Showing posts with label Law School News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law School News. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 February 2011
LU Law School coming soon
A proposed law program at Lakehead University is being recommended by an approval committee for law programs in Canada. Read more here.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Business is booming for legal clinic
Posted at The Whig By MIKE NORRIS MNORRIS@THEWHIG.COM
"Fledgling entrepreneurs and some Queen's University law students can agree on one thing:
Business is booming in Kingston.
The newly established Queen's Business Law Clinic provides legal advice -- free of charge -- to small, start-up and not-for-profit businesses in the city. A four-month pilot project last winter was so successful, the clinic will now be a year-round operation.
'The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Kingston,' said Professor Peter Kissick, director of the law clinic.
'I was surprised by how sophisticated the files are, from software to carpentry businesses. There's a wide variety of things going on.'"
Read the whole article here.
These kinds of clinics are essential, not only for access to justice, but also access to legal information for those who cannot afford a retainer for a lawyer, or who are just starting to do the legwork for their start-up business, or a legal transaction or action. Good stuff! Congratulations on your success so far law clinic law students! We appreciate you.
"Fledgling entrepreneurs and some Queen's University law students can agree on one thing:
Business is booming in Kingston.
The newly established Queen's Business Law Clinic provides legal advice -- free of charge -- to small, start-up and not-for-profit businesses in the city. A four-month pilot project last winter was so successful, the clinic will now be a year-round operation.
'The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Kingston,' said Professor Peter Kissick, director of the law clinic.
'I was surprised by how sophisticated the files are, from software to carpentry businesses. There's a wide variety of things going on.'"
Read the whole article here.
These kinds of clinics are essential, not only for access to justice, but also access to legal information for those who cannot afford a retainer for a lawyer, or who are just starting to do the legwork for their start-up business, or a legal transaction or action. Good stuff! Congratulations on your success so far law clinic law students! We appreciate you.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Law school alumnus gives back to university
"Frank MacInnis said he experienced a 'brief moment of terror' when his former law professor summoned him to the podium Friday, a startling admission from a man who now presides over a U. S.-based Fortune 500 company.
'Old habits die hard,' MacInnis told a laughing audience at the University of Alberta, recalling his friendly, yet sometimes adversarial relationship with former law dean David Percy.
Of course, there was no reason for argument Friday, when MacInnis and his wife were honoured for a $2.5-million donation to Percy's faculty-- the largest single gift the U of A law school has ever received."
That is a very nice donation from a very nice, and obviously successful alumnus. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. MacInnis!
'Old habits die hard,' MacInnis told a laughing audience at the University of Alberta, recalling his friendly, yet sometimes adversarial relationship with former law dean David Percy.
Of course, there was no reason for argument Friday, when MacInnis and his wife were honoured for a $2.5-million donation to Percy's faculty-- the largest single gift the U of A law school has ever received."
That is a very nice donation from a very nice, and obviously successful alumnus. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. MacInnis!
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Law school at Thompson Rivers University
By Melissa Lampman - Kamloops This Week
Published: February 17, 2009 5:00 PM
Published: February 17, 2009 5:00 PM
A plan to launch a law school at Thompson Rivers University is yet another step in making it the most comprehensive post-secondary institution in the nation.
In the Speech from the Throne on Monday, the province announced the creation of the new law school — one of three in B.C. — slated to open by 2011.
The plan is to have a three-year, fully accredited bachelor of law program accepting a minimum of 40 students per year with a focus on social, cultural and economic realities of Canadian rural settings.
'Isn’t this great? Now the work really begins,' said TRU president Kathleen Scherf of the next couple of years of intense planning to make the school a reality."
Isn't what great? Another law school in a market that is full of job losses and downsizing? Good timing! I don't think this is a good idea. Even if it does happen, it shouldn't happen for another decade or more - until there is an actual demand.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Phony degrees put Osgoode law school on high alert
By Macleans.ca | January 5th, 2009 | 2:04 pm
"Will implement tougher 'verification measures' to help detect admissions fraud
The Toronto Star is reporting that Osgoode Hall Law School will tighten admissions procedures following revelations that a third-year student used a phony degree to enter the York University law program.
