Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50905
integrated skills you need as part of think- ing and acting like a lawyer," he says. In library circles, the only issue more contentious than when students should be taught is exactly what they should be taught. "We are about training in the academic discipline of law. Whether we should be more of a trade school to teach practising lawyers is a debate," says Arbuckle. Before arriving at Osgoode, Mirando spent 15 years working as a librarian for Torys LLP, where he felt as though he had to start from scratch with articling students because they didn't know the research skills they needed in practice. "Th ere's a feeling that the law schools have lost touch with the practice of law and there's always a bit of tension be- tween the academy and the bar," he says. "Students come out and they don't know how to search a case. Th ey don't know how to write a case digest. You need to be able to read through a case and sum- marize the points of law and the deci- sion. We're not training graduate stu- dents, we're training lawyers." Again, the University of Calgary takes a unique approach, attempting to bridge the gap between academia and practice in its advanced research class. "My as- signments are activities they would do in practice. Th ey learn how to use a memo to fi nd more current relevant cases to see if the law has changed. Th ey know how to do historical research to fi nd out what the law was at a given time," says Clarke. McCormack says law students need to develop strong research skills now because the profession revolves around thoroughness. "At the end of the day, your research will involve a client and it will involve your own professional credibility. Law is not a thing you want to skip steps in because you could miss out on a huge part of the answer, which makes you look bad and also could lose the case for your client," she says. And despite its unglamorous reputa- Law is not a thing you want to skip steps in because you could miss out on a huge part of the answer. — Nancy McCormack, Lederman Law Library, Queen's University tion, McCormack says the skills they learn in the law library will quickly pay dividends. "When you're articling and summering, it's basically an extended job interview. Everything you do counts and if you know how to be accurate and fi nd the right answers, you're showing that you can be trusted and that your work is sound." ■ Fish on Legal Research DVD Canada Law BookNew! Bonnie Fish, LL.B., LL.M. THE This DVD will help you learn effective research on: Commentary (approx. 18 minutes) The role of commentary in legal research and helpful guidance on where to find it. This DVD explains how to: • analyze legal subjects • formulate legal issues • find useful commentary • use commentary to find relevant case law and legislation Case Law (approx. 25 minutes) How and where to find appropriate and relevant case law. Divided into two segments, this section helps researchers understand: • why case law is important and the principles to identify significant cases • the process of finding case law on a specific issue canadalawbook.ca Call 1.800.565.6967 or visit us online Fish on Legal Research (CL 1-2h) Student.indd 1 A CONVENIENT TRAINING DVD TO HELP YOU LEARN FUNDAMENTALS Legislation (approx. 25 minutes) Helpful hints on where to find relevant legislation and what to do with it once you have it. It deals with: • the legislative process • techniques for finding legislation • statutory interpretation Outlines the necessary steps for thorough, precise and accurate research Lacklustre skills in the library mean less-than-favourable results in the courtroom and boardroom. Lawyers need sharp research skills to serve their clients well. "You win cases in the library, and not in the courtroom." Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein as attributed to Art Mauro, office of the Order of Canada DVD • $79 • P/C 0767150001 • ISBN 978-0-88804-495-2 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS F ALL 2010 25 7/21/10 12:46:15 PM