Law Times

PAGE 10 FOCUS June 1, 2009 • Law Times CLA offers mentorship program for young lawyers BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times new training and mentorship program off ered by the Crimi- nal Lawyers' Association. "Criminal law articling jobs Y have evaporated with the degrada- tion of the [legal aid] tariff against the cost of living. Th ey're starting out without that fi rst solid year of mentoring," says CLA presi- dent Frank Addario, explaining the rationale for the spring event held at the Delta Chelsea hotel in downtown Toronto. Roughly 50 young lawyers with between zero and six years' experience in the profes- sion came from across Ontario to learn about everything from trial skills to how to develop a successful practice. Sessions included panels with senior lawyers and judges as well as a mock trial scenario where bud- ding practitioners got feedback oung lawyers are getting tips on how to do their jobs better through a on how they performed in court. At the end, partici- pants got matched up with a mentor, usually a senior lawyer with between eight and 10 years on the job, to provide ongoing guidance as they build their careers. Th e CLA paid for the program, including fl ights for out-of- town lawyers and hotel costs. For Alan Perello, a young lawyer practising criminal law in Haileybury in northern Ontario, the weekend event was a good chance to talk to senior counsel he otherwise would have few opportunities to meet. "We young northern lawyers are in a particularly tough spot because there's very little senior counsel up here," he says. As an example, Perello points out that the presi- dent of the local bar association is a one-year call. "It's a desert of experience up here. We're half the criminal bar." Perello adds the feedback he got was especially useful despite his nerves around cross-examining girlfriend of the accused. Perello wasn't happy with his perfor- mance but says he got some good tips. Perhaps surprisingly, he was more apprehensive during that scenario than he normally is in court. "You're more nervous in front of your peers," he says. Bobbie Walker, a lawyer from 'Until the legal aid program gets a significant infusion of funding, I think we're going to have to train people after their articles [and] after they've been called to the bar,' says Frank Addario. a witness during the mock-trial scenario. In that case, he was han- dling a robbery scenario in which he was tasked with questioning the Niagara Falls who attended the program, says participants also got good information on how to deal with experts on the wit- ness stand. "I think what was driven home was you have to prepare, you have to have a theory, and of course don't ask a question you don't know the answer to," she notes. Part of the idea for the pro- gram came out of the recent report on criminal justice for the Ontario government, Speeding Up Major Criminal Cases, by former Ontario Superior Court chief justice Patrick LeSage and University of Toronto law Prof. Michael Code. Th at document noted the trend towards junior counsel taking on serious cases — an issue blamed on low legal aid rates — as one factor behind mistakes and misjudgments that lead to trials taking too long and in some cases falling apart. For Addario, he's not convinced that new lawyers really are to blame but says many of the issues around training, mentorship, and lack of experience identifi ed in the report are nevertheless relevant. In par- ticular, he agrees that the decline in civility between Crown and defence counsel is an increasing problem among young practitio- ners. "We have noticed that on our list service . . . the questions that come up show that many people don't come to the practice with a solid grounding in strategic judg- ment. We want to do something about that," he says. Marcy Segal, a senior Toronto lawyer who presented at the event, says the lack of decorum has been evident for her as well, particularly around issues such as dressing appropriately in court and whispering and talk- ing while someone else, such as a Crown prosecutor, is addressing the judge. "Th e courtroom really is a play within itself, and we're not seeing that anymore." Segal, who will be mentoring Starting from $49 /month (for one year) Now the leading criminal law research service in Canada! "Criminal Spectrum is a good, very reasonably priced research tool that can save both time and money."." 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LT0601 www.lawtimesnews.com Criminal Spectrum (LT 1-2x4).indd 1 5/27/09 2:29:45 PM PDF's of the CCC's pages exactly as they appear in the law reports complete with headnotes a young lawyer through the pro- gram, says fi nding someone to guide them through the profession can be diffi cult for junior counsel who don't know who their more experienced counterparts are. "I think it's our duty," she says of her decision to become a mentor. For Paul Burstein, an orga- nizer of the event, the participants showed varying abilities, particu- larly with advocacy skills. "Th ere are clearly diff erent levels of com- petency. Some were at a basic level." Some of the young lawyers weren't so well versed, for example, in the core strategy of using leading questions when cross-examining witnesses, he notes. "You're sup- posed to suggest the answer. Th at's the most basic skill." Burstein adds that training in advocacy is especially important since law schools don't necessarily do much of it. "Unfortunately, law schools give them an education in the law. It teaches them nothing about how to be a lawyer," says Bernstein, who himself teaches at Queen's University. At the same time, the few students who do get articling positions in criminal law often fi nd themselves tasked with doing administrative appearances such as adjournments rather than getting hands-on trial experience with a senior lawyer, he notes. Part of the problem comes down to the lack of legal aid funding for junior lawyers to help with cases. Still, while people like Addario wish the government would take action on that front, he says he's not holding his breath and in the meantime hopes to continue the mentorship and training program as an ongoing event. "Until the legal aid program gets a signifi cant infusion of funding, I think we're going to have to train people after their articles [and] after they've been called to the bar." LT

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• Self-regulation At Stake
• Tizzy In Lotusland
• Focus On Criminal Law