This is a great time to improve your legal writing skills! Employers consistently report that they look to hire students with strong writing abilities. Do you want to improve your skills? Do you want to polish an assignment you can use as a writing sample for summer or articling positions? Do you need help with writing assignments in school or need a better process to approach writing projects in a more systematic way?

The Faculty’s Writing Leaders can help!

Writing Leaders are trained peer mentors who give advice on:

• Techniques for kick-starting the writing process
• Structuring your legal writing
• Strengthening your legal analysis
• Writing with clarity
• Becoming a better self-editor

Writing conferences are open to students in all years. You can bring a work-in-progress, or simply schedule an appointment to learn more about legal writing.

Go to the Legal Research and Writing Student Resources page on Brightspace and scroll down to the “Writing Conferences” tab for more information or to schedule a conference. Questions? Email Professor Long.

The Jim Ryan Class of 1975 Scholarship Fund (minimum $1,000, 1 annual award) recognizes a first-year JD student in the Common Law Section who has contributed most to classmates’ enjoyment, demonstrates financial need, and meets eligibility criteria (Canadian/permanent resident/protected person; Ontario resident per OSAP).

Apply via the Online Scholarship and Bursaries portal (uoZone) and include:

• Financial Questionnaire
• CV (via the portal)
• Letter of recommendation from a first-year classmate

Submit by April 1 at 1:00 PM.
 

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The Merovitz Potechin LLP Scholarship for Estate Litigation (minimum $1,000, 1 annual award) supports a second- or third-year JD student in the Common Law Section who demonstrates excellence in estate litigation.

Eligibility: Canadian citizen, permanent resident, protected/refugee status holder, or international student; enrolled full-time in 2L or 3L; registered in CML3206 (Wills and the Law of Succession) or CML3506 (Testaments et successions).

Apply via the Online Scholarships and Bursaries portal (uoZone) and include:

• A reference letter from a Common Law professor confirming excellence in estate litigation

Submit by April 1 at 1:00 PM.

We invite you to inform us of any positions you have secured for Summer 2026 or the 2026-2027 articling term. You can share your updates with us at [email protected].

University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic has expanded their FREE DROP-IN NOTARIAL SERVICES – Every Wednesday and Thursday 12:00pm to 1:00pm | Clinic Main office: 540 King Edward Avenue

 (until April 30, 2026)

Great lawyers are great writers! Employers consistently tell us they seek to hire students with excellent legal writing skills. If you want to ensure you have the skills to excel in your summer job, articling job and beyond, consider applying for one of our Legal Writing Academy summer courses. Courses are worth 3 credits and count as either a Fall or Winter term course.

1. CML 4113 - LWA Portfolio and Leadership Program

You’ll produce high quality legal writing to showcase to future employers and learn how to mentor other students to become better writers. Students who successfully complete the course will be eligible to become paid Writing Leaders during the academic year. This link is your path to more information, including dates, deadlines, and the application form.

2. CML 4113 – Legal Memos Made Easy

Designed to fit your summer work schedule. Work at your own pace to write and edit a legal memo guided by structured, online pass-fail assignments that take 3-10 hours a week to complete. The professor supports your summer work with feedback, check-in meetings, an editing class, and an individual meeting before you submit your graded memo. This link is your path to more information, including dates, deadlines, and the application form.

For more information please contact Professor Long: [email protected]

Will you be seeking a 2027-2028 articling position? Structured recruitment application deadlines across the country are this Spring! Be sure to look up the 2027-2028 Articling Recruitment Timelines as well as the Articling Search Strategies for the 2027-2028 Recruitment Process, available in The Source document library.

Common Law students have the opportunity to pursue different internships during their studies at the University of Ottawa. These internships provide students with the opportunity to gain practical experience and expose them to a variety of practice areas and work environments.

 Are you interested in pursuing an internship for the Summer 2026? Now is the time to start planning!

The application deadline for all academic terms in 2026-2027 for the following internships is Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.:

• Ontario Court of Justice Practicum (CML3351)
• Office of the Law Clerk & Parliamentary Counsel — Senate of Canada (CML3173)
• City of Ottawa Legal Department (CML3173)

The application deadline for the following Summer 2026 internships is Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.:

• Russomanno Hyslop Law (CML3173)
• Immigration Law with Ayesha Kumararatne (CML3173)
• National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) (CML3173)
• Taxpayer Law Professional Corporation (CML3173)
• Legislative Development — Senate of Canada (CML3173)
• Advanced Legislative Development — Senate of Canada (CML3173)

The application deadlines for the Summer 2026 Student Proposed Internship (SPI) are as follows:

1. For students in the Program de droit canadien (PDC): Friday, May 15, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.
2. For all other students in the Common Law Program (CML): Tuesday, June 3, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.

