTIONS1. In a bowl, mix your dry ingredients: rolled oats, coconut, flax, chia/sesame, salt, cinnamon.

2. Add in the wet ingredients. Mix well, and adjust quantities of nut butter and honey as you see fit. Some people prefer sweet, others prefer salty. Find out what works for you. This gives you the excuse to taste-test extensively.

Tip: depending on the kind of day you’re having, it’s sometimes just easier to use your hands and get right in there to mix it all together.

3. Add in the chocolate and dried fruit. Eat some chocolate. Un-less you decided to use cocoa nibs. Those aren’t really a stand-alone thing.

4. Use plastic wrap to line the bottom and sides of a 9x9 inch cas-serole dish.

Unceremoniously dump the mixture into the dish. Pat down so that the bars are firmly and evenly pressed down.

5. refrigerate. cut and eat when ready.

Tip: These save well! cut into individual portions, wrap in plastic wrap, and stick them in the freezer for a rainy day.

Getting called to the (Granola) Bar{In the tune of Folsom Prison blues by Johnny cash}I hear those midterms comin’I know they’re round the bend.And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when,I’m stuck in Nahum Gelber, and the time keeps draggin’ on…

LINdsAY LITTLE &

EmmA LoIGNoN-

GIroUx

Law iii

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 6

HYACINTHEHUGUET Pro-bono, A Symptom

Last week’s tutorial in Legal Ethics and Professionalism for second year law students revolved around the problems sur-rounding accessibility to justice. It led them to consider whether or not the imposition of pro bono on lawyers might be a good solution. It is understandable why this solution might be unpopu-lar within the legal community. Lawyers might complain that they already have too much on their plate to engage in this type of activity. Some might point to the absence of incentives normally part of a trade-off of this kind. All of these reasons seem valid at the outset. Above all, it seems that this idea must be set aside for the reason that the imposition of pro bono on lawyers is not a solution to the problem of access to justice, but rather one of its symptoms. The main argument of the proponents of mandatory pro bono see this obligation imposed on lawyers as part of a trade-off with the state in exchange for the monopoly over the legal market and the capacity of the profession to self-regulate. This argument is fundamentally flawed. In fact, the basic trade-off between the state and lawyers as a professional group refers to the bargain whereby lawyers benefit from a monopoly over the legal market in exchange for the obligation to self-regulate. The regulation of the profession by the professional order itself is often wrongly perceived as a gift, a favour conceded by the state to the profession. In reality, self-regulation constitutes a burdensome responsibility. In the fulfilment of that responsibility, the barreau must incur significant administrative costs in order to regulate the practices of its members, to protect the public, to organize the continuing education of its members and its process of admission, and to set up a judicial structure responsible for overseeing lawyers’ conduct. Thus, the self-regulation carried out by the barreau puts the weight of legislation and adjudication— and the cost that flows from them— normally endorsed by the state in the case of other professions, on the lawyers themselves by requiring them to attend the École du barreau, to pass the bar exam, and to contribute financially to the barreau every year. It is plain and simple that the liberty of self-regulation is not a gift bestowed upon the profession for which it should repay the public, but rather a charge imposed upon it whereby lawyers pay the cost of self-governance and indirectly obviate the fiscal charge that should have been placed on taxpayers if the functions assumed by the barreau had been managed by the state. In sum, we can see that lawyers already repay the public for the privilege of benefiting from a state-sanctioned monopoly and thus do not have a duty to perform pro bono as a form of compensation. whether that price is fair is another question. From that perspec-tive, the obligation to perform pro bono would just amount to another burden imposed on lawyers.

