BY PAUL JUNOR
The announcement of a $1.75 million pledge to the University of Toronto’s Black Future Lawyers (BFL) program will go a long way to encourage Black students to consider law school.
The good news was released in a news report in the autumn 2021 issue of the University of Toronto magazine. According to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s website: lawutoronto.ca BFL is “A collaboration between U of T, our Black Law Students Association, members of our Black alumni community and the broader legal community.” The U of T’s Provost office and U of T Law funded it in 2020 and its ultimate goal is to ensure that more Black students are accepted into its law school. Some of the initiatives includes:
- BFL’s programming for Black undergraduate students
- Mentoring and job shadowing with Black lawyers, judges, and articling students
- Invitation to attend special workshops, lectures, and other events at U of T Law
- Admissions and financial aid info sessions for Black students
- Annual Black Future Lawyers conference
- Access to a free LSAT prep course
The $1.75 million joint pledge involves fourteen of Canada’s leading law firms which include: Blakes, BLG, Cassels, Davies, Dentons, Fasken, Goodmans, Gowling WLG, McCarthy Tetrault, McMillan, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Torys. In addition, Scotiabank has contributed $60 000.
Jutta Brunnee, Dean of U of T’s Faculty of Law is aware of many of the financial hurdles and challenges that Black students face who want to pursue a legal education, and he knows this gift will make a big difference, He states, “We know that Black students face systemic hurdles that prevent them from accessing professional school education. It’s important that we have a long-term vision that will help build a consistently strong number of Black students enrolling in law.”
Ikran Jama, who participated in the BFL’s program and recently graduated told U of T magazine that she had reservations about applying to law school until she learned about it online. She states, “It means so much to individuals like me who at one point didn’t think law school was a viable pathway. Black Future Lawyers has been very powerful and inspiring.” She was accepted to the U of T’s law school but will delay attending until she completes her study at Oxford University where she was accepted as a Rhodes scholar.
She is interested in pursuing legal studies that involve the overlap of law, migration, and immigration. She notes, “For good reasons, many members of the Black community don’t trust the law or legal institutions. For this to change, we need more Black people to enter the law profession.”
The joint funding pledge by the fourteen law firms is not the only thing that they will be contributing. There will be presenting educational sessions on topics such as business law, professional advancement, networking, and presentation skills. These opportunities will undoubtedly improve the skill sets of future law students.
