The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our students, faculty, and staff.  The Office of the Assistant Dean, EDI oversees the implementation of the law school’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategies.  The Law School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee also supports efforts to embed EDI principles in all law school activities and policies.  We are proud to have a vibrant, diverse community with over 14 affinity student groups who sustain our sense of community and offer unique opportunities for connection at the law school. We offer a first year EDI series where students interact with legal scholars, practitioners and experts who provide critical perspectives on the link between equity and the practice of law.   We strive to create a sense of belonging to ensure that the law school – and the profession – is inclusive. 

Our vision is a law school and legal profession that fully reflects the diversity of our society. Learn more about the ways that UofT Law supports equity, diversity and inclusivity.

Faculty and Staff Advisors

The following advisors invite you to contact them for advice about law school, the legal profession, and finding your place at the law school: Professors Brenda Cossman and Simon Stern are our LGBTQ faculty advisors available for consultation about academic matters. Our Manager, Indigenous Initiatives Julie Ann Shepard advises Indigenous students.

Student Affinity Groups 

UofT Law has a number of affinity student groups, where students can connect with their peers who share a similar background or personal identity. Below is a list of the groups with links to their respective web pages.

Asia Law Society

Black Law Students Association

Christian Legal Fellowship

Disabled Law Students' Association

Feminist Law Students Association

First Generation Network

Indigenous Law Students’ Association

Jewish Law Students’ Association

Muslim Law Students’ Association

Out in Law (LGBTQ+)

South Asian Law Students’ Association

Women and the Law

Indigenous Initiatives

UofT Law is dedicated to enhancing Indigenous voices in our community and within the legal profession.

Since 2010, the law school has had a full-time Manager, Indigenous Initiatives staff person who is responsible for supporting our Indigenous law students and coordinating a wide range of programming designed to build understanding and awareness of Aboriginal law and Indigenous legal traditions and issues.

The Indigenous Initiatives Office is located in room P327, along the hallway from the Student Services hub. Learn more about the ways that the law school supports Indigenous initiatives and meet our Manager Julie Ann Shepard.

1L Engagement

As a 1L student, you will also deepen your engagement with Canadian Indigenous history and experience by participating in Reconciliation Reading Circles

During the summer all 1L students are required to read a book or report from a carefully curated reconciliation reading list (below).  Students will discuss their selection in a sharing circle with a small group of their classmates, our Elder in Residence and members of the law school staff. 

• William Daschuk
  Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life
• Hadley Friedland
  Weitiko Legal Principles
• Thomas King
  The Inconvenient Indian/
  The Truth About Stories (also Massey Lecture of the same name)
• Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson
  Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation*
• Robin Wall Kimmerer
  Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
• Sheila Watt-Cloutier
  The Right to be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic, and the Whole Planet
• John Borrows
  Canada's Indigenous Constitution

In addition, the Indigenous Initiatives Office (IIO) hosts a speaker series and is working on the law school’s first reconciliation podcast: 28: A Call to Action. Please keep an eye out for email from the IIO about special events and more. 

 Indigenous Artwork

Make sure you check out the amazing Indigenous artwork in the law school buildings, including the “Meeting Place for all our Relations” painting by Jay Bell Redbird, which is on the wall between classrooms J225 and J230 on the main floor of Jackman Law Building (photo above). We also hope you will visit the signs marking the office of the Indigenous Law Students’ Association (ILSA), written in the Indigenous languages of our Indigenous students and alumni.

To Do Before You Arrive

• Read about the Indigenous Initiatives Office on the Faculty of Law website.
• Respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s calls to action and build your cultural competency by reading one of the books or reports in the reconciliation reading list.

University of Toronto’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Resources

The broader UofT community also has a wide range of equity programs, services and offices for you.

Did you know...

The law school has two indoor spaces to smudge. Students can smudge in both the Indigenous Law Students’ Association office and the Rowell Room.