The Law Society of Upper Canada has just now announced that Ryerson University and the University of Ottawa will provide the Society’s “Law Practice Program” of training for graduate JDs who choose not to, or are unable to, article. Ottawa will provide it in French and Ryerson in English. Unlike the University of Ottawa, Ryerson University has no law school.

As well, Ontario’s newest law school at Lakehead University will offer yet another alternative to articling, within its current JD program:

Additionally, the Law Society has approved another innovative option for fulfilling the experiential training component of its licensing requirements:

IP Osgoode has put online a series of videos of the panel discussions held during their symposium on User-Generated Content (UGC) Under Canadian Copyright Law held at Osgoode Hall Law School a month ago. You can see all six of the videos on the IPOsgoode site or view them on YouTube, the links for which are below:

• Video I: Practical Examples of UGC – Daniel Rosen, Gordon Duggan, Victor Nabhan (Panel Chair)
• Video II: Legal Aspects of UGC – Victor Nabhan, Samuel Trosow, Leonard Glickman, Pina D’Agostino (Panel Chair)
• Video III: Specific UGC Legal Aspects – Eva

I wrote last month on a recent conference, The Future of Law School. The backchannel and later discussion was considerable, as I’ve noted, and several others wrote about the rich panel presentations and their own ideas about the future of law school. Weeks later, I still find myself pondering ideas from it often. I’m thinking lately about the place of the law school and its connection—in Canada—to the university and its library.

The focus of the conference was where law school curricula are, should be, or could be headed. Participants and presenters discussed various factors that do or might drive . . . [more]

I attended the Canadian IT Law Association annual conference last week. It is IMHO consistently the best continuing ed program for IT law.

Some general conference observations:

1. Pay attention to speakers even if they are covering topics you are familiar with. No matter how well you know the topic, something new / useful will come up.
2. Conference materials in the cloud are the way to go. Much more convenient than on physical media.
3. Hotel / conference centre AV equipment won’t always display your presentation the same as on your work computer, especially if it includes animation or video. It’s a

The deadline for program submissions for the Canadian Association of Law Libraries conference to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 25-28, 2014 has been extended to November 1st (this Friday). Submissions can be made by anyone; you do not have to be a member. If you have an idea but have been wondering if you should submit, now is your chance!

Details and links below.

2014 Annual CALL/ACBD Conference

CALL FOR PROGRAM SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED: November 1st, 2013

Submissions for the 2014 Annual CALL/ACBD Conference program are open! The conference is an exciting opportunity to explore and learn about emerging

When lawyers say they can’t afford their own services, you might have an access to justice problem.

Regina lawyer Alex Shalashniy said during the CBA Legal Futures Initiative’s Twitter chat Tuesday night that he’s heard lawyers admitting they would be unable to pay their own fees if they needed a lawyer – something he calls a “telling illustration” of the access to justice problem in Canada.

A number of people participating in the third weekly Twitter chat, this one dealing with how legal services can be changed to increase access, pointed to cost as a barrier.

Corinne Boudreau, owner of . . . [more]

When I was looking for an articling position, people would often tell me to make sure that I found a place where I “fit.” At the time, I found this advice incredibly frustrating. I thought “fit” was a criterion that only those candidates who had multiple Bay Street offers could consider. I was more concerned about factors like type of law, location, and simply whether or not I would be hired. However, as I come to the end of my articling term, I find myself giving prospective articling students the same advice.

I articled at a boutique firm practicing in . . . [more]

Is continuing legal education the professional equivalent of renewing your driver’s licence – requiring little of you beyond that you show up, pay your fee and get your picture taken?

That was one of the questions asked during Tuesday night’s Twitter chat this week, where the discussion focused on the utility – or futility – of CLE.

While some participants made the argument that CLE is useful – Karen Dyck, for example, says lawyers will often have an “Aha!” moment that will send them back to the office to implement lessons learned. Sara Cohen says CLE is essential, “especially for . . . [more]

Earlier this week I had one of those discussions/debates with a friend of mine whereby neither of us could remember a certain point. However, our discussion was quickly laid to rest with a quick perusal of the nearest search engine. In our particular case we were trying to remember all the characters that have been in KISS (avec make-up). Trust me, it is not as easy to recall as you might think (absent enlistment in the KISS army).

This occasion brought home a lament of mine, that the interweb has killed the bar stool argument, one no longer goes back . . . [more]

An interesting perspective on the Canadian system of articling was offered up during this week’s Twitter chat by Valarie, @YoungSmartLegal, who has recently moved here from the United States.

“The idea of articles sort of baffles me,” Valarie said in response to questions about the advantages and limitations of articling for professional training.

Twitter chat moderator Omar Ha-Redeye noted that Canadians seem to think it’s necessary, to which Valarie responded: “In principle it makes sense, but if you’re going to a big firm it just seems like a way to keep salaries low.”

Articling students would be first-years at U.S. . . . [more]

Over two and a half crisp autumn days last month, The University of Alberta Faculty of Law capped its centenary celebrations with a stimulating conference: The Future of Law School. I imagine a conference so named can either entice or repel, depending on one’s interest in the plethora of discourse on practice-ready graduates, tomorrow’s lawyers and the goals of legal education. Firmly in the camp of the enticed, I made the homecoming weekend trip to the U of A to hear the thoughts of the stellar lineup of presenters.

The keynotes, panels, and question sessions brought external experiences and . . . [more]

Bloomberg Law released an interesting video with Lee Pacchia interviewing Steve Sunshine, partner at Bryan Cave on the program he initiated for junior lawyers in his firm on business development. The program focusses on lawyers developing their own plans for bringing in business.

The program, in its sixth year, has been delivered to about 800 members of the firm. Its original audience was junior partners, but has since been delivered to junior and senior associates, some senior partners, directors of administration and offices, and paralegals. While not all of these will be involved in rainmaking, he says there is . . . [more]