About Law is Cool

Law Is Cool is a blog and podcast addressing issues related to law school and the legal field with a Canadian focus.

Law Is Cool is intended to be an exciting and engaging resource. We require your participation to make this happen. If you are a law student in Canada, feel free to contact us about joining the team.

We welcome your suggestions and comments.

Note: This site is student-run and always a work in-progress. If you are an advanced law student or practitioner and see what you consider to be a point in error or misunderstanding, please help us by leaving a comment or by contacting the editors at: admin[at]lawiscool[dot]com.

All opinions expressed, including unsigned commentary, are those of the author alone and do not reflect the position of this site or the contributors as a whole.

If you are a blogger or web surfer that wandered over, please keep in mind that this is not your traditional blog. It is intended to be an academic site; a constant work-in-progress. We do use the edit button quite liberally and with good conscience in order to enhance the content.

Upper-Year Contributors

Law is Cool was founded in 2007, when all of the contributors at that time were just starting their first year of law school.

Kashif Ahmed completed a Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Regina, and is currently in his third year of law at the University of Saskatchewan.

Darcy Ammerman is a third-year law student at the University of Ottawa, and the Fundraising Coordinator for the Health Law Student Association (HLSA). She will be posting about events and activities related to the HLSA.

Vimal Baid is a third-year law student at the University of Saskatchewan.

Adam Campbell is in his 2nd year of the law program at UVic. He is currently the site curator for two sites: Daily Triathalon and Muddy Socks. He is a mature student with a fairly unconventional background as a former national triathlon team member, who later worked for Triathlon Canada as the national team manager. He competes on the school’s cross-country running team.

Navjot Dhaliwal graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2007, and is a third year law student at the University of Western Ontario.

Torwoli S. Dzuali has a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree (B.Soc.Sc.) from the University of Otttawa; with honours in Criminology and a concentration in Psychology. She is currently pursuing her LL.B at the University of Ottawa common law faculty and is a member of the Ottawa Law Review.

May El-Abdullah is a second-year law student at the University of Toronto.

Rob Evans has a BAA in psychology from Kwantlen University College in Surrey, B.C. He is in the LLB/JD joint program at the University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy.

Ahmed Farahat is entering his third-year at UWO, and is a staff contributor at the law school’s new paper, Amicus Curiae.

Gail Geronimo studied psychology at York University and is in her third year of law at the University of Ottawa.

Lawrence Gridin holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Toronto, having majored in Psychology and History. He is currently a third-year law student at the University of Western Ontario. Lawrence volunteers at Western’s Community Legal Services and has participated in the clinic’s outreach program. His diverse interests include social justice, 20th century history, photography, boxing, and politics. Lawrence has a strong blogging, computer and technical background and has helped to revamp the site.

Digal Haio has an extensive background in media reporting, including a staff position with the Somali Press. She is going into her third-year at Osgoode Hall.

Christine Kellowan is a second year student at Osgoode Hall. She graduated from York University with a BA (honours) in political science. During her undergraduate studies, she worked for the federal government. She has written for the The Court.

Omar Ha-Redeye has an educational background in nuclear medicine, health administration, and public relations. He has worked in all three fields for several years before deciding to pursue a law degree at the University of Western Ontario. He is the founder of the site.

Dany Horovitz is in his third year in the J.D./M.B.A. program at UWO. He writes for the Financial Post Executive Blog and cross-posts his entries here.

Devin Johnston has a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario and is currently a third year law student at Robson Hall in Winnipeg. Devin is the director of the podcasts for this site.

Jacob Kaufman studied History and Economics at Queen’s University, and is currently a third-year law student at the University of Western Ontario.

John Magyar received a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Western Ontario in 1990 and completed the Recorded Music Production program at Fanshawe College in 1993. Before returning the UWO to study Law, he held a wide variety of jobs including freelance recording engineer, Operations Manager at Other Peoples Music Inc and Research Director at Technical Economists Ltd., a commercial real estate consulting service in downtown Toronto. Current interests include Municipal Law, Constitutional Law, Copyright Law and Real Estate Law. He expects to recieve at J.D. in Law in 2010.

Daisy McCabe-Lokos is entering her second year at Windsor, and has a strong interest in international law.

Shane Martinez is a third-year law student at the University of New Brunswick, who received his BA in Human Rights and Political Science from St. Thomas University. He has over a decade of experience with prisoner justice and anti-imperialist activism. His areas of focus are primarily within criminal defence, human rights and immigration law.

Will McNair is a third-year law student at Osgoode Hall. He has a BA in History from Huron University College at UWO.

Matthew Nied is a third-year law student at the University of Victoria.
After completing law school, he will clerk for the British Columbia Supreme
Court and article at an international law firm in Vancouver. Matthew is the
author of the Defamation Law Blog, a source for defamation news and legal analysis with a Canadian focus.

Navraj Pannu is a Canadian entering his third year at Thomas M Cooley Law school in Michigan. He completed a political science degree prior to this at McMaster University.

Logan Rathbone is a third-year student at UWO.

