Author Archives: james struthers

Getting Involved at the Allard School of Law: Legal Education Outreach

Hello incoming 1Ls!

Congratulations on your admission to UBC Law! I am a 3L from southern Alberta, and this year’s President of Legal Education Outreach (LEO). As students of the Allard School of Law, you will be provided with a number of opportunities to get involved in faculty life, and LEO will be among the student clubs vying for your participation. In advance of those first couple of weeks, here is a quick overview of what we do.

LEO exists to encourage access to justice beginning at the grassroots by visiting high schools whose student demographics tend to be underrepresented in the Canadian legal profession, and presenting on a particular legal topic (e.g. criminal law or the Charter). We also explain how the law impacts students’ lives daily, and how they can become involved in the legal profession. Over the past few years, our program has become very successful; we now send about 80 to 100 law students to conduct workshops each year!

LEO is a great way to give back to the community and we encourage you to get involved by signing up for our email list during clubs day and attending our orientation meeting in September/October. In the meantime, feel free to visit our website (www.leo-ubc.com) or email us with any questions you have (ubcleoexec@gmail.com).

Best wishes,

James Beaton

Photo 6 (Edited)

 

Faculty Spotlight: Efrat Arbel

Hailing from three renowned North American institutions (McGill, UBC and Harvard), Professor Arbel is a decorated researcher in the academic world and fan-favorite in the classroom. Her research touches on legal issues in the constitutional, immigration, aboriginal and prison law arenas, and she is an active advocate and litigator in the areas of immigration and prison law.

Non-Law Dream Job: Photographer

Favorite Movie: The Godfather

Favorite Judicial Decision: Inglis v British Columbia – A constitutional challenge to the cancellation of a mother-baby program for women in prison and Gosselin v Quebec – A constitutional challenge to reduced welfare benefits for younger adults

Why? Inglis – It captures the complexities and lived experiences of inequality, and addresses them in interesting ways. Gosselin – for its intellectual rigour and substantive findings

Follow Professor Arbel on twitter: @earbel

 

Allard School of Law: Now Accepting Scholarship Applications

On behalf of the Scholarships and Awards Committee of the Peter A. Allard School of Law, I am pleased to advise you that we are now accepting submissions for awards requiring application.
 
Please note that the application deadline for these awards is 4PM on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015 and that submission of your applications and documents should be made to Ms. Sasha Gill, Scholarships Secretary, via e-mail at awards@allard.ubc.ca.
 
To access the list of awards available, and the prescribed application form, visit: http://www.allard.ubc.ca/awards-and-scholarships-students-entering-jd-program
 
Questions about awards should be directed to Ms. Sasha Gill at awards@allard.ubc.ca
Good Luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
James Struthers, Orientation Coordinator

 

Welcome to the Class of 2018!

Dear Class of 2018,

Congratulations on your acceptance to UBC Law! It is no easy feat to gain admittance at one of Canada’s top law schools, and you should be very proud.

My name is James Struthers, and I am the Student Orientation Coordinator. I am thrilled to welcome you to the Faculty, and I look forward to meeting all of you in the start of September. Orientation will run from Tuesday, September 1st to Friday September 4th, so please mark your calendars! I’m getting excited already, and I hope you are too.

What can you expect from O-Week? This is a week of social events, presentations by leaders in BC’s legal community, seminars on academic and career success and much, much more. You will meet many fellow law students and form friendships that may well last for a lifetime. You will meet and make merry with tremendously accomplished faculty members, leaders in the legal community, and alumni of Allard School of Law. You will learn about the wealth of extracurricular opportunities, and ways in which you can, from day one, begin to use your legal education to effect change. It is a very exciting start to a very exciting year, and we can’t wait for you to get here.

As the Orientation Team and I work to make this an incredible week, I will keep you up to date with everything you need to know about Orientation and your first year of law school. You will receive important emails periodically throughout the summer, but if you would like to gain information beyond these emails, check out the ‘Useful Links’ section on the orientation web-page, and make sure to join the Class of 2018 Facebook page!

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me at orientation@allard.ubc.ca. I would love to hear from you! Similarly, if you would like to take a tour of Allard Hall or get in touch with a Student Ambassador (an upper-year law student) via email, you can do so through the Allard School of Law Website.

Last but not least, enjoy your summer! The best way to prepare for the year ahead is to relax and spend time with family and friends. You will be tested this year, but the challenge is not without reward.

Looking forward to meeting you all and congratulations again!

Yours,

James Struthers