Looking to gain practical legal experience, to use your skills to make a difference, and provide access to justice for under-represented groups? Then joining PBSC is for you. Apply by September 13, 2024. 

Here’s more information on the program.  

Various markets such as, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver have a structured recruitment process for summer jobs for 1L and/or 2L students. This means they follow guidelines in which they can post their job opportunities, set the application deadline, and conduct On-Campus Interviews (OCI) and formal interviews.  

On-Campus Interviews (OCI) are hosted by the university during a structured recruitment process. They are short 17-minute interviews, it is a way for employers to pre-screen a pool of candidates before the more formal interview process. OCIs are targeted to 2L students participating in structured recruitment.  

There are numerous clerkship opportunities available at courts across the country. Clerking is a challenging and rewarding experience. While the work will vary from court to court and from Justice to Justice, students are generally given the opportunity to research and draft pre-hearing memoranda, edit judgments, draft post-hearing memoranda, and assist in writing papers and speeches.  The opportunities open to law clerks upon completing their clerkships vary – from working in law firms, to government, to graduate studies and more.  These positions are directed towards students with strong research, writing and communications skills. If you are interested in clerking after law school or want to find out more, please join us for the Clerkship Information Session on September 12 at 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Registration on The Source.

Tryouts for the 2024-2025 academic year will take place on September 19-21, 2024. For more information and for the sign-up link, please visit the Advocacy webpage.

Become familiar with the Common Law Section’s Academic Regulations, the Academic Integrity and Policy on Academic Fraud and other regulations of the University of Ottawa. It is understood that, by the act of enrolling, students agree to abide by these regulations.

If you have been selected for a course by selection, please make sure to finalize your enrolment in the course in uoZone as soon as possible. Please consult the Course Search Engine to browse the descriptions of the courses by selection.

Call for applicants

Dean’s Legal Research and Writing Fellows Program (CML 3174)
The Dean’s Research and Writing Fellows Program is a unique and challenging opportunity open to high achieving upper year students with strong research and writing skills, as well as a passion for helping others improve their own research and writing skills. For the 2024-2025 Academic year, the Dean’s Research and Writing Fellows Program will be merged with the Legal Writing Academy’s Writing Leader Program. Please contact Professor Angela Long with any questions: [email protected].

For more information about the course requirements and to apply for the program, please click here.

CML4104JA – Studies in Public Law: Global Pathways to Refugee Protection
This course offers a small group of selected students an opportunity to engage with the legal, political, policy, and operational dimensions of various government-facilitated pathways to refugee protection. Drawing from the insights and experiences of individuals with lived experiences of displacement as well as world-leading experts, the course will blend theory with the real-world state of play  around the development, expansion, and diversification of new legal pathways. Students will participate in a policy exchange with officials from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.

CML4107E – Studies in Business Law: Becoming a Social Entrepreneur
This course explores the intersection between law, social change, and entrepreneurship. Emphasis will be placed on exploring a range of entrepreneurial strategies for driving large-scale change, as well as practical skills development for social entrepreneurs, including how to identify opportunities and build change-oriented projects; how to engage effectively with key stakeholders (including boards, governments, civil society actors, and funders); organizational management; strategic planning; and leadership.

It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that their course selection meets the specific degree requirements of their program and follows the correct course sequence.

Please note that, except specifically detailed in your course sequence, a regular course load for an upper-year full-time Common Law student is:

• 15 units (5 courses) during the Fall term
• 3 units (1 course) during the January intensive term (mandatory)
• 12 units (4 courses) during the Winter term

 It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that the courses selected do not result in class schedule or exam schedule conflicts.

The use of the Examplify software will be possible in selected courses. Please verify the exam timetables to know if your final exam will offer this option.

Microsoft and Apple have announced the upcoming release of new operating systems. ExamSoft is currently testing Examplify’s compatibility with these new operating systems. Exam-takers should not update their devices to the new Windows and Mac operating systems until Examplify’s compatibility with the new versions is announced.

More information about how to register for the use of Examplify will be sent to all students soon.

Are you an Indigenous Learner who is not receiving emails from Tasha Simon, the Intermediate Specialist, Indigenous Programs?Would you like to be on the mailing list and receive emails on the programming and services available for Indigenous Learners through this office in the Faculty of Law? Please email Tasha ([email protected]) to be added to the list.She can’t wait to meet you and get to know you. 

Any Indigenous Learners graduating this year who have not completed their stole survey, or did not receive a stole survey, please email Tasha Simon at [email protected], she is eager to begin production of your stole. 

Pursue a self-proposed internship during your studies at uOttawa. This is a great opportunity to gain practical experience and expose yourself to a variety of practice areas and work environments. Apply by September 11, 2024 for the fall term. 

Here’s more information on SPI.  

If you intend to graduate with an option, please make sure that you are on the right track to validate it.

Make sure you are on track for graduation! Verify your program sequence and requirements, and ensure that you have satisfied all your requirements by using your Academic Advisement report in your uoZone, Student Centre. 

Please email us at [email protected] if you have questions or concerns.

The Tutorial Program begins on September 16th. The week of September 16 will be a Drop-in Tutorial week. Access/Equity Tutorials begin during the week of September 23. Tutorials will alternate between a Drop-in Tutorials and Access/Equity Tutorials from week to week. Students wishing to apply for the Access/Equity Tutorials can do so as of September 9th, by filling out an online application form on the tutorial website. All details regarding the 1L Tutorial Program are listed on our website. 

Please verify your enrolment status on a regular basis and remove yourself from a waitlist if or when you no longer wish to make changes to your enrolment.

As a reminder, the waitlist system will only be able to process your enrolment if:

• you have not reached the maximum units allowed per term (unless you used the Waitlist and Swap functions);
• you have no schedule conflict with another course (unless you used the Waitlist and Swap functions);
• you are not already enroled in another section of the same course (unless you used the Waitlist and Swap functions); and
• you have completed all prerequisites.

We recommend viewing the enrolment help videos, in particular The Waitlist and Swap Function, to understand how to make the necessary changes to your enrolment and program the swap properly. Within uoZone, you can also consult the Student Enrolment Guide tutorial, which is available on the Enrol application page.

University of Ottawa Services
InfoService is the University’s primary access point for the majority of your administrative needs, including requests for official documents, information on tuition fees and proof of registration (which is your official enrolment verification).

uoZone is your personal student portal. We invite you to browse and review all the available options. Tutorials are available under each app in the Applications menu.

Discover Virtual Campus, powered by Brightspace, to access your courses and install Pulse, Brightspace's mobile app that lets you stay connected to your coursework wherever you are. For help, contact Brightspace, 24/7 by phone or chat.

For a list of university wide services tools and resources for students, consult the Current students page.

Information Technology (IT) Support
You can download free software for the upcoming year, including Microsoft Office 365 and anti-virus software.

Need IT help or a password request? Send an online request to the University of Ottawa’s IT Help Desk to receive a quick response.

SecurUO app
Download the uOttawa safety app – SecurUO. Available on iOS and Android.

Integrated student and U-PASS card
Students who do not currently have a uOttawa student card must obtain one. More information is available here.