The school’s dean, Patrick Monahan, says admissions integrity is of utmost importance and they are “investigating additional verification measures that could be put in place to detect cases of fraud in the admission process.”
When even one student gets admitted improperly, he says, it hurts the admissions chances of another student in addition to damaging Osgoode’s reputation.
The Star says student Quami Frederick was found to have used a degree purchased from an Internet diploma mill to get accepted into the law program in 2006. More recently, Frederick submitted photocopies of transcripts in which her Osgoode Hall marks were inflated when she successfully applied for an articling job at the Bay St. law firm Wildeboer Dellelce, LLP.
Frederick, 28, now faces an Osgoode Hall disciplinary hearing that could lead to expulsion. The law firm has withdrawn its job offer."
Stupid. Just plain stupid!
Law school launches police accountability and complaints program
"The University of Windsor law school will launch a program next month aimed at enhancing police accountability and reducing the use of racial profiling.
In what is believed to be the first program of its kind, the school will provide advice about racial profiling and police oversight to government, public interest organizations, community groups - and police forces themselves.
It will also advise civilians who want to lodge complaints regarding police conduct."
See the whole Globe and Mail article here.
Monday, 22 December 2008
York law student caught with fake degree
Excalibur Web Edition
Written by By Andrew Fletcher, Sports & Health Editor
Written by By Andrew Fletcher, Sports & Health Editor
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
"A York University student is under investigation for allegedly committing an act of degree fraud. Third-year student Quami Frederick is under review for academic dishonesty after she allegedly submitted a degree that she never earned, for admission to Osgoode Law School. The Toronto Star reported on Dec. 13 that Frederick bought a BA degree in business administration from St. George’s University for $1,109 in 2004. St. George’s University, located in Grenada, has recently confirmed that Frederick did not attend the school."
Read the whole story here.
I sure get a lot of spam for these fake degrees. I always wondered if someone would actually try to pass one off. I wonder for this one caught person, how many have successfully duped law school admissions staff? Bet she would make a good lawyer! I'm glad she is being screened now, rather than later, such as the guy I posted about the other day (see here), although she really should have been caught sooner - "Granada"???
"A York University student is under investigation for allegedly committing an act of degree fraud. Third-year student Quami Frederick is under review for academic dishonesty after she allegedly submitted a degree that she never earned, for admission to Osgoode Law School. The Toronto Star reported on Dec. 13 that Frederick bought a BA degree in business administration from St. George’s University for $1,109 in 2004. St. George’s University, located in Grenada, has recently confirmed that Frederick did not attend the school."
Read the whole story here.
I sure get a lot of spam for these fake degrees. I always wondered if someone would actually try to pass one off. I wonder for this one caught person, how many have successfully duped law school admissions staff? Bet she would make a good lawyer! I'm glad she is being screened now, rather than later, such as the guy I posted about the other day (see here), although she really should have been caught sooner - "Granada"???
LU's law-school dream could take step forward
Web Posted: 12/17/2008 10:33:12 PM
"Despite Ontario's denial for funding, work continues at Lakehead University to develop a new law school."
Is this just a pipe dream, or is there any reality to this headline? Is it possible for them to privately fund a new law school, and could they gain the support of the heads that be? And further, would there be any true advantage to a law school in that area of the country? Would it create new jobs? Would it fill any voids? Are there any voids? Last I heard, there were an abundance of law graduates in Ontario (maybe even the country) who could not find an article upon graduation from law school.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Critics clash over role of law schools
From The Lawyer's Weekly:
By Nora Rock
Toronto
December 12 2008
"If the goal of medical school were to teach students not how to be doctors, but how to think like doctors, would you want to be a graduate’s first patient?
This is a very useful and necessary debate to have. Here are my thoughts from the field:
1. It is nearly impractical for a lawyer to know everything that she needs to know coming out of law school, or even coming out of her articling year. Each and every day as a lawyer is a learning experience.
