Greetings from our Ombudsperson: Jeanette O'Sullivan

Hi 1Ls... I hope you all have some great plans to celebrate Canada Day (or Independence Day)! As we head into the long weekend, here's a post from our Ombudsperson, Jeanette O'Sullivan. You may have already seen her letter of welcome over on our website, but here's a more informal way to get to know her. Jeanette will be overseeing the Law Buddy program, a great program we have at UBC which pairs incoming students with upper years. I would highly recommend participating in the program. My law buddy, Kaitlyn, was (and continues to be) an invaluable source of advice about studying, course selection, and even job applications!


Not to scare you, but in the first couple weeks of law school, you will be confronted with umpteen different lectures, meetings and information sessions to attend. While all of these are meant to be helpful and to "ease you in" to the foreign universe that is law school, all of this can be a little overwhelming. Ugh, information overload!

Have no fear; everyone else is feeling the same way as you. The bottom line is, you will come across many new challenges throughout the year, but the guidance and help sessions will continue throughout the year, not just in September. To ensure that you always have your own personal mentor to answer your questions and concerns, I will be setting up the legal buddy program in September. This program will match you up with an upper year student, who has been through what you’re going through. Your legal buddy will give you helpful information and other contacts who might be able to further assist you. Do you have a prof whose expectations are unclear, or you would like to know more about your professors different marking schemes and teaching styles? Ask your legal buddy to set you up with the contacts of students who have had that professor in the past. Need a good CAN ("condensed annotated notes": you will learn about these in September too!)? Your legal buddy can probably help you find the perfect one!

At the beginning of the year, you and your legal buddy will have a fun-filled initial meeting to get to know each other and exchange contacts. However, throughout the year, it is possible that you may encounter concerns or problems that require someone else to step in. As your ombudsperson, I am here to help you confront any substantive concern you may have, and to remedy the situation. I intend to hold weekly office hours, and will always be available to you by e-mail at ubclawombudsperson@hotmail.com.

Student Perspectives: Interviews with Current UBC Law Students

Hey 1Ls!

Over the course of the summer, check back for our four-part interview series with current UBC Law students. These interviews have been conducted with upper years who have quite diverse backgrounds and interests, and are meant to give you a great look at what your law school experience could be like.


Name: Adam Freud
Year: 2L
Age: 28
Hometown: Toronto, ON

What did you do before law school?
Before law school I was a disgruntled, long-time science student. I got my B.Sc in cell & molecular biology at McGill before doing my M.Sc in molecular & medical biology at York University. McGill was awesome – there’s just no city in North America like Montreal. York was more of a struggle. Working in a lab and killing hundreds of mice in the name of science just started to wear on me. That said, it was pretty cool getting some real research experience and learning the mechanics of type II diabetes (the focus of my project). After that, law school seemed particularly enticing – after 3 years of toiling away in a lab and mice biting me, thousands of pages of reading didn’t seem so bad. No more DNA amplification, insulin and glucose assays, or blood samples. I’m proud to say that I haven’t killed a mouse in 439 days and, I gotta tell ya, it feels great.

What area of law are you interested in?
I’m specifically interested in intellectual property, health law, and biotechnology. Given the speed with which data and information can be spread via the internet and the infinite potential of biotechnology in the treatment of disease, there’s a growing connection between law and science. What counts as your idea when the company you work for possesses the rights to any drugs or treatments that you devise? What if it was developed on your own time at home? Does blogging about your ideas or openly sharing data prevent you from patenting and profiting from a private enterprise?

A fun fact about yourself…
I have a permanent muscle on my left hand from over-use of the original, jagged Nintendo controller as a kid. It’s freaky.

What was your favourite part of Orientation Week?
Definitely the night activities. While the seminars during the day were insightful and gave a great sense of what to expect during the year (it’s impossible to fail, apparently!), the night activities were the best way to get to know the people you’ll be chilling with for the next 3 years. It’s much easier to get to know a person over beers than during a lecture, right?!?!

What was the best advice an upper year gave you when school started?
The best advice that I got came from my buddy Rob Anton (3L). He pointed out the glorious mystery that is law exams. On the exams you think that you bombed, you’ll probably do well; on the exams you walk out of confident, you’ll probably do mediocre. Basically, he said not to stress because you NEVER know how the grades will come back. He was totally right.

What was the worst advice an upper year gave you when school started?
After thinking about this for 10 minutes, I still don’t have an answer. Perhaps UBC Law students are just so damn intelligent they’re incapable of giving bad advice (baddum ching).

What was your favourite part of first year?
Probably the first 2 months. I’m all about new experiences and the first couple months here are ripe with them. You’re meeting new people ALL the time and having a wildly different school experience than you’re used to. Hell, there are STILL people in my year that I haven’t met yet.

What was the most challenging part of first year?
For me, it was making the transition from being Science Boy (learning in short sprints and Scantron sheets) to learning by accretion and slowly building a knowledge base. I’d never taken any arts classes before so being assigned colossal amounts of reading was not something that I was prepared for. As well, I learned that in non-science classrooms it seems people REALLY like to spend a lot of time on discussions. You’ll quickly realize who likes to hear themselves talk. Be nice to them; they think they’re helping.

What was your favourite social event in first year?
I’d have to say the Trike Race for sure. Although, I’m a bit biased because I did plan it. Where else can you have hundreds of beers, hilarious little tricycles, and thousands of water balloons? Otherwise, I’d say the boat cruise was my favourite event. Anyone who has ever been on one before knows it’s a gong show. Plus, it’s closer to the beginning of the year – meaning you’ll probably be meeting LOTS of new people while consuming vast amounts of …. social lubricant.

What would you do differently in 1L?
A few things. I definitely would’ve attended class more. I was just so used to instantly understanding concepts in scientific studies that I didn’t realize the insight provided by professors and other students in the classroom is absolutely crucial to fully appreciating what you’re studying. Also, I would not have lived in Kitsilano. I’m more of a big city kid and that area was far too quiet for me. Lastly, I would have prepared my final exam notes much earlier than I did. Time seems to accelerate through March and all of a sudden you may find yourself finishing your notes just hours before a final. DO NOT DO THIS. Be smarter than I was.

What extracurriculars would you recommend to 1Ls?
I absolutely would recommend getting involved with the LSS (Law Students’ Society). I was a first year social rep and am the incoming VP Student Affairs, and it’s been a seriously awesome experience. You get to plan events throughout the year, get involved in the student government, and can form connections with firms that you plan to apply to in the future. I’d also recommend volunteering for LSLAP (the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program). You get real-world experience in dealing with clients and, if you’re at one of the more interesting clinics, get to hear stories so ridiculous that you couldn’t have made them up yourself.

What was your favourite class? Favourite professor?
My favourite class was definitely Constitutional and was taught by Joel Bakan. He’s really fun to listen to. You’d think a concept like constitutional law would be boring, right? WRONG. He made every class interesting, fun, engaging, and sometimes pretty hilarious. Otherwise, I’d have to say Regulatory State taught by Robin Elliot. It was my first “poli-sci” course ever and, while I didn’t do particularly well grade-wise, Professor Elliot has amazing stories and was a pleasure to listen to.

Any words of wisdom for the incoming 1Ls?
Balance. It’s all about balance. Go out, have fun, meet people, party, but make sure you get your work done. The application process is very competitive and you’ll need to stay focused if you want your pick of the litter. Otherwise, have fun!