Canadian Lawyer

OPINION Helping articling students and junior lawyers get off to a good start is a bedrock ethical obligation of the profession. Doing so contributes to the integrity of the justice system and protects the profession's future as a respected and important contributor to the well being of society. Nothing is more important. have a lot of manpower, and there's always someone willing to which "connects lawyers with experienced practitioners in reltake a beginner under her wing (although some lawyers do this evant areas of law to help them deal with a complex substana lot better than others). It's quite different in a small firm, or a tive legal issue or a specific procedural issue outside of the . . . solo practice, where resources are thin. Then, there is a powerPractice Management Helpline mandate." There are various ful temptation to let the articling student or first-year lawyer informal mentorship initiatives here and there, and big firms sink or swim by himself — indeed, even worse, to assign him generally advertise some kind of program. But all these are not legal tasks beyond his competence. In some cases, this trial by much more than "call a friend" schemes. fire might be the making of the budding lawyer, encouraging True mentoring, in the biggest sense of the word, is an resourcefulness and instilling independence. In others, disaster essential ethical obligation of the legal profession. There is results, with files bungled and legal development stillborn. The no substitute for the experience of Telemachus in Homer's simplest thing for a small firm or solo practitioner is not to take Odyssey, who received crucial advice from his trusted adviser on an articling student or very junior lawyer, and the statistics and guide, whose name was Mentor. bear out this is what happens more often than not. And that's leading to the increasing problem of law graduPhilip Slayton's latest book, Mighty Judgment: How the ates who can't get an articling position at all. In Ontario, as Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life, is now available in many as 15 per cent of those leaving law school are stranded in paperback. Follow him on Twitter @philipslayton. this way. How are they to be helped to develop as professionals? What are they supposed to do? The Law Society of Upper Canada's recent solution to the problem is a very bad idea. In November, the society approved an alternative to articling Supreme Court of called the law practice program. Details of the pilot program are sketchy, but there will be some kind of course lasting four Canada Counsel and months, followed by a four-month co-operative work placeAgency Services ment. Implementation of the scheme will be contracted out D. Lynne Watt Henry S. Brown, QC to a third-party provider; the law society says it does not have Graham Ragan Guy Régimbald the expertise to structure and run such a program, an odd Matthew Estabrooks admission by the regulatory body charged with deciding the With the assistance of: qualifications needed for admission to the bar. Brian A. Crane, QC Critics of the LPP — and there are many — quickly pointed Eduard J. Van Bemmel, Law Clerk out that those who go into the program because they can't get an articling job will inevitably be branded as second-class lawyers. Furthermore, there are no quality assurances for the LPP 160 Elgin Street Suite 2600 Ottawa Ontario K1P 1C3 T 613-233-1781 montréal ottawa toronto hamilton waterloo region calgary vancouver beijing moscow london educational component, to be offered by an as yet unidentified third-party provider, or for the vaguely conceived apprenticeship that will follow. Finally, chances are the work placement Announcing CanLNC Experts will be unpaid, adding yet more financial strain for a law ntitled-2 1 Case Merit Service: An invaluable early assessment13-01-14 graduate likely already laden with debt. The cobbled-together of case facts, issues, players and strength LPP program forsakes the profession's fundamental ethical obligations to train and support equally and properly all young lawyers beginning their careers. MEDICAL MALPRACTICE True enough there is a scattering of lawyer mentorship proPERSONAL INJURY grams in Canada. Most provincial bar associations have one of some kind. Ontario, for example, has a Practice Management The experts you need, CLASS ACTION The quality you deserve. Helpline (416-947-3315), and the Practice Mentoring Initiative, Professional Directory For the report of the LSUC articling task force that led to the LPP scheme, visit www.lsuc.on.ca/articling-taskforce-consultation-report. TESTIFYING OR CONSULTING PLAINTIFF OR DEFENCE www.CANADIAN www.CanLNCExperts.ca 855-278-9273 (toll free) Experts@CanLNCExperts.ca L a w ye r m a g . c o m F e b r uary 2013 15 2:30 PM

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