• Student Proposed Internship (CML3171)

Join us on April 1, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in room FTX 147 for the Student-Proposed Internship (SPI) - Q&A Information Session. This is a good opportunity to learn more about what you can do to gain more experience! During the session you will take away important information about the program, the application process, and the important deadlines. Register under the Events tab in The Source.

Please note that SPI internship opportunities are occasionally advertised under the "Job Postings" tab in The Source.  Please consult The Source regularly to find SPI internship postings for the Summer 2026.  This course will be registered as a Student Proposed Internship course (CML3171).

Please consult the Summer application process and the list of available internships on your Brightspace homepage: 2026‑2027 Common Law – Demande de stages | Internship Applications.

*Note: Brightspace tabs for Fall term internships open in July, and tabs for January & Winter term internships open in mid-September.

Good luck!

Please note that the information regarding which courses will be offered will be posted at a later date in the Dictum edition of April 6, 2026, and on the Featured Course webpage.

Students may allocate credits earned from these courses to either the Fall 2026 term or the Winter 2027 term. Summer credits allocated to Fall 2026 or Winter 2027 will be included in regular full-time tuition, with no additional fees.

Students are not permitted to exceed the full-time course load, even if they complete coursework over the summer. For example, if a student completes 3 summer credits and applies them to Fall 2026, they may enrol in 4 additional courses (12 credits), for a total of 15 credits. As a reminder, a regular full-time course load consists of 5 courses (15 credits) for the Fall, 1 course (3 credits) for January, and 4 courses (12 credits) for the Winter.

Students may take up to 2 summer courses (6 credits), including any combination of courses, internships, Student-Proposed Internships (SPIs), or other for-credit academic activities. If a student enrols in 6 summer credits, they must allocate them evenly—3 credits to Fall and 3 credits to Winter (not January).

We wish you all the best for the last weeks of the winter term and the planification of your summer months.

Note that these courses are only offered in English. 

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

To prepare for the upcoming exam period, please ensure that Examplify is installed, up-to-date, and tested well in advance.

Key Steps:

• New Installation: If Examplify is not yet installed, download it from the Faculty’s ExamSoft portal using your uoZone login credentials.
• Upgrade Existing Examplify Installation: If Examplify is already on your laptop, launch the app and complete any available upgrades.
• Run Practice Exams: Complete mock exams to confirm Examplify is working on your device. This step is essential for troubleshooting and getting familiar with the software.
• Register: After testing Examplify, complete the Examplify Registration Form to authorize the $57 CAD annual licensing fee.

Please review the information available on the Exams webpage for further details. 

Before receiving your diploma, you must ensure that you meet all graduation requirements. Simply filling out the registration form or receiving this email does not guarantee graduation.

Steps to Apply:

1. Log into uoZone.
2. Check My Academic Requirements in your Student Center to confirm you’re eligible to graduate. For questions, contact your faculty.
3. Under the Applications tab, select Apply for Graduation.

Important Deadline

Apply to graduate by March 31, 2026, whether or not you plan to attend the ceremony.
Your degree will then be conferred at the May 27, 2026, University Senate session.

Special Degree Considerations

• Integrated degrees: If you’re earning two different degrees at the same time, submit a degree request for each.
• Degrees from different faculties: You can attend both ceremonies or request to receive both degrees at one ceremony. Email [email protected] with your preference.

If you took a NPSIA course during the 2025–2026 academic year that counts as double credits, please review your unofficial transcript to ensure that:

• Your Fall course and grade are listed correctly; and/or
• Your Winter term NPSIA course appears on your transcript.

If your Fall grade or Winter course does not appear on your unofficial transcript, please contact the Common Law Student Centre as soon as possible at [email protected]

Welcome back! Now that the Fall term has ended, please submit an official copy of your transcript as soon as your final grades are available. Once received, we will update your file accordingly.

Please send your official transcript to: [email protected]

Congratulations on completing your exchange!

Students who wish to participate in the Winter Access/Equity Tutorials, including those who were enrolled last term, must fill out an application form.

NEW for the Winter term! We are also accepting Access/Equity tutorial applications from students who may have received a low mid-term mark in a given course. If you are applying to a particular tutorial on the basis of having received a low mid-term grade, you must indicate the grade you received on the application form.

Registration began on March 1st, 2026!

The University of Ottawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) and the Canadian Red Cross are pleased to announce the 2026 Summer School on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), to be held May 31st to June 5th, 2026.

The goal of this course is to provide students and professionals with the fundamentals of IHL and the opportunity to apply this knowledge through realistic case studies and a full-day simulation exercise.

The course is offered in both French and English, and enrolment is limited to 30 students per language group.

Interested students (under certain conditions) can take this course for credit (DRC4521), but please note that you must first register with us and send us your CV and an unofficial transcript of your grades.

The registration form is now available on the Summer School webpage where you will find all the details!