Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4STUDENTS F A L L 2 0 1 5 19 experience for Anna-Carolle Bougie, who graduated in 2001 from law school as a ma- ture student. As the owner of a small com- pany when she graduated, she wasn't sure if she wanted to practise law. Last year, a er talking to one of her professors she decided to explore the LPP route. "I realized it was probably going to be the best option for me. e program off ered me the opportunity to get back into the process of law but it also has the advantage of the practical side," she says. "I also really lucked out in getting a placement with the Ministry of the Attor- ney General of Ontario doing work for the Ministry of the Environment." Choosing the LPP route, especially in its fi rst year, came with challenges. Even at her placement she felt it was not viewed the same as traditional articling. At one point, she did a presentation for her department on the LPP program. She says it helped clear up some mis- conceptions. " ere was a negative perception about what the LPP was, but when I spoke to them and as they saw the work I did, I got a lot better feedback about the LPP program," she says. " ey said in some cases I was better prepared be- cause the practical expe- rience we had in the fi c- tional fi rm allowed me to know what docu- ments they were talk- ing about. I'm also bilingual and I was able to work in either language." To get her placement, Bougie applied to seven diff erent job postings. " e only negative thing I thought was once you got an off er, even if you interviewed for others, you had to pull back from the positions you applied for," she says. " at's how I ended up in Toronto. As diffi cult as it was to move to Toronto, the experience there was excellent." She worked on policy issues, did re- search for hearings related to wind turbine farms in Ontario, prepared disclosure doc- uments, and worked on the prosecutors' side to impose fi nes or jail sentences to vio- lators of the Environmental Protection Act. She also appeared in court to do plea agree- ments and sentencing. " e fi rst few times you appear in court it doesn't matter what the job is, it's a little daunting," says Bougie. "But once you get the hang of the pleading and the sentencing, it was easier to do. "I spoke to some of my colleagues who graduated with me who went to big law fi rms or other government jobs and, com- pared to their articling positions, while some of them got really great opportunities, some said their job was just following a law- yer around doing photocopying, research and they never had the experience I did." While many of the placements were in- house and with government agencies, there were some at law fi rms. Some did not want to comment about their experience, but Simon Mortimer, of Toronto labour and employment fi rm Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, says the fi rm is "com- mitted to traditional articling and are be- lievers in the traditional program; however, we recognized the need for others to have a passage to their call. We saw no reason not to look at