Another common argument for the imposition of man-datory pro bono on lawyers that fails is the one based on the public funding of educational institutions. Some might argue that mandatory pro bono is actually part of a trade-off with the state in exchange for the public financing of law schools. At the outset, this argument offers a deceptively simple arithmetical logic. The state pays, to a great extent, for the education of lawyers, so it is only fair that lawyers repay this public investment in the form of a gift to the public, namely pro bono. however, this argument is actually very unfair in the sense that lawyers already repay the public investment through which their education was financed by contributing their fair share as taxpayers and by offering their services to society. Moreover, it would be even more unfair to single out lawyers out of all professionals to bear the burden of repaying public investment in education. That argument would command the imposition of pro bono on everybody who bene-fitted from a state-funded education— that is essentially canada’s entire workforce. In sum, the idea of mandatory pro bono emerges as a response to the problem of access to justice. In that respect, this proposition is motivated by the laudable desire to satisfy the legal demands of a big portion of the population that cannot afford legal services at their present rate and that is, incidentally, the social group in direst need of legal assistance. however, this obligation would just elude the problem as its solution lies in the structure of the legal market rather than in the altruistic cha-racter of jurists. The problem of access to justice is essentially caused by the shortage of legal professionals willing to provide affordable services in areas of law where the demand is very high (family law, criminal law, immigration law, etc.) This is the result of an over-regulated industry wherein entrepreneurs— such as paralegals, accountants, and more broadly, any commercial entity capable of providing legal information and routinized services that do not require the acute expertise of a qualified and highly-remunerated lawyer who would be willing to provide affordable services in areas of law where high demand is not met by a correspondingly high offer— are prevented from entering the legal market because of the state-sanctioned monopoly and the stringent regulations over the terms under which commercial entities can offer legal services. hence, it appears that mandatory pro bono is not a solu-tion, but rather a symptom of the problems surrounding access to justice. The solution lies in the structure of the legal market in which a high demand in some areas of law is abnormally left unanswered by a corresponding offer.

Law ii

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 7

The solution thus seems to call for a revision of this market structure and, more precisely, to consider letting other commercial entities penetrate the areas of law where access to justice is problematic. If we are not willing to break from this monopolistic arrangement, we must find a way to guarantee a better access to justice by looking at other monopolized indus-tries where access is not an issue. The medical field undeniably offers some lines of betterment. In spite of the control that doc-tors exercise on the market for medical services, access to health care, although not perfect, is not in the same posture as access to justice since the population at large benefits from a public insurance scheme whereby most medical costs are supported by a publicly funded regime. The same could be done in the legal

market. If people had a legal insurance card next to their health insurance card, they could access the services of lawyers as cost would not be an obstacle anymore. however, a public insurance scheme would still not fix the low-rates of offer in areas of law where the demand is high. That is why the profession also needs to be deregulated to some extent. It seems clear that pro bono is neither a viable nor a fair solution to the problem of access to justice. Drastic measures must be undertaken in the face of such a pressing social issue: either break free from monopoly or subsidize legal services seekers.

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 8

FArNELL morrIsET Put Your Studies First

Law ii

woods s.e.n.c.r.l. LITIGE . ARBITRAGE . RECOURS COLLECTIF2000, AV. McGILL COLLEGE, BUREAU 1700 MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H3A 3H3 T. 514 982-4545

boutiquelitige.com

Frappeurs de puissance

Sans doute, avez-vous entendu cette maxime plusieurs fois dans vos vies. « vous devez mettre vous études d’abord! » et ses variantes, vous rappelant que l’école est LA priorité, LA chose qui compte dans nos vies. J’ai l’impression que c’est une maxime qui s’est développée devant la réalité des enfants vedettes et enfants prodiges qui sacrifient leurs études pour vendre des albums ou jouer au hockey. D’un autre côté, nous professons presque tous un désir – sincère, je le crois – d’utiliser nos études comme tremplin pour mieux servir notre société et notre monde. Nous l’écrivons dans nos lettres d’admission, nos demandes de bourses, et nos applica-tions aux clubs et revues juridiques. c’est pourquoi j’ai passé les trois derniers mois à être directeur de campagne et agent officiel de Joël Lightbound, élu dans Louis-hébert (à Québec) le 19 octobre passé. ce genre d’implication, vous pouvez peut-être l’imaginer, est de 16 à 20 heures par jour, sans fin de semaine ni jours fériés. Il va donc sans dire que même si je suis inscrit à temps plein depuis le début de septembre, je commence essen-tiellement ma session aujourd’hui. Je n’ai aucun doute que ma compréhension de la matière et mes résultats d’examens vont en

