Law Times

Page 6 February 5, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday Survey scrutiny Y oung lawyers don't have it easy. It's tough to make it into law school. Once there, prospects for landing a good articling posi- tion — or becoming an associate with an established firm that offers mentorship opportunities — can be daunting. According to a recent Law Society of Ontario survey done to look at the articling experience, 21 per cent of respondents said they expe- rienced unwelcome conduct or comments related to personal charac- teristics such as their age, race, citizenship, gender identity or sexual orientation. Seventeen per cent said they experienced "different or unequal treatment" due to these personal characteristics. There may be shifts to articling and the broader licensing process coming, as the law society's professional development and compe- tence committee is anticipated to release a report this month that will suggest possible reforms. Options could include ending transitional training as a requirement, limited or specialized licensing or a U.S.- style bar examination system. Critics have proposed doing away with articling altogether. Other suggestions have included specialized licensing for people who prac- tise in a particular area of law. According to a feature in this week's edition, younger lawyers are also seeking different aspects from their work than generations that have preceded them. There's a higher value on work-life balance, say some, which is translating to changing expectations of the workplace. The truth is there's no pat answer on what all young lawyers are looking for, but there is room for hope. In the sur- vey, the average rating reported by survey respon- dents was 3.62 for how satisfied they were with their work during their articling placement, with "0" being highly dissatisfied and "5" being "highly satisfied." That means people are deriving mean- ing from the experience. The results of the law so- ciety's forthcoming report may hold more impor- tant insight for those entering the profession in the future. LT ©2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reli- ance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alex Robinson Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Craven Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . .Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford The court of public opinion BY SUSAN DELACOURT I t must be a refreshing change for Can- ada's legal community — hearing peo- ple complaining about things moving too quickly through the court. The court in question, however, is not the type with lawyers, judges and juries — at least not in the traditional sense. It's the court of public opinion, and it's been back in session in a big way with sexual- harassment cases at the top of the politi- cal news in Canada. "The court of public opinion moves fast," said Patrick Brown, in his final, emotional remarks to reporters before his career as Ontario's Progressive Con- servative leader went up in f lames at the end of January. Indeed, the trial, sentencing and pun- ishment came within hours for Brown. At 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 24, he was vowing to vigorously defend himself in the tradi- tional justice system. "I have instructed my attorneys to en- sure that these allegations are addressed where they should be: in a court of law," he said. By roughly 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, Brown was out of his job. Not only is the court of public opinion speedy, it also works nights and overtime. What's been striking, though, amid all this swift justice, is how we've been hearing Canadians speak- ing up for the virtues of slow, deliberative legal proceed- ings — and the dangers of rushing to judgment. The phrase "due process" (and complaints about the lack of it) has been enjoying a renais- sance in the popular lexicon. People are watching ca- reers and reputations come to crash- ing ends shortly after allegations land on social media, often with the Twitter hashtag #MeToo. While this movement has been de- scribed as a time of reckoning, in Hol- lywood first and now in Canadian poli- tics, the manner in which allegations are being prosecuted in the court of public opinion should be giving everyone pause. Pausing is not a bad idea; nor is slow, careful investigation. Rushes to judg- ment are an occupational hazard in poli- tics at the best of times. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been accused of that very thing in this context — not just now, in 2018, but also a few years ago when he summarily ex- pelled two Liberal MPs from his caucus over alleged mis- deeds. The political careers of Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti were ended by the court of public opinion, then their boss, before any investi- gation was completed. Not only does this public- opinion court work all hours, it hands out harsh punish- ment, too — of the punitive, not rehabilitative, type. This shouldn't be news to political ob- servers. We'll recall that Sen. Mike Duffy had also been tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion for at least a cou- ple of years before being totally exoner- ated in a 2016 ruling from Justice Charles Vaillancourt. His reputation still hasn't recovered. None of this is intended to be drawn as a parallel or prediction about how things will turn out for Ontario's former Conservative leader or any of the other politicians whose careers have been tak- ing a public tumble in the #MeToo age. It's just a useful reminder that pre- sumption of innocence happens more in the courts than it does on social media or in politics overall. Politicians who come to the business from previous law careers are often un- pleasantly surprised by how the court of public opinion operates on much more whimsical rules than the courts where they used to work. Prolonged exposure to this world of- ten makes lawyers-turned-politicians get nostalgic for the more orderly corridors of traditional justice. This may well happen among Ca- nadians, too, as #MeToo gives people a glimpse of the Wild West rules in the court of public opinion. That's a poten- tially slight silver lining in all the messy stories we've seen to date and the more likely to come. Could all this swift justice provoke an appreciation for some of the basics of law — or even the much-maligned slow pace of the traditional courts? uSusan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based political author and columnist who has been working on Parliament Hill for nearly 30 years. She is a frequent politi- cal panellist on national television and author of four books. She can be reached at sdelacourt@bell.net. The Hill Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt

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