Canadian Lawyer 4Students

14 s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4 s t u d e n t s " ey are remarkably unselfconscious about what they need to know in order to regulate the profession," he says. " ey seem to have an aversion to fi nding out empirical facts about who's practising law, what they're doing, where the needs are. All the things that any sensible business or any sensible regulator would know about the fi eld, they do not know." Arthurs says implementing programs like the LSUC's LPP and the program at Lakehead are examples of their misguided attempts to reform legal education. "Law schools had been moving in the right di- rection," he says. " e recent intervention by the law society to tell them what they must teach and the particular things speci- fi ed by the law society are halting and re- versing that process." In 2010, Canada's law societies agreed on a uniform national requirement gradu- ates of Canadian common law programs must meet to enter law society admission programs. It specifi es the competencies and skills graduates must have attained, and the resources required to operate the law school, and will apply to graduates of existing and prospective Canadian law schools eff ective 2015. Despite prompting from the Federa- tion of Law Societies of Canada, Arthurs and others say law societies are slow in responding to the growing needs of Ca- nadian law students. "Take Ontario for example, the law society really hasn't had a serious look at law school curriculums for 50 years," says Doug Ferguson, director of Western University's Community Legal Services clinic. " at's why the law schools, for the last couple of generations, felt they don't have to account for anyone — be- cause of this disconnect. ere's this ques- tion of what powers, if any, do law societies have over curriculum?" However, as FLSC president Marie- Claude Bélanger-Richard notes, "With the exception of requiring a stand-alone course in professionalism and legal ethics, the na- tional requirement does not prescribe the content of law school curriculum. e va- riety and content of courses off ered by any school is solely within the jurisdiction of that law school." Ferguson refers to the isolation of legal education and the legal profession as "the great disconnect." For the past 50 years, universities have gone from being closely tied to the profession to being totally in- dependent, he says. Will the infl uence of law societies over curriculums change now that the FLSC is monitoring law programs to determine if graduates meet the national requirement? If nothing else, Ferguson be- lieves there needs to be greater discussion over what schools should include and its delivery. "Surely the profession has some insight as to what they need from law school graduates and law schools. By the same token, they're part of the university system and they have the sense that they realize they're independent," he says. "I think everyone's interests can be tak- en into account to come up with a fi rst-rate curriculum." at has begun to some degree. Bélanger-Richard says: "It is up to each law school to decide how its students will acquire the competencies contained in the national requirement. e federation, on behalf of law societies, reviews law school programs and resources to determine if graduates meet the National Requirement. e committee established by the Federa- tion to review law school programs includes three law school deans nominated by the Council of Canadian Law Deans." headed in the right direction e emergence of programs like Lake- head's is a step in the right direction, ac- cording to Jordan Furlong, an Ottawa- based legal consultant and critic. While he's reluctant to add additional law schools to the growing list of options in Canada, Furlong believes Lakehead's choice to al- low students to substitute an articling posi- tion for a work placement as part of their studies should be a welcome inclusion. "We don't need new law schools, we need new approaches to legal education and new approaches to setting out what I call initial professional competence — helping lawyers hit the ground running as quickly [and] confi dently as possible," he says. "So what Lakehead is doing here is a good ex- ample of something in that vein." Furlong's opinion on the landscape of Canadian legal education has changed in recent years. "Even if we had been talking a couple of years ago, I would have said Canadian law schools are doing very little," he says. "Outside of clinical programs at a scattering of law schools, there was very little consideration given to providing of- ferings that would help their graduates be more eff ective lawyers, be more respectful lawyers, and be more responsible lawyers." Referring to a longstanding disdain among professors at law faculties toward the practice of law, Furlong says he has wit- nessed an ongoing disservice to Canadian law students, to the lawyers they've be- come, and eventually the clients they serve. Recently, however, universities have taken an interest in the role they play in the larger market, profession, and communities they serve. Furlong acknowledges this shi may be the result of a university's business de- cisions — wanting to stay competitive and attract the best students — but accepts the ultimate outcome is a good one. e knowledge gained through an ex- periential education program is essential to the success of future lawyers, he says. "When we come out of law school . . . we lack a lot of fundamentals about basic busi- ness awareness — accounting, cash fl ow, fi - nancial literacy — all these things that are critical, obviously, to running a small or solo practice," he says. Real or realistic work placements can give lawyers that insight. "I say this to stu- dents, 'Look, even if you're in a big fi rm and you get a salary and all of your work universities have gone from being closely tied to the profession to being totally in- dependent, he says. Will the infl uence of law societies over curriculums change now that the FLSC is monitoring law programs to determine if graduates meet the national requirement? If nothing else, Ferguson be- lieves there needs to be greater discussion over what schools should include and its delivery. "Surely the profession has some insight as to what they need from law school graduates and law schools. By the same token, they're part of the university system and they have the sense that they realize they're independent," he says. "I think everyone's interests can be tak- en into account to come up with a

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