David Shulman holds a B.A. (Hons.) from Queen’s University, having majored in Philosophy and History. There, he founded and was the editor-in-chief of a successful student academic magazine called Syndicus. David also holds an M.A. from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. His studies and thesis focused on the Philosophy of Language and Logic. He is currently a second-year law student at the University of Windsor. His interests include social justice, analytic philosophy, French language, politics, reading, writing, squash, and travel.

Daniel Simard is in the joint LLB and Masters of Environmental Studies at Osgoode Hall and York University, and is currently in his second year of law. Daniel was the 2007-2008 Student Blawger of the Year for his advocacy work and coverage of topical issues.

Tom Slade is a second-year law student at the University of Ottawa. He has previously been blogging on his own site, and has joined our team recently.

Amelio Thé is in his 6th term (3rd Year) at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He received his Bachelor of Arts & Sciences at the University of Guelph in Ecology and in Philosophy.

Justin Teterault is going into his third-year of law school at UofT. He has an extensive background in political blogging prior to law school, including the now-defunct Northern Ontario Liberal.

Marie Winfield has a BS Engineering & Public Policy, BA French (Washington University in St. Louis) and an MA French Language & Literature (University of Pennsylvania). She is studying her third-year of law at the McGill University in Montreal.

Thomas Wisdom is a political science major from the University of Toronto and a third-year law student at Osgoode Hall.

Joel Welch is a third year law student at the University of Western Ontario. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from UWO and a First Class Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Brock University. Before pursuing a law degree, Joel served for nearly seven years as a regular member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). For 2010-11, Joel will be articling with Adler Bytensky Prutschi, a criminal defence firm located in Toronto.

Meagan Williams is a second year law student at the University of Western Ontario.

Pulat Yunusov is a third-year JD student at Osgoode Hall Law School. He likes rule-governed conversations with authority, especially if a human life or security are at stake. Pulat’s email is his first name at his last name dot org. He lives in Toronto.

First Year Contributors

Vitali Berditchevski did his undergrad at UofT in Management with Co-Op. He previously worked in IT, banking, and the automotive sector. His legal interests include Intellectual Property, New Media Regulation and Corporate Law in general and will be starting Law School at the University of Western Ontario in September 2009.

Fathima Cader is in her first year of law at the University of British Colombia. She received a BSc in Life Sciences and a BAH in English from Queen’s University and an MA in English from the University of Toronto. Her legal and academic interests include social justice law, cultural studies, and digital media studies. She freelances as a web and graphic designer.

Ajay Gajaria is a first-year student at Osgoode Hall.

Eric Grigg received a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Studies from Queen’s University where he developed an interest in rights, responsibilities, and individual autonomy. Currently, he is a member of the class of 2012 at the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Law where he expects to pursue courses in litigation and legal theory.

Ryan MacIsaac has a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Toronto (New College). He will commence law school in Fall 2009.

Asad Moten is a public health policy specialist with experience in research and statistical analysis, community engagement, filmmaking and documentarianism, print media and design, strategic planning for NFP/NGO’s, and report writing and editing. He has focused on a wide variety of issues including disabilities, prisoners’ rights, social indicators, refugee and immigrant health, and youth engagement. In addition to completing his Master in Public Health, Asad is currently completing his Juris Doctor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada.

Ryan Venables is a first year law student at the University of Western Ontario. He holds B.A. (2001) from the University of Western Ontario in Political Science and Sociology. Ryan was also enrolled in a M.A.- Journalism at the University of Western Ontario before withdrawing to attend law school. Before pursuing a formal education in law, Ryan served with the York Regional Police as a police officer for five years specializing in organized crime. He also served in the Special Investigations Section with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for two years. His legal interests include criminal, litigation, employment/labour, and human rights.

Incoming (Pre-Law) Contributors

Dylan Hayward studied film production at York University and is anxiously awaiting responses from several Canadian law schools.

We are still interested in taking on more contributors, especially incoming first-years, so please contact us at admin[at]lawiscool[dot]com for more info.

Affiliates

We partner with other legal bloggers who are about to graduate or are articling.

Sarah Boyd graduated June 2008 from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was Senior Style Editor of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, and has blogged for several years, currently at Thinking Out Loud. Her primary interest is in Refugee Law and International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Ainsley Brown has a LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of
Westminster (UK), having earned a diploma in law from London Metropolitan University (UK) and a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. He recently completed most of licensing process for Ontario, with only articling remaining. After Westminster he returned to Canada and completed the National Committee on Accreditation’s conversion process for international law graduates, part of which was spent at UWO law.

Jonathan Kleiman is 23 years old, studying law at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. He is the founder of the Canadian professional network Probook.ca, and founder of Law Wiki. Jonathan contributes occasionally to LawIsCool.

Costa Ragas is in his third year of the B.C.L / LL.B. programme at McGill. He has a degree in International Relations from Mount Allison University and is the founder of Twistlaw.ca.

Diana Younes is going into her ^4th year of the LLB / MES program, and is Senior Contributing Editor at The Court.