Law Times

Page 2 June 23, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Bentley's pitch to the profession Former AG wants lawyers involved as LPP set to launch By Arshy MAnn Law Times s Ryerson University prepares to launch the English-language component of the law practice program this August as an alternative track to licens- ing, organizers are trying to get lawyers involved in order to get it ready for the first cohort of law graduates. Chris Bentley, a former On- tario attorney general and now executive director of the law practice program at Ryerson, has been aggressively pitching the alternative to articling to practitioners throughout On- tario amid some skepticism about it. "The response has been ex- cellent," Bentley tells Law Times. "When people hear what we're doing during the 17 weeks of training, that it really is or- ganizing the candidates into virtual law firms, that they'll be doing practical work under the supervision of a practising lawyer, it dispels any notion that this is school." Bentley says that along with the larger law firms that have historically trained many arti- cling students, the law practice program has been reaching out to in-house legal departments, small firms, legal aid clinics, and sole practitioners to bring them on board. He says the program has al- ready secured placements with firms of various sizes and some municipal governments. "I think there's a real op- portunity here for people who haven't often or always taken an articling student," says Bentley. The Law Society of Upper Canada introduced the law practice program as an alterna- tive to articling. For years, the number of law graduates has been outpacing the number of articling positions. Ryerson is administering the English-lan- guage program while the Uni- versity of Ottawa is running the French-language version. The program includes a 17- week training section, most of which is virtual, and a four- month practicum. During the training, students work at virtu- al law firms with supervision by a practising lawyer. They focus on seven different areas: family, criminal, wills and estates, ad- ministrative, civil, business, and real estate law. Speaking at the law society's solo and small firms conference this month, Bentley reiterated many times that the training isn't school. "It is not a course," Bentley told the audience. "It is a way that candidates who are ready to article or do the transition-year training can acquire the foundational skills and competencies that they need for success." He said that taking on a practicum student was "virtu- ally risk free" because of what he anticipates will be an intense training regimen. "The commitment that we make to you is the 17 weeks of training will be the type of training that you would provide in the most rigorous 17 weeks you can devise," he said. Bentley said he expects about half of the placements will be in the Greater Toronto Area with the remainder throughout the rest of the province. LT NEWS Draft your own customized documents with O'Brien's Encyclopedia of Forms, Eleventh Edition – Municipal Corporations, Division IX. This service provides, both in looseleaf and electronic formats, a comprehensive collection of documents that can be easily adapted to suit your clients' needs. 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He noted there are more aboriginal people in Ontario than in any other Canadian province. "They don't make up the same percentage of the population as they do out West, but there are more in numbers in this province," he said. "So you may not know that you are working with aboriginal cli- ents but in many cases probably are." According to Rudin, realizing that clients are aboriginal, even if they're not status Indians, can have important implications for cases in many fields. R. v. Gladue, a Supreme Court of Canada case from 1999, deter- mined that the courts must consider a person's aboriginal heritage when it comes to sentencing in criminal matters. The courts have ex- tended that consideration to a number of other areas including bail, civil contempt, and extradition. Professional disciplinary hearings have also taken aboriginal sta- tus into account. Rudin told lawyers to ask their clients if they have aboriginal heri- tage even if they don't look like they do. He noted some aboriginal people have grown up abroad and have accents or the names of their adoptive non-aboriginal parents. "Aboriginal people don't come in one easy little package," he said. He also advised lawyers to be cautious about how they ask their clients about the issue, especially since many aboriginal people in Canada may be wary of telling others about their background. Rudin provided an example for criminal lawyers in how they can approach the issue. "There are developments in criminal law that say the courts have to take particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal peo- ple. That means First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Does this apply to you?" He also urged Ontario lawyers not to pretend to be an expert in aboriginal issues and instead reach out for assistance from commu- nity resources such as the local friendship centre. "What you're going to find if you're representing aboriginal peo- ple is often there will be issues they will raise that you won't know much about," said Rudin. "And so don't think you know the answers," he added. "Try and find the answers." LT A person's aboriginal status can have impor- tant implications for cases in many fields, says Jonathan Rudin. A

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