Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4 s t u d e n t s s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 25 contribution, or $25 per member, to reduce the cost per student by about $500 to somewhere around $4,700. Every student, whether they take the LPP program or not will have to pay it. Last year the licensing process cost a little more than $2,700. e LPP is set to begin in September and both schools are well underway with preparations. RyeRson UniveRsity Ryerson plans to deliver most of its con- tent via online simulations. e university is using the expertise at its Chang School of Continuing Education to offer "innova- tive online delivery methods." "What the Chang School can help us do . . . is bring those simulations to life in a realistic way," says Chris Bentley, executive director of Ryerson's LPP. "[Students will] get a sense that you're really in a negotiation and that there are external factors that creep in that complicate it." Ryerson will organize its LPP students into virtual law firms of four to six students who will be expected to set up a law firm and conduct business together. "ose four to six students may be all over the province," says Bentley, a former attorney general of Ontario. "ere may be two in the GTA, there may be one in London . . . they'll all work together online as a law firm and they may be negotiating something with anoth- er law firm of four to six students spread in other communities." e four months of virtual training are intended to give students the practical skills required in a real-world setting. "It's not going to be simply a collection of peo- ple speaking online and watching — that's not what this is. is is a skill-based, prac- tice-based approach to learning," he says. Ryerson has also developed a relation- ship with the Ontario Bar Association. "ey want to work with us to make sure that the training program is as strong as it needs to be to meet the needs of the public through the profession when these lawyers are licensed — and we want that, too," says Bentley. "So, getting ongoing input and advice from people who are practising law now is at the heart of the success of the training program." e OBA is ensuring the program is de- livered so it is reflective of the priorities of people in practice. "Because lawyers are licensed to practice any type of law once they are called to the bar, we're consulting with all of our sections and some of our 17,000 members across the province to get feedback on the program as it develops," says Doug Downey, OBA treasurer and head of its LPP advisory committee. e OBA is looking forward to seeing how the LPP turns out, says Downey. "It's going to be a much more effective process than a lecture format — an individual student will spend three years either in class or doing some hands-on, but it's very minimal," Downey says, noting the LPP thrusts students into real-life scenarios. "It's a simulation, but you're acting on ac- tual fact-scenarios, you have to make deci- sions, you have to dra documents. You're really virtually in the trenches." Ryerson has also begun building By ZacHary PederSen 2.0

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