2. The focus should not be on what is taught in law school. The schools, the courses and the instructors are just far to diverse to accomplish a strictly "practical" legal education. In other words, the system has gone too far towards academia and theoretical instruction as opposed to a professional training system.
3. I believe that the number of core courses required should be increased at all Canadian Law Schools to include: wills & estates, real estate (not real estate theory, but real estate conveyancing), family law (practical training, not case law theory training - in other words, how to file for divorce, how to defend a divorce, how to run a custody trial, etc.), basic incorporations law (i.e. how to incorporate a company, how to prepare resolutions, etc.), and chambers and trial advocacy (you should have to prepare for and run at least 2 uncontested applications, and at least 2 contested applications).
4. The law societies should work towards training principals (lawyers who are partnered with articling students - mentors) and law firms to, in turn, train new lawyers. It used to be an apprenticeship program with lawyers, and we should move back towards that model, where a new lawyer is provided more simple tasks for a year or two, and then moves towards more complicated transactions and files over the years. In fact, I believe that law school should be run similar to some trades programs, where you intersperse schooling with practical training (i.e. one year on, one year off). Some students have that opportunity, somewhat, with summer internships, but not all students land a summer position. It should be mandatory for all students. This model would perhaps prolong things, but I like the idea at its core.
5. I actually think that the US model where you get thrown into the deep end upon graduation isn't such a bad idea, if the mentoring is there. It seems like some firms have excellent mentoring programs set up for new graduates, but there are probably many who are lost through the cracks (think Grisham's Rainmaker for an extreme example).
6. Law firms should ultimately be accountable to new lawyers or lawyers-in-training.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this debate.
By Nora Rock
Toronto
December 12 2008
"If the goal of medical school were to teach students not how to be doctors, but how to think like doctors, would you want to be a graduate’s first patient?
Professor David Chavkin of the American University Washington College of Law put this question to attendees at a symposium about the future of legal education hosted by Ryerson University on Nov. 25.
The curriculum being delivered in today’s law schools and its relationship to the demands of modern legal practice were scrutinized by speakers including Michael Bryant, Ontario’s minister of economic development, who noted the trend toward self-representation in our courts. “Over half of the people in Canada, when faced with a legal problem in their lives, have no idea where to turn,” said Bryant, who expressed the related worry that many of today’s law graduates emerge from law school ill-prepared to meet the needs of average Canadians.
While the Ryerson symposium’s intended focus was on future directions in education, attendee Noah Aiken-Klar, national director of Pro Bono Students Canada, pointed out that our legal community faces a chicken-and-egg style dilemma: while law schools struggle to recruit and train a more diverse student body, dysfunction in the profession causes attrition that hits non-mainstream lawyers — women, lawyers with disabilities and minorities — hardest.
Two factors — the Law Society of Upper Canada’s latest redesign of the lawyer licensing system, and recent calls for the abolition of articling — have put pressure on law schools to provide the practical, “lawyering” training that articling and the Bar admission course were once intended to accomplish."
You can read the whole article here.This is a very useful and necessary debate to have. Here are my thoughts from the field:
1. It is nearly impractical for a lawyer to know everything that she needs to know coming out of law school, or even coming out of her articling year. Each and every day as a lawyer is a learning experience.
2. The focus should not be on what is taught in law school. The schools, the courses and the instructors are just far to diverse to accomplish a strictly "practical" legal education. In other words, the system has gone too far towards academia and theoretical instruction as opposed to a professional training system.
3. I believe that the number of core courses required should be increased at all Canadian Law Schools to include: wills & estates, real estate (not real estate theory, but real estate conveyancing), family law (practical training, not case law theory training - in other words, how to file for divorce, how to defend a divorce, how to run a custody trial, etc.), basic incorporations law (i.e. how to incorporate a company, how to prepare resolutions, etc.), and chambers and trial advocacy (you should have to prepare for and run at least 2 uncontested applications, and at least 2 contested applications).
