Law Times

BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times NEARLY 83 per cent of law students had at least one parent who had a post-secondary cre- dential, while more than half of law students have two parents with post-secondary education, according to a survey released on Jan. 31 by the Law Students' Society of Ontario. The survey, with 697 re- sponses, also found that more than 40 per cent of law students have a parent "with at least a master's degree, a professional degree, or a doctorate degree." Of Ontario's law schools, stu- dents at Queen's University were most likely to have a parent with a professional degree, such as a JD or a medical school degree, the survey results said. About 16 per cent of re- spondents said that neither par- ent had a post-secondary creden- tial. The most common level of education completed by students' BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times UNPAID work, student debt, the partnership path and costs of running an election are some of the issues that face new calls running for representation at the Law Society of Ontario, say bencher hopefuls in the early stages of their careers. Nima Hojjati, an associate at Swadron Associates in Toronto, who was called to the bar last year, said he has considered run- ning, but he ultimately decided against it. "Winning an election seems like an impossible task. There are two categories of people who can become benchers. If you are in a good place in your career, a prominent lawyer, you can let your reputation speak for itself," says Hojjati, who is chair- man of the LSO's Equity Advi- sory Group, which is not open to benchers. "And the other big thing is if you have the resources for it. . . . When you don't have any money, that's a big hill to climb." Sean Robichaud, lead counsel at Robichaud's, who practises in Toronto and throughout On- tario and was called to the bar in 2005, is advocating in his bencher campaign for a special category to ensure the presence PM #40762529 BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times ONTARIO'S Law Society Tri- bunal Hearing Division said a lawyer's "unfamiliarity with so- cial media appears" to have been a significant contributing factor in his failure to adequately su- pervise his articling student. Toronto sole practitioner Marco Forte was reprimanded by the tribunal for misconduct in a Jan. 15 decision, Law Soci- ety of Ontario v. Forte, 2019 ONLSTH 9. The decision said Forte must pay $3,500 in costs and must participate in law society pro- grams such as Coach and Ad- visor Network and webcasts on advertising and solo and small firms. Forte's former articling stu- dent, Nadia Guo, had been the subject of several complaints to the law society, many involving social media, according to the decision from a panel of adjudi- cators including Peter Wardle, Marilyn Thain and Anne Ves- pry. Lawyer punished for student's social media use A lawyer must attend Law Society of Ontario programs after an articling student working for him made inappropriate social media postings. Photo: Sattalat Phukkum (Shutterstock) Young lawyers face challenges running in bencher election Fewer first- generation law students See Debt, page 2 See Financing, page 3 See Decision, page 2 Bill 66 More litigation ahead? page 6 Payment nixed $1.5 million to charity a no go page 5 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | FEBRUARY 4, 2019 | WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM | VOL. 30, NO. 5 | $5.00 Good, not perfect Mindset change needed page 7 Focus on Immigration Law page 8 Nima Hojjati says he debated running for bencher at the Law Society of Ontario, but he decided against it in part because of concerns around balancing student debt and his career. Photo: Laura Pedersen www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow cLeishOrlando_LT_Oct29_18.indd 1 2018-10-25 7:52 AM The Bencher Election is Coming Visit our new micro-site devoted to the upcoming LSO Bencher Election with news coverage, candidate profiles and advertising opportunities for bencher candidates. Connect with all facets of the bencher election and make an informed decision by visiting BencherElection.ca today. Untitled-1 1 2019-01-30 9:22 AM

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