souffrir. c’était mon choix et je suis confortable avec cela. Mais c’est facile à dire – nous avons gagné. Plusieurs fois, quand nous étions encore troisièmes par 20 points dans les intentions de vote, je me demandais si j’avais vraiment fait le bon choix. Je pose donc la question ouverte à nous tous : si une opportunité se présente de bien servir notre société au meilleur de nos capacités, mais qui nécessiterait aussi un sacrifice impor-tant de nos études… que devrions-nous faire? Je pose la question de bonne foi – il est certain que ce n’est pas une question facile. cela revient essentiellement à peser les gains longs-termes potentiels gagnés par nos études contre ceux immédiats et connus de l’opportu-nité devant nous. Je pose aussi la question à la faculté, qui nous exhorte l’importance de l’implication hors de la faculté, mais qui a peu de flexibilité administrative pour les étudiants qui vou-draient alléger ou suspendre temporairement leurs études afin d’explorer ces opportunités. Finalement, je pose la question à nous tous, qui utilisent peut-être la maxime de mettre ses études d’abord comme raison de refuser l’appel quand il se présente devant nous.

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 9

1L Experiences

Hospital Reading by Melissa Moor, 2l

I had planned to do my Droit des biens readings that evening. I just didn’t plan to read about movables and immo-vables in the emergency room. This time last year, 1L was going alright. And then I got sick. Instead of back and forth to class, it was back and forth to the clinic, hospitals, and specialists. I learned about lost and forgotten movables at that first hospital. The next week, I read contracts at the clinic and Torts in a different hospital. The doctor asked me not to sue him. I told him not to worry – I wasn’t going to learn anything about suing anyone, given all the class I was missing. Anyways, I said, I was thinking of switching to medicine since I was spending more time in hospitals than at the Faculty. The doctor laughed and said I’d be fine in law. The doctor was right. I wish I’d known that. And these things too: If you’re sick, your classmates will happily take notes for you. your new friends will explain the concepts that you missed. There’s a procedure for deferring exams. There are people to talk to here and they’ll listen. your clubs or study groups will understand when can’t participate as much. They’ll be happy to have you back when you can make it. It will be fine. Don’t worry (and don’t switch into medicine). So far this year, I haven’t done any readings in the hospi-tal. but I’m sure some of us will. If you do, let me know. I’m happy to take notes for you in class.

Embracing Confusionby Stacey Smydo, 3l

The first months of law school can bring a lot of confu-sion. This can extend to many areas of your life and be quite overwhelming. Don’t sweat it! It’s all part of the journey! The first place that law students encounter confusion is often in class. This is perfectly normal and can actually mean that you’re on the right track. remember, if there was a clear answer, a case wouldn’t have been heard by a court in the first place and there would be little point in studying it. Sometimes, it’s enough just to know that you’re confused! There’s a lot going on outside of the classroom that can cause confusion as well, but we are very fortunate that there are lots of supports in place to help us navigate these processes. Don’t hesitate to reach out, whether it be to the SAO, cDO, your law buddy, or your friendly Peer-to-Peer Support team! we’re all muddling through this law school thing together and someone will have the answer you’re looking for. At one point, or likely multiple points, in our legal education, every law student asks themselves: “what am I doing here!? where is this all going?” your time at McGill will shape you and challenge you to explore new ideas. It is perfectly normal to feel confused about who you are, what you want out of this experience, and the opportunities available afterward. Again, this is a good kind of confusion. It means that you’re thinking criti-cally about who you are and what you want to do with your legal knowledge and skills. Of course, your friendly Peer-to-Peer Support team is here to help you out with confusion in any or all of these areas! Stop by our office hours or send us an e-mail about anything that might be confusing you and we’ll be happy to explore it with you!

LAw pEEr-To-pEEr

proGrAm

Weekly Submission

Perspectives du programme de soutien des pairs/Peer-to-Peer Perspectives

In our weekly series, Perspectives, we’ll be writing about our experiences at the Faculty and what helps us relax, manage stress, and stay connected. If you have a topic you’d like to see in Perspectives, let us know during our office hours or send us an email at peer.law@mcgill.ca.

