Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS OctOber 6/13, 2008 • Law times Articling a 'core component' of licensing process Continued from page 1 for one articling term," he says. "Five lawyers may be able to pay $10,000 or $15,000." The task force received about 100 responses from institutions and individuals during its con- sultation on articling, during which the idea of abolishment was firmly on the table. But it's clear from the task force's final report just how vital lawyers think the articling experience is for budding lawyers. "Respondents acknowledged the challenges the program faces, but believe that radical change is not warranted," read the report. "The law society should make further efforts to increase the number of jobs available, appeal to the profession to assist, and streamline the program." The task force suggested, however, that those who were vehement in their defence of the articling program will have to put their money where their mouths are. It noted in the report that, while there are currently 1,171 approved articling principals, some 31,000 lawyers are current- ly working in the province. "While the enthusiasm with which the profession supported articling in this consultation process is heartening, it will be of limited value if not accompa- nied by a commitment among those who have not traditionally hired students to now do so," the report stated. On top of agreeing to hold on to the articling program, the law society agreed to a number of provisions aimed at increas- ing placements. They include working with other legal organi- zations on the issue, conducting a survey on articling opportuni- ties, creating an online registry listing placement opportunities, lobbying for more funding for articling positions, the creation of a new staff position dedicat- ed to articling initiatives, and streamlining the administrative process to make it easier for arti- cling principals to participate. The law society hopes the Law province could help pay for new articling jobs in legal clin- ics, which could also help ease access to justice challenges. A spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General says it has not been approached by the law society with such a proposal, and declined to comment to Law Times on the possibility of new funding for articling spots. Some of the things the task force kept in mind when produc- ing the report, chairman Vern Krishna told Convocation, were Foundation of Ontario — which currently funds five public interest articling spots — and the provin- cial government will open their purses for articling students. The report suggested the the needs of minority groups entering the profession and the requirement to meet calls for "transparent, objective, impar- tial, and fair licensing processes" within Ontario's new Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act. Krishna said the task force also hopes the measures will help cre- ate articling spots beyond major cities. He said about 87 per cent of current placements are in Toronto and Ottawa, a discrepancy he sug- gested is linked to access to justice issues in rural communities. The law society also adopted • Before being called to the bar, candidates must finish a professional responsibility and practice requirement in tandem with their articles. After being called to the bar, lawyers must finish 24 hours of professional development within the first 24 months of entering a practice area. the following measures to en- hance its licensing and accredi- tation program: • Exemptions or shortened articling terms for foreign- trained lawyers. For example, those with a minimum of 10 months of practice "that ad- dresses the law society's arti- cling competencies" may be exempted, but would have to • A stronger communication plan to promote the articling program and, among other things, make it clear that can- didates are in charge of find- ing their own placements. The full report of the licens- ing and accreditation task force is available on the law society's web site at http://www.lsuc.on.ca/ latest-news/a/hottopics/licensing- and-accreditation-task-force/. LT Judge calls for revamped Coroners Act Continued from page 1 A lack of oversight, in fact, was one of the key issues Goudge iden- tified as having allowed Smith, who conducted more than 1,000 child autopsies during his 24-year career at the Hospital for Sick Children, to continue in his job despite his mis- takes. While he noted Smith had no formal training for a job few other pathologists in Ontario were avail- able to do, the judge was especially critical of the two men charged with ensuring the system worked and who defended Smith even as ques- tions surrounding his work arose during the 1990s. Those two men were Dr. James Young, the former chief coroner for Ontario, and Dr. James Cairns, then the province's deputy chief coroner. "Throughout the 1990s, coro- ners, police officers and Crown counsel brought a litany of concerns about Dr. Smith's work practices to the attention of the [chief coroner's office]," Goudge wrote. "People complained repeatedly about Dr. Smith's failure to produce reports in a timely fashion; his unrespon- siveness; his carelessness; and the inconsistencies between his writ- ten reports, his pre-trial comments, and his sworn evidence. In many instances, nothing was done to respond to these concerns." Smith mistakenly determined that a girl's death was due to stab wounds rather than dog bites, Young made a public promise in 2001 to conduct a review of Smith's cases. But in the end, Young secretly reneged on the commitment, all the while continu- ing to have Smith perform autop- sies in non-criminal child deaths. In the meantime, the Crown had already withdrawn a second-degree murder charge against the girl's mother, Louise Reynolds. That de- cision came after several experts had concluded the death was the result of a dog attack, Goudge noted. As a result, he recommended Following one case, in which sweeping changes to Ontario's fo- rensic pathology system, calling for a revamped Coroners Act. "Al- though the Coroners Act structures the coronial system in Ontario and provides that the coroner is in charge of the death investigation, it makes no mention of a forensic pathology service, who might run it (such as the chief forensic patholo- gist) or those who should be allowed to perform post-mortem examina- tions . . . In other words, no legisla- tive framework was or is currently provided to ensure proper oversight and accountability of forensic pa- thology in general or pediatric fo- rensic pathology in particular." For their part, government Lockyer, who is involved in several appeals of cases in which Smith made erroneous conclusions, the news on shaken-baby cases was key. "The review of all shaken-ba- by cases is from my point of view the most important recommenda- tion because I'm sure that of the . . . cases that have been identified in that category of cases there are going to be some more miscarriag- es of justice," says Lockyer, a direc- tor for the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted. "I think there's no doubt that For defence lawyer James Key Developments in Estates and Trusts Law in Ontario, 2008 Edition Madam Justice Bonnie Croll and Melanie A. Yach With contributions by: Jeanne Chiang, Susan Easterbrook, Lou-Anne Farrell, Paul Gibney, Robin Goodman, Heather Hansen, Ian Hull, P. Ann Lalonde, Jonathan Lancaster, Martha McCarthy, Margaret O'Sullivan, Suzana Popovic-Montag, Archie Rabinowitz, Susan Slattery, Kristina Soutar, M. 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Jasmine Sweatman Family Law Issues in Estate Litigation by Martha McCarthy and Heather Hansen Cross-Border and Multi-jurisdictional Issues Margaret O'Sullivan by by Robin Goodman Passing of Accounts, Including Contested Passings by Kimberly Whaley Limitations in Estate Cases by Lou-Anne Farrell Dependants' Support Claims by Corina Weigl and Jonathan Lancaster Will Challenges Popovic-Montag by Ian Hull and Suzana Claims By or Against an Estate by Melanie Yach Variations of Trusts by P. Ann Lalonde Costs in Estate Litigation by Susan Easterbrook Solicitor's Liability by Archie Rabinowitz www.canadalawbook.ca CROLL_Key Developments in Estates and Trusts(LT 1-4x3).indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 6/18/08 11:09:47 AM officials say they've already im- plemented some of Goudge's suggestions, including the recom- mendation that autopsy conclu- sions in suspicious cases be subject to peer review. As well, Bentley says the action on shaken-baby cases will shed light on whether mistaken forensic conclusions may have led to unjust convic- tions. "We are going to review ev- ery single one of the shaken-baby cases," he says, noting scientific knowledge on the phenomenon has changed in recent years. the province is going to be obliged to compensate the victims of all of this," says Lockyer, noting Goudge urged the province to examine ways to compensate victims, some- thing Bentley has promised to do. Meanwhile, NDP MPP Peter Kormos asked: "How could Smith have been allowed to conduct himself in this manner, over this protracted period of time, causing so much harm to so many other people when you have this huge bureaucracy and all these levels of oversight. That question remains unanswered by both the attorney general and the minister of com- munity safety." LT Marketplace EMPLOYMENT WANTED SERVICES - Available law clerk. 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