4. The law societies should work towards training principals (lawyers who are partnered with articling students - mentors) and law firms to, in turn, train new lawyers. It used to be an apprenticeship program with lawyers, and we should move back towards that model, where a new lawyer is provided more simple tasks for a year or two, and then moves towards more complicated transactions and files over the years. In fact, I believe that law school should be run similar to some trades programs, where you intersperse schooling with practical training (i.e. one year on, one year off). Some students have that opportunity, somewhat, with summer internships, but not all students land a summer position. It should be mandatory for all students. This model would perhaps prolong things, but I like the idea at its core.
5. I actually think that the US model where you get thrown into the deep end upon graduation isn't such a bad idea, if the mentoring is there. It seems like some firms have excellent mentoring programs set up for new graduates, but there are probably many who are lost through the cracks (think Grisham's Rainmaker for an extreme example).
6. Law firms should ultimately be accountable to new lawyers or lawyers-in-training.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this debate.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Province lays down the law
Asearch through the Law Society of Upper Canada's directory shows there are 203 lawyers in Sudbury. Yep, that's right CCIII.
The Law Society of Upper Canada's membership data shows there are 38,879 lawyers in the province. (We won't trouble you with the Roman numerals.) Almost 1,500 new lawyers were called to the bar last year in Ontario.
A few in Sudbury aren't practising, a few are suspended, a few in the registry are deceased.
And while the North suffers from a chronic lack of professionals and specialists, with lawyers it is not because the province isn't churning out enough of them, it's largely because they don't settle here.
The argument made in favour of the medical school -- training doctors in the North, giving them a look at the lifestyle -- can reasonably be transferred to lawyers, since they must leave the area to enrol in one of Canada's 16 law schools (Ontario has six) to pursue their legal ambitions. But if the province is to put money into education, the legal profession, says Colleges and Universities Minister John Milloy, isn't a priority. He wants to focus on graduate studies and doctors.
We cannot disagree with those priorities.
Read the whole editorial here.
Ontario won't fund proposed law schools
The Ontario government says it has no money to train new lawyers, dashing the hopes of three universities in the province competing to open the first new law school in Canada in nearly 30 years. Plans for the new schools come from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Sudbury's Laurentian University.
All three universities looking to set up full law schools, including two in Northern Ontario, say they developed their proposals in response to local concerns about the lack of legal services and the need to attract young lawyers to rural areas.
But in a letter to university presidents last Friday, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities says it will not be approving any funding for new law schools in Ontario. The province's six existing law schools are meeting the demand for new lawyers, the letter says. As well, it says, the number of law-school graduates in Ontario exceeds the number of articling placements available.
Monday, 14 July 2008
The Attorney Multipass
July 2008 Issue
By Jill Schachner Chanen
ABA Journal
From his office at Butzel Long’s Detroit headquarters, lawyer Richard Rassel can watch the massive 18-wheel trucks driving across the Ambassador Bridge from Michigan into Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Most of those trucks started their long journey north to Canada from Mexico, crossing through three countries with three distinct legal systems, observes Rassel, the firm’s past chairman and current director of global client relations.
In some ways that journey is a fitting metaphor for the needs of most businesses these days.
As foreign trade becomes more common for even the smallest of businesses, a need for lawyers versed in multiple legal systems has emerged. And now the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is stepping forward to help fill this need.
Earlier this year the law school launched a dual-degree program with Mexico’s Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, a private law school in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. The program is modeled after UDM’s 8-year-old dual-degree program with the University of Windsor Faculty of Law in Ontario, which allows law students to obtain combined J.D./LLB degrees in three years.
That program has had a total of 120 students studying in both countries since its inception. And its dual-degree grads have found their way to big law firms in Toronto, New York City and Chicago, among other cities, where they have put their international legal and language skills to work, says UDM law school dean Mark C. Gordon.
Read the whole article here.