Members of the Law Peer-to-Peer Support Program-Maxime, Stacey, Stefanie, Farnell, and Melissa

Peer-to-Peer Perspectives

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 10

LEGAL sTArT Up

CLNIC

A student-run clinic for startups teams up with Dentons

Saam pousht-Mashhad

In the summer of 2014, the Legal Startup clinic (LSc) “started up” as nothing more than an idea. The idea was that McGill law students—with the help of supervising lawyers from the Montreal community—could help early-stage startups by providing them with free, high-quality legal information. This idea quickly transformed into an operational team of 10 ca-seworkers from McGill, lawyers from various firms, and partner-ships with two local incubators. The LSc assists startup and early-stage businesses by providing free legal information to entrepreneurs who do not have the money required to hire legal counsel. The information covers a wide variety of topics, from structuring a business to hiring your first employee. by providing this information, we help new ventures succeed during their vulnerable development stage. This is an important service that is widely needed based on the large number of teams that visit the LSc each week. The cost of engaging legal services is unaffordable for many new entrepreneurs. As a result, entrepreneurs may take legal matters into their own hands (often with unfavourable results) or ignore legal matters until a problem arises. both of these situations can easily be avoided by giving founders access to legal information in plain and simple terms that they can understand and apply, which is exactly what we do at the lSC. Last year, the LSc helped more than 75 businesses at concordia’s D3 Innovation centre and McGill’s Dobson centre for Entrepreneurship. caseworkers researched and provided information related to matters of business organization, intel-lectual property, employment law, regulatory and civil liability, contractual obligations, and many other areas. This year, the lSC is building on that momentum by adding four new caseworkers and starting to officially partner with law firms in the city. Dentons, who has been at the fore-front of supporting startups and innovation-based companies, is the first law firm to step up and work with our team to improve the Montreal startup community. Dentons is already a strong supporter of Griffin camp, a business accelerator based in the Griffintown district. “we are very excited about our partnership with the Legal Startup clinic and Griffin camp,” said Scott rozansky, partner at Dentons. “This is another example of us challenging the status quo and cementing ourselves as the leading law firm in canada and globally for venture technology and emerging companies.” In May of 2015, Dentons launched NextLaw Labs, an innovation accelerator focused on developing, deploying

and investing in new technologies. This past August, Dentons joined with IbM to pen a deal with NextLaw Labs’ first portfolio company, rOSS. Dentons will be working with the LSc to train and supervise our caseworkers, provide templates for busi-nesses, and help us offer better services to more startups. we are launching this partnership with Dentons and Griffin camp by providing fixed office hours for the LSc at Griffin camp, which will be announced shortly on the LSc’s site. we are extremely excited about this new partnership with Dentons and can’t wait to provide even better service to the Montreal booming startup community. If you are interested in joining the LSc in 2016 or partnering with our team, please reach out to Saam at saam.pousht-mashhad@mail.mcgill.ca. For entrepreneurs looking for information, book your appointment today at http://mslscbooking.strikingly.com.

Sincerely,

The lSC Team

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 11

LEx GILLIF yOU’rE TOO bUSy TO rEAD ThIS, ThEN

IT’S wrITTEN FOr yOU.(Or, ELEvEN IDEAS AbOUT SELF-cArE

FOr LAw STUDENTS)

Law ii

It’s easy to feel burnt out, anxious, or overwhelmed in law school. with December exams suddenly on the horizon, things in the Faculty are already starting to feel tense. If you’re overwhelmed—especially if you’re a first year student—you should know that you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this kind of stress, self-doubt, and isolation is pretty characteristic of the law student experience (and it sneaks up on even the most grounded and self-possessed of us at least once in a while). but the fact is, you’re not just a law student—you’re a real, whole person! with a life! with feelings! And limits! And other commitments! And you have to take care of that whole person to survive this place. So to get you started on that journey, here are eleven short thoughts about self-care in the Faculty.

