ULTRAVIRES.CA
March 30, 2023
VOL. 24 ISS. 6
Ultra Vires
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW
Former Grand Mooters Speak Out
Tuition Frozen for Domestic Students but Going Up 3% for Out-ofProvince Students
The “ins” and “outs” of mooting ADRIANNA MILLS (3L) AND IVY XU (3L)
Faculty Council approves new JD/ MSW field of study and hears updates on financial aid and mental health TAYLOR RODRIGUES (2L)
2022 GRAND MOOTERS IVY XU (3L) AND ADRIANNA MILLS (3L). CREDIT: SHAE ROTHERY
The “ins” and “outs” of mooting that students often encounter at our Faculty do not refer to a skill-set, but rather, the distinct impression that some peers are privy to a process and opportunities that others are not. We experienced this firsthand when trying out for the Grand Moot last year. Despite having won mooting awards before, we hesitated to try out. We felt that we did not belong to a small circle of insiders already many steps ahead of us. To our knowledge, at least one complaint was made to the Moot Court Committee (MCC) about the fact that past Grand Mooters were conducting run-throughs with close friends. Because tryouts use the previous year’s Grand Moot problem, a material advantage may arise from these run-throughs, as well as Grand Mooters inviting friends to edit facta or attend practices for the actual Moot. At a minimum, many reasonably perceived that the 2022 Grand Moot spots had been pseudo-reserved for certain insiders. Although we succeeded in the tryout, perceptions of bias can be a strong deterrent. Other “outsiders” could well have made the Gand Moot if they were not overly stressed during tryouts or deterred from signing up altogether. Mooting is a microcosm of the broader legal industry—and itself a “tryout” for a career in litigation. A few years ago, Hadiya Roderique published her account of being a black woman from an immigrant family while working on Bay Street. A culture of operating in cliques and the perception of bias in mooting only deepens these inequities well-known in the industry. At my (Ivy’s) very first moot, a practitioner judge’s first piece of feedback to me was “you have a very strong voice for a small figure.” The competition was over Zoom, and he could only see from my shoulders up. Having experienced primarily microaggressions so far, I am luckier than many students of colour doing moots. It is a well-shared sentiment that we often feel judged more harshly than our peers. This creates the fear of speaking out and discourages many from choosing litigation as a career. An important metric for evaluating U of T’s mooting
program used to be gender parity. This acknowledged the phenomenon of self-selecting out of moot participation. Such acknowledgement does not seem to extend to other areas of equity. Last year, after the Grand Moot tryout schedule was released, my (Ivy’s) friends’ wishes of “good luck” often came with the observation that I was the only woman of colour on the list of candidates. Partly because of this, I felt more nervous in my tryout than in the actual moot. While many disadvantages pre-date law school, no change comes from downplaying the possibility of alleviating some of them. When we brought up the struggles of those without undergraduate mooting experience to the MCC over a Zoom call, the MCC said that there is not much more they could do. Two members analogized the situation to people with an accounting background having an advantage in an income tax course. Some do not consider disparities in prior mooting experience and connections to be an issue at all: it is open to students to use the connections they have, regardless of how they made them and even if other students lack them. As two students who are the first in our families to attend law school, we are familiar with this argument in its many forms. It is not sufficient. We do not aim to craft detailed proposals here, since those in charge of moot programming are in a much better position to do that. But a starting place is improving mooting resources and mentorship to 1Ls. There is a steep improvement curve when you first start mooting. Even a short run-through with an upper-year student can dramatically improve a new mooter’s performance. I (Adrianna) still remember my 1L tryout experience. Although I have always been a confident public speaker, I was so nervous when pelted with questions that (to the great surprise of the judges) I finished two minutes early. I was afforded an opportunity to do the Stewart Cup and went on to win. In part, the improvement I experienced came from the simple tip from my coach that I was allowed to adjust the order in which I addressed points. The MCC has pointed out that they are “committed to making mooting accessible to all students” and have
“[hosted] information sessions, [provided] tutorials on how to structure submissions, and [provided] videos of past Grand Moots.” For many 1L tryout participants, the instruction sheet with mooting tips and a presentation from the MCC are the only resources they have. When we were in 1L (two years ago), the MCC arranged for alumni mooters to do run-throughs with tryout participants; everyone could sign up for a 10-minute session. Although available for the upper-year tryouts, this kind of opportunity was not available for 1Ls this year or last year. In our 1L year, we were told that the Stewart Cup selection was by lottery. It is not clear whether the selection method was changed at some point or, as alluded to by the current MCC, had been based on scoring all along. Either way, all 1L opportunities are now based on “merit.” This means that those 1Ls who have the least experience and need the most assistance are precisely the ones who will not receive it. The MCC’s modifications of the rules for the Grand Moot tryouts this year are a promising move forward. The materials for the tryouts are being released earlier. The former time constraints posed a barrier for those with childcare or other responsibilities and were the reason that I (Adrianna) was unable to participate in tryouts in 2L. Importantly, former Grand Mooters are no longer allowed to assist those trying out with run-throughs. Despite our concerns, we encourage any students interested in mooting to try out—even for those moots you do not think you will make! Editor’s Note: The MCC provided the following comment in response to this article. “The MCC is committed to making mooting accessible to all students. The MCC makes an effort to give tryout participants all the resources they need to succeed, such as hosting information sessions, providing tutorials on how to structure their submissions, and providing videos of past Grand Moots. This year, we also arranged alumni practice sessions and a tryout buddy system for the Upper Year Competitive Moot tryouts. We will be seeking applications for next year’s MCC soon—we encourage those that are passionate about this issue to apply!”
Dean Jutta Brunnée kicked off the March 22, 2023 Faculty Council Meeting by announcing that on March 2, 2023, the Government of Ontario extended its current tuition framework to 2023–24. This freezes tuition for domestic inprovince JD students for another year and allows universities to raise tuition for domestic out-ofprovince students by up to five percent year-overyear (YOY). Dean Brunnée says U of T Law intends to raise 2023–24 tuition for domestic out-of-province students by three percent YOY. She cautioned that the Government of Ontario also appointed an expert panel on post-secondary financial stability which may recommend a tuition increase for domestic students for 2023–24. She said U of T Law’s budget assumed a zero percent increase in tuition for 2023–24 and then “modest annual increases” thereafter (about three percent per year). Dean Brunnée said while she understands the tuition freeze is welcome to many students, it is challenging because U of T Law’s budget already has a deficit and is facing pressure from high inflation. As the first order of business, the minutes of the February 8, 2023 Faculty Council meeting were approved. Students’ Law Society (SLS) President Meaza Damte (3L) gave brief remarks. She thanked Dean Brunnée for the update on 2023–24 tuition, and staff and faculty for their participation in Law Follies. She said Law Follies and Law Ball were both great successes. SLS President Damte asked faculty to continue a “culture of compassion” as we move into exams. Professor Anthony Niblett and Interim Assistant Dean, JD Program Eleonora Dimitrova presented the Financial Aid Committee’s 2021– 22 Final Report. Professor Niblett said the Financial Aid Committee received six requests for reconsideration of financial aid awards this year, which is historically low. He credited the Financial Aid Estimator and Financial Aid Office’s efforts to explain the financial aid eligibility criteria Continued on page 3
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE AN INTERVIEW WITH PROF. SHAFFER
RIGHTS REVIEW
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO
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