By Jill Schachner Chanen
ABA Journal
From his office at Butzel Long’s Detroit headquarters, lawyer Richard Rassel can watch the massive 18-wheel trucks driving across the Ambassador Bridge from Michigan into Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Most of those trucks started their long journey north to Canada from Mexico, crossing through three countries with three distinct legal systems, observes Rassel, the firm’s past chairman and current director of global client relations.
In some ways that journey is a fitting metaphor for the needs of most businesses these days.
As foreign trade becomes more common for even the smallest of businesses, a need for lawyers versed in multiple legal systems has emerged. And now the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is stepping forward to help fill this need.
Earlier this year the law school launched a dual-degree program with Mexico’s Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, a private law school in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. The program is modeled after UDM’s 8-year-old dual-degree program with the University of Windsor Faculty of Law in Ontario, which allows law students to obtain combined J.D./LLB degrees in three years.
That program has had a total of 120 students studying in both countries since its inception. And its dual-degree grads have found their way to big law firms in Toronto, New York City and Chicago, among other cities, where they have put their international legal and language skills to work, says UDM law school dean Mark C. Gordon.
Read the whole article here.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Ontario schools compete for law faculties
Three Ontario universities are jockeying to be the first to open a law school in Canada in nearly 30 years, setting the stage for a battle of ambitions as they compete for government funding and approvals from the legal community, as well as the prestige that a new faculty would bring.
Plans for the new schools, in various stages of development, come from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and most recently Sudbury's Laurentian University, which last month announced it was conducting a feasibility study on a new law faculty.
Also in the works are plans for a graduate law program at the new Balsillie School of International Affairs, which would involve the University of Waterloo and could be linked to the Laurier proposal.
Read the whole story here.
Lots of you have indicated that you don't think we need another law school. How about three???
Friday, 20 June 2008
Queen's law grads to receive new designation
Bachelor of Laws degree will no longer be issued by the university
Posted By BY JANE SWITZER, FOR THE WHIG-STANDARD
What's in a name? that's what students and alumni of the Queen's Faculty of Law are asking themselves.This April marked the last graduating class of students from the Queen's Faculty of Law who had a choice between choosing a Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) or a Juris Doctor (JD) designation on their diploma.
Controversy surrounding the change in designation has been building since William Flanagan, dean of the Queen's Faculty of Law, made the announcement that all future graduating classes in the Faculty of Law will have their LL. B designations replaced with JD designations in 2007.
Read this informative article here, and post your comments on this blog.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Laurentian studies law school
Laurentian University is examining the potential of a Northern Ontario law school in an attempt to attract students and professionals north. Read more here.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
UBC and HKU forge law school alliance
From Financial Post - Legal Post:
May 28, 2008
Earlier this month the University of British Columbia and the University of Hong Kong established a new joint legal education program. The Faculties of Law at UBC and HKU will each accept up to five students per year, starting in 2009. All students enrolled in the program will be able to earn the law degrees required -- subject to admission and completion of the professional course requirements -- for law practice in both jurisdictions.
Read the whole article here.
This sounds like a really cool program. Wow!
May 28, 2008
Earlier this month the University of British Columbia and the University of Hong Kong established a new joint legal education program. The Faculties of Law at UBC and HKU will each accept up to five students per year, starting in 2009. All students enrolled in the program will be able to earn the law degrees required -- subject to admission and completion of the professional course requirements -- for law practice in both jurisdictions.
Read the whole article here.
This sounds like a really cool program. Wow!
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
New law school a step closer to reality
Law society gives Lakehead preliminary approval.
Law Times - May 5, 2008
Northern Ontario has inched closer to having its own law school after the Law Society of Upper Canada gave preliminary approval last week to a bid from Lakehead University.
But, while the law society benchers voted overwhelmingly in support of the initiative by the Thunder Bay school, some voiced concerns and voted against it.
Read the whole article here.
Some of you have commented that you think that Canada doesn't need a new law school. Others have indicated that this new law school could fill a gap in the area that it is proposed for. What are your thoughts on it now?