Sleep More

If you’re ever faced with the crunch time trade-off between studying and sleep, always choose sleep. Getting adequate rest helps to level out your emotions, allows you to process the challenges you’ve faced throughout the day, and reduces your stress levels. your body needs sleep when you’re learning new things so you can consolidate and strengthen new memories; a decent night’s rest makes the work you’ve invested all day worthwhile. This is not some random fact I made up to feel better about napping. It’s actually science. Go to bed!

Move

Spend time at the gym, walk to school, play with your kid, lift some weights, or do some yoga — whatever you do, just move, and if possible, move in new ways. The physical bene-fits of exercise are diverse and well-documented, but exercise can also have a profound impact on your mental health. Phy-sical activity is linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression, increased creativity, better memory and retention, and increased self-confidence. Getting involved in a gym or studio can also be a good way to make friends outside of the Faculty and gives you space to set goals that have nothing to do with law school. In the immortal words of Elle woods: “Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy.”

Eat Properly

Stress can bring out the worst of people’s food habits, in part because it’s so deeply connected to our sense of control. It

can also be a trigger for more serious and potentially disordered behaviour — whether that’s binging, emotional eating, obses-sive tracking, extreme dieting, deprivation, or other unhealthy relationships with food. Making sure to eat properly, enough, and regularly can be a real challenge, but it’s a critical part of self-care. It can help to think of food not as a chore, reward, or punishment but as fuel for your body and mind. when you can, try to share a meal with others.

Take a Risk-Reductive Approach to Drugs and Alcohol

lawyers are among the most likely to abuse drugs or alcohol out of any profession, but substance use—whether of caffeine, cannabis, stimulants, or psychedelics—is rarely talked about in the Faculty. For some people, drug and alcohol use can be part of an informed and meaningful self-care strategy. At the same time, different kinds of drug and alcohol use can expose you to certain risks, whether to your mental health, your physical well-being, or your legal status. Monitoring how you mix substances, using clean gear, acquiring drugs only from people you trust, doing research about the effects associated with the drug or its effects in combination, and using drugs and alcohol in environments where you feel safe are all steps you can take to reduce risk.

Confront the Urge to Compare

For some people, law school is the first time they’ve been surrounded by so many accomplished, bright, complex people — which is probably one of the reasons they wanted to come here in the first place! Unfortunately, students who are used to being “big fish in small ponds” can also sometimes find this experience destabilizing, or even threatening. The faster you work through that discomfort and stop comparing yourself to others, the better off you’ll be in terms of mental health. It’s trite, but true: comparing our behind-the-scenes lives with everyone else’s highlight reel is what makes us feel insecure. The fact is that stressing out about how you “stack up” is not only futile but will make you feel like garbage. If this is you, take that anxiety as a cue to spend some time figuring out who you actually are — as a person and as part of a community — rather than who you are in comparison to someone else.

(continued on page 13)

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 12

Centre sur les droits de la personneet le pluralisme juridique de McGill

McGill Centre for Human Rightsand Legal Pluralism

Disability & Human Rights Law Seminar Series

2015 - 2016

PRISONS:THE NEW ASYLUMS

FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES?

PRISONS:THE NEW ASYLUMS

FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES?

Co-sponsored by: Human Rights Working Group (Disability and the Law Portfolio),

Aisenstadt Community Justice Initiatives and Rathlyn Fund for Disability Rights

PANELISTS :Kim Pate, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies

Adelina Iftene, Post-doctoral student, Faculty of Law, York University

Chris Chapman, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, York University

MODERATOR :Robert Israel, Professor, Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, McGill University

A light lunch will be served - RSVP to human.rights@mcgill.ca - 1.5 hrs CLE credits

Le lundi 9 novembre13h00-14h30 NCDH 3644, rue Peel, local 202

QN • 27 OCT 2015 • 13

Build a Sense of Belonging

Staying in touch with friends and nurturing your social relationships is important for so many reasons. Friends provide a system of peer-based emotional support and are a shoulder to lean on when things get tough. Finding a sense of belonging and a sense of community is deeply rewarding and gives us tools to manage isolation, anxiety, and self-doubt. remember: that com-munity doesn’t need to begin and end with the Faculty. Seeking out relationships beyond this little bubble can help you contex-tualize your experience and give you space to build a sense of self that’s bigger and richer than just “being a law student.” Maybe it’s your mosque, the food bank where you volunteer, or your roller derby team instead. wherever it is, you’ll find that it’s a relief to spend time with people who don’t know—or care—what a tort is!

