About Us
What we do
LAWS is a multi-faceted program that provides participating high school students with:
An academic curriculum that focuses on law. LAWS assists participating teachers to identify and explore legal issues with their students in the classroom. U of T law students, professors, alumni and other legal professionals guest-facilitate interactive workshops on legal issues.
A weekly after-school tutoring program. U of T law students volunteer to provide high school students with academic support and mentorship.
Opportunities to interact with legal professionals. Participating high school students observe the law in action and spend time with positive role models through job shadowing experiences, mentoring programs, and paid summer placements with legal professionals.
Exposure to post-secondary education. Participating high school students frequently attend events at the U of T Faculty of Law, and visit other local college and university campuses.
Students benefit from unique learning opportunities that result from LAWS’ partnerships with the legal community, including the U of T Faculty of Law’s professors, students and alumni, as well as lawyers, judges, justices of the peace, paralegals, law enforcement officers, courts, law firms, legal aid clinics, and public interest organizations.
** Please note: Due to limited resources, only those students enrolled in the LAWS Program at Central Technical School, Harbord Collegiate Institute and Monarch Park Collegiate are eligible to participate in LAWS programming.
Highlights of the LAWS program include:
- Interactive, guest-facilitated classroom workshops in which students learn about:
- the youth criminal justice system
- Islamic law
- music downloading and intellectual property
- racial profiling
- forensic science
- environmental science
- civil liberties
- citizenship
- gang violence
- women and the law
- debating skills
- international human rights
- religion and the law
- Mock trials and debates in which students develop public speaking, critical thinking, literacy, and team-work skills.
- LAWS career panels featuring lawyers, judges, justices of the peace, police officers, forensic scientists, parole officers, and paralegals.
- Field trips to Old City Hall court house, Queen’s Park and police headquarters. Students experience university life by touring the U of T Faculty of Law and other university and college campuses.
- Job shadowing opportunities with judges, justices of the peace, Crown attorneys and Duty Counsel for a day at Old City Hall court house.
- Work-place mentoring with lawyers at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.
- Paid summer jobs with law firms and legal aid clinics.
Each year, over 300 grade 10, 11, and 12 students participate in LAWS. U of T Faculty of Law students, alumni, professors and other members of the legal community volunteer their time to the program.
