Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50906
was it became clear that awareness needs to be created in the francophone community that a document in French is as valid as one in English. "A lot of lawyers we chatted with said that their clients — even though they're franco- phone — still feel that for a document to be legal, official, and taken seriously, it has to be in English. So you'll have a pure francophone family, who will re- quest a will, [and it] will be drafted in English, or a pure francophone family who will ask that their house purchase be done in English. "You should, if you wish, be using your own language. There's no obliga- tion to switch to English. That message seems to not have gotten through fully yet," he says. Continuing education "Continuing education is not as available in French as in English," says Aucoin, al- though she notes the seven provincial associations "de juristes d'expression française" are preoccupied with access to justice in both official languages and are involved in providing such services. Internal barriers Finally, there are still some internal bar- riers within the practice, says Émard- Chabot, which graduating students need to proactively overcome as they enter the workforce. "Even if the firms say they're committed to offering French services, at times some of the younger lawyers will find it difficult to find an assistant who's able to do work in French and English. So if the firm says: 'We want to develop a French practice,' but the receptionist is unilingual, well, that's a problem for cli- ents." He says recent graduates need to be able to say: "I need this software in French, I need to be able to do these things in French, and develop those tools. . . ." In retrospect, what have the two French common law programs achieved in the past 30 years? "The biggest single one was really the critical mass it has created — where now there are enough lawyers able to practise in French that things can go on in French — that makes a big difference. If you're one of a handful, then obviously you'll still have to function in English. But if there's a community out there, you can function in French, and I think that has been achieved, for the most part," says Émard-Chabot. "I think that our faculty is very impor- tant for giving French services to French people in Canada. Our students . . . can work in both languages, and I think that's very important to our country. It's very good for the employers and for the clients. They work in government and they work everywhere, doing great for the French justice system in Canada," says Albert. experience. results. 20 Queen W. 32nd fl, Toronto | 416.971.7202 | dimock.com 30 SPRING 2009 4STUDENTS ntitled-1 1 2/25/09 8:26:27 AM