Avoid Anxiety-by-Osmosis

It can be tempting to spend enormous amounts of time talking about assignments, professors, and grades with others — but it can also be a huge trigger for anxiety. remember that the study habits that worked for you before you came here will continue to serve you now and that comparing yourself to others (see above!) will probably cause more stress than good. Learn how to politely step away from these conversations when they feel toxic or make you uncomfortable: intentionally or not, some people are actually trying to seek their comfort in your self-doubt. On that note, remember that you actually don’t need to like everyone here (and not everyone is going to like you!), so be mindful about how you spend your emotional energy.

Don’t Put Yourself on Hold

Law school can encourage a culture of deferred self-actualization, and it’s easy to feel like in order to succeed you’ll just need to put off self-care, family, or your personal projects and goals for the next few years. but there’s always going to be something in the way and you can’t put off figuring out who you are forever. So spend time—as much as you can manage, in as many ways as you can manage—reflecting on your sense of purpose. what kinds of things give your life a bigger sense of meaning, value, and direction? Is law school even one of them? how can you do more of what you love, every day? These ques-tions will keep you grounded.

Get Help When You Need It

“Getting help” can mean different things for different people. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the first step should be to reach out to someone you trust: whether that’s a counsellor, a

friend, a faith leader, a medical professional, a parent, a profes-sor, or a classmate. There’s also a whole constellation of services that are confidential, non-judgmental, and ready to meet you where you’re at in terms of mental health. within our Faculty, there’s a student-run mental health committee that you can always reach out to, either anonymously on healthylegalminds.tumblr.com/ask or by email at mentalhealth.mcgilllaw@gmail.com. McGill also runs a counselling service, a medical clinic with walk-in care, an eating disorder program, and a men-tal health service which offers crisis and emergency support. beyond the university, there are also a number of peer support programs, active listening services, and community-based alter-natives to institutionalized health care available at no cost in the city. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find what you need right away: keep trying until you find support that works for you. The mcgillmentalhealthhub.ca website has a great collection to get you started.

Contextualize Failure and Cultivate Resilience

If you have somehow gotten through life until now being the best and brightest at everything you tried, get excited — because something about law school will help you meet your match. Accept that you’re going to fail sometimes, in big and small ways. So, rather than trying to be perfect, focus on being resilient: learn how to bounce back. Take those failures as moment to develop new strategies, ask for help, recognize what isn’t working, and revisit old priorities. Figuring out how to cultivate grit while being gentle and forgiving with ourselves can be a transformative experience. Ultimately, it’s what will give you the courage you need to either try again or to walk away, and the strength to know that both of those choices are just fine.

Practice Mutual Aid

From admissions to the grading system to the recruit-ment process, it can seem like everything about law school is designed to force competition between you and your peers. Ultimately, this means that one of the most radical things you can do in law school is to support each other—even when it feels like you’re taking a risk. Maybe this means sharing notes, taking turns babysitting for a classmate, or holding a friend’s hand at the clinic when they’re on the edge of burnout. you’re going to meet some people who treat law school like the hunger Games, but you don’t need to be one of them. refuse to let false frien-dship and the pressure to “network” take the place of authentic kindness, generosity, or compassion.

Legal Citations ClinicAll Law Students Welcome

Come and Bring your Questions!

Wednesday, November 4th

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.Law Library Classroom

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beTTer THAN TAKING NOTeS...

Giant word search of prof names :-) eNJoY!

NAMeS TO FIND

AdamsAkhavan

AnkerAntaki

bachandbaker

bjorklundblackett

campbellchristianscrépeauDedek

DeMestralDempsey

ellisemerichForray

Fox-DecentGélinas

Goldjakhujandajodoinjukierjutras

KhouryKleinKong

leckeyManikisMégretMillerMoyselamedLamettiNarainNiezenPiper

Provostramanujam

SaumierSheppard

SmithSmith

SomervilleVanPraagh

walshweinstock

QUId NovI