I am of the opinion that there are plenty of law schools already, and that they should put their money into a new medical school, or rather into creating new spots at current medical schools. We are somewhat over-lawyered, and very under-doctored.
“How many lawyers does the province of Ontario need?” “Do you think we should be studying that?” Some very good and obvious questions were asked by Ontario Bencher Bob Aaron. Why would you even consider a new law school without finding out this key information?
Interestingly, the law society’s licensing and accreditation task force in January reported that the current demand for about 1,300 articling placements in Ontario is expected to grow to 1,730 — a 30 per cent jump — by next year. This is different than the information provided in a recent post here at Law Eh? (I can't remember the date).
The school would accept 55 students each year, with preference given to those from rural, northern, or aboriginal communities. Lakehead hopes to have the new faculty up and running by next year.
Wow, that's quick!
Law Times - May 5, 2008
Northern Ontario has inched closer to having its own law school after the Law Society of Upper Canada gave preliminary approval last week to a bid from Lakehead University.
But, while the law society benchers voted overwhelmingly in support of the initiative by the Thunder Bay school, some voiced concerns and voted against it.
Read the whole article here.
Some of you have commented that you think that Canada doesn't need a new law school. Others have indicated that this new law school could fill a gap in the area that it is proposed for. What are your thoughts on it now?
I am of the opinion that there are plenty of law schools already, and that they should put their money into a new medical school, or rather into creating new spots at current medical schools. We are somewhat over-lawyered, and very under-doctored.
“How many lawyers does the province of Ontario need?” “Do you think we should be studying that?” Some very good and obvious questions were asked by Ontario Bencher Bob Aaron. Why would you even consider a new law school without finding out this key information?
Interestingly, the law society’s licensing and accreditation task force in January reported that the current demand for about 1,300 articling placements in Ontario is expected to grow to 1,730 — a 30 per cent jump — by next year. This is different than the information provided in a recent post here at Law Eh? (I can't remember the date).
The school would accept 55 students each year, with preference given to those from rural, northern, or aboriginal communities. Lakehead hopes to have the new faculty up and running by next year.
Wow, that's quick!
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Revised proposal for LU law school being reviewed
From Thunder Bay's The Source:
Lakehead University's latest proposal for a new law school is now in the hands of officials in southern Ontario and they may have their final answer by the end of April.
Read the whole article here.
Lakehead University's latest proposal for a new law school is now in the hands of officials in southern Ontario and they may have their final answer by the end of April.
Read the whole article here.
Monday, 10 March 2008
Behold, UofT's new law school
When Toronto architect Siamak Hariri was looking for inspiration in designing a law school, he visited the esteemed campuses of Yale and Harvard, along with Columbia University and New York University, some of the top legal institutions in the U.S.
The research bore fruit, as his design was picked over two other firms today, in the bid to build the University of Toronto’s new $60-million law school.
Read the whole article here.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Producer shows no concern over ‘misogyny’
Written by Valary Thompson, Sports Editor
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Some Osgoode students protest lack of apologySome female students are angered and offended by an Osgoode variety show that featured scenes they are calling misogynistic.
According to the associate dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, Robert Wai, Mock Trial is an annual event that generates funds for charity groups. This year, the event was titled Habitat for Insanity and raised funds for the Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre. The variety show took place during reading week on Feb. 15 in Moot Courtroom.
Each year’s show is different, but shares a common theme of comedy.
“It’s kind of a variety show, but also [has] a lot of skits about the law school [and] law school life, almost like a parody or follies,” Wai said.
But despite the show’s comedic tone, second-year Osgoode student Alyssa Brierley is not laughing. This is due to scenes she believed were sexually provocative and degrading to women.
Read the whole article here.
This brings back memories of "Law Show" at the University of Alberta. I never could figure out what all the fuss was about - a bunch of law students making fun of their professors and themselves. Students would put huge numbers of hours into producing this show. I never participated, but apparently it was a great bonding and networking experience. I don't feel too sad about missing out. Most law schools have a similar activity group, usually with the intention of raising funds for a charity.
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