This is the first week for a couple of Field Law students. At my office we request that the students start on the same day and we have a formal week long student orientation program. Our program structure hasn’t changed much over the years, except that the librarian face time has doubled to a full half day.
Our students are invited to attend the Head Start program that is organized by the Edmonton Law Libraries Association so our orientation week library session is a half day refresher of our firm specific resources and writing protocols rather than a general research review.
Our orientation program topics include:
- Practice management
- Computer systems training
- Voice mail training
- Office procedures and a tour
- The Roles of support staff (assistants, paralegals, central services)
- Oath taking
- Land titles and other government registry searches
- Dictation
- Timekeeping
- Time Management and Priority Advocacy (dealing with lawyers)
- Firm publications
- Pro bono projects
- Chambers procedure
- Law Courts tour, attendace at docket, small claims, chambers
- Cold calls
- Accounting training
- First file assignment
- Review of Computer systems
- Student Duty briefing including a tour of government registry offices like Land Titles
- Library tour, research procedures, electronic research products, and effective memo writing
- Review of the week “This Hour has Five Days”
They also get fed lunch 4 of 5 days and have face time with almost all members of the firm.
I think it is a pretty good program. Do you do anything different?