Law Times

BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A s the Law Society of Ontario has endorsed a proposal to create a new law school at Ryer- son University, some lawyers are questioning whether the province needs more law students at a time when there is a shortage of arti- cling positions. A majority of LSO benchers approved a recommendation at their February meeting to endorse Ryerson's proposal, which gained preliminary approval by the Fed- eration of Law Societies of Canada at the end of 2017. Some lawyers say the law soci- ety should do more to tackle the articling crisis before approving a new law school. Lawyer Lisa Feldstein says she is concerned there will be a f lood of graduating students with lim- ited opportunities to article. She says Ryerson would prob- ably create a great law school, but adding more students to the mar- ket would make the supply and demand balance for articling po- sitions even more difficult than it already is for graduates. "Let's deal with the articling situation first and, once the sup- ply-demand issue is a little more stable, then it may make perfect sense for there to be another law school," she says. "I'm sure there are many people who get rejected from law school that would be thrilled for there to be another school to go to in the province. But I think at this point the answer should be no, in the in- terest of these future law students." The law society has been con- ducting a review of the wider li- censing process, which could re- sult in changes to articling. In 2016, the law society extend- ed a licensing pilot project called the Law Practice Program, which is an alternative to articling, run by the University of Ottawa and Ryerson University. Feldstein says it confuses her that the same institution would be trying to add more law students to the market. Those behind the Ryerson pro- posal say the school is necessary as there are a lot of Ontario residents that study abroad because they cannot get into the province's ex- isting law schools. "The number of seats avail- Scrutiny needed on how jury rolls put together BY SHANNON KARI For Law Times T he acquittal of Saskatche- wan farmer Gerald Stan- ley earlier this month in the shooting death of Colten Boushie has sparked calls for changes to the jury selection process to ensure juries are more representative of the makeup of the local community. In response, the federal govern- ment has stated that it may amend the Criminal Code to eliminate the right of the Crown and defence to exercise peremptory challenges of prospective jurors. The belief is that this would re- duce the likelihood that individu- als are excluded solely because of their racial background. Defence lawyers say, however, that if the goal is a more represen- tative jury, then changes need to be made to how jury rolls are put together and not the method of jury selection in court. "Jury panels often are not very ref lective of the community," says defence lawyer Tyler Smith, who has acted in many jury tri- als in Toronto and surrounding regions. Given the population of To- ronto, he points out, it would be reasonable to expect a much more diverse group of people called for jury duty. "As well, you don't see many younger adults in general," notes Smith, a partner at Hicks Adams LLP. A little-known amendment en- acted by the Ontario government late in 2009 has also imposed an- other restriction on who is eligible to serve as a juror in the province. The change to the Juries Act was spelled out in one sentence within an omnibus bill called the Good Government Act, 2009. It prohibits anyone convicted of a "hybrid" criminal offence from ever serving on a jury un- less they have obtained a criminal record suspension (according to federal rules, there is a minimum PHONE HANG-UP Prioritize health over devices P7 FOCUS ON Family Law/Trusts & Estates Law P8 PM #40762529 $5.00 • Vol. 29, No. 7 February 26, 2018 L AW TIMES C O V E R I N G O N T A R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W . L A W T I M E S N E W S . C O M INTERNET DEFAMATION Online campaign leads to award of $700,000 P5 See Let's, page 2 Tyler Smith says 'jury panels often are not very reflective of the community.' See Calls, page 2 LSO endorses proposed Ryerson law school Lisa Feldstein says the Law Society of Ontario should tackle the articling shortage before approving a new law school. Photo: Robin Kuniski TORONTO | BARRIE | HAMILTON | KITCHENER 1-866-685-3311 | mcleishorlando.com cLeish Orlando_LT_Jan_20_14.indd 1 14-01-15 3:15 PM AnyWhere. AnyTime. AnyDevice. www.divorcemate.com vorceMate-Earlug_LT_Feb26_18.indd 1 2018-02-20 4:21 PM 10th Annual Advertising and Marketing Law Course JOIN OUR FULLY ACCREDITED PROGRAM | EXPAND YOUR NETWORK AND OBTAIN CPD HOURS Register online: www.lexpert.ca/Advertising-Law • 416-609-5868 | 1-877-298-5868 *Discount applies to in-class only USE PROMO CODE EARLYBIRD2018 & SAVE $300* EARLY BIRD ENDS MAR. 16 Untitled-1 1 2018-02-21 2:22 PM

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