Law Times

Law Times • OcTOber 31, 2016 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com NEWS Proposes to fill gap Ryerson takes steps to form law school BY MALLORY HENDRY For Law Times A fter a year and a half of internal consulta- tion, Ryerson Univer- sity has taken the first steps toward opening its own JD program. On Oct. 20, the law school originating committee released a letter of intent following initial consultations with the commun- ity. The committee, comprised of faculty members from across disciplines, used community feedback to write the letter of intent, which is the first step in the process of developing the JD program. On its website, the uni- versity states that "the proposed program focuses on innovation in legal education for the benefit of graduates, their communities, and the broader society." Chris Bentley, executive di- rector of the Legal Innovation Zone and Law Practice Program at Ryerson, says the law school being proposed is fundamen- tally different than what's on offer currently. He says when people talk about challenges law students have securing articling and full-time positions, they for- get the multiple studies talking about unmet legal need. "If you're in another business, you get innovative," he says. "You say that's a market — in Canada, and North America, it's a market for millions and millions of dol- lars. There's work out there we're not going after as lawyers because we can't change fast enough to get that market. If we don't change, others are going to get it." Bentley says the challenges law students face after graduat- ing have to do with out-of-date legal training, not lack of need. Ryerson also released a white- paper entitled "Training Tomor- row's Legal Professionals" that says the legal practitioners of the future need different skills than lawyers from 20 years ago. New lawyers will "need to be creative and skilled problem solvers, strategic planners, and process managers with the financial literacy, technological compe- tency, and entrepreneurial spirit needed to serve consumers." To achieve this, they need a "dra- matically different" law school experience, which is what Ryer- son says its proposed program will offer — a law school de- signed to specifically address is- sues in the legal industry. "We don't have a law school that's graduating this kind of stu- dent — not yet, not until we set it up and launch it," Bentley says. "We all know the struggles society is facing when it comes to the law — it's unaffordable, too complex, too slow, we haven't in- volved technology as we should. If you train people in the tradi- tional way, you're going to get more of the traditional approach." He adds that the entrepre- neurial and innovative energy on which Ryerson bases its programs is something the law desperately needs. He says Ryer- son's proposed law school offers a great opportunity to prepare lawyers to "grab a piece of the unmet legal need out there." One of the mandates of the new program is to incorporate the relevant elements of the Le- gal Innovation Zone and Law Practice Program, the latter of which is under review by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The law society recommended the LPP be cancelled after the committee's report — which was based on surveys and focus groups with employers and can- didates — said despite positive reviews, it fell short of provid- ing a sustainable alternative to articling that was accepted by candidates and the legal profes- sion. Bentley says the fate of the LPP is still up in the air as only a sub-committee of the law soci- ety has spoken on the issue. Full Convocation still has to weigh in so nothing will be finalized until Nov. 9, Bentley says, adding that he's still hopeful. Ryerson has long been after its own law school, publicly an- nouncing its intention to start the internal process to develop one year after the launch of the English LPP. "The practical, hands-on ex- perience Ryerson has gained in administering the Legal Inno- vation Zone and Law Practice Program will be utilized in de- veloping and delivering the pro- gram's curriculum," states the whitepaper. "This includes the incorpo- ration of the entrepreneurial as- pects of legal education, the use of simulated online legal files and in-class role-playing, the formalization of mentorship re- lationships, and employment of the most recent electronic tools. All represent key pillars of the new program and will form the basis of Ryerson's distinctive ap- proach to legal education." In an email, Law Society of Upper Canada spokeswoman Susan Tonkin said the law soci- ety is "interested in and following Ryerson's proposal, but it's still very early days in the process." Ryerson, which hosted two town halls for students, faculty and staff on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, is asking for input from the community before Nov. 17. The letter of intent is the formal step needed for getting internal Senate approval at Ry- erson, Bentley says, and after all consultations are held, a final proposal will be sent to the Fed- eration of Law Societies of Can- ada and the LSUC for approval, as well as to the Ontario govern- ment for funding. LT Chris Bentley says there's work lawyers are missing because they can't change fast enough and Ryerson's fundamentally dif- ferent approach to law school would pro- duce lawyers able to meet that need. 9 th Annual Advertising and Marketing Law Toronto • Online | December 2016 COURSE LEADER Brenda Pritchard, Partner, Gowling WLG COURSE HIGHLIGHTS • Relelvance Rules for Engagement: How to Safely Ride the Current • Going Native • Privacy & Spam - New Technologies, Changing Law, and Increased Exposure • My Fridge Sent Me a Spam Special - IOT • Quebec: A Whole Other and Evolving Advertising World • The Times They Are Changing - Technology Impact on Regulated Products • Interactive Global Contest Disaster DATE & LOCATION Toronto: December 1st, 2016 St. Andrews Club and Conference Centre 150 King St West, 27th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 1J9 Live webinar: December 1st, 2016 FOR QUESTIONS AND GROUP RATES, PLEASE CONTACT: Toll-Free: 1-877-298-5868 Direct: 416-609-5868 Fax: 416-609-5841 Email: lexpert.questions@thomsonreuters.com Website: cpdcentre.ca Register online at www.lexpert.ca/cpdcentre For more information, please contact Lexpert® Professional Developments at 1-877-298-5868 MANAGING LEGAL RISK IN A TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN WORLD EARLY BIRD ENDS NOV. 4 Untitled-5 1 2016-10-24 3:13 PM Check out lawtimesnews.com for insight from our regular online columnists Monica Goyal discusses the latest gadgets and trends in legal technology in Bits & Bytes From trade deals to foreign investment, Patrick Gervais keeps you up to date on business issues in Trade Matters Darcy Merkur brings a plaintiff-side perspective on insurance matters in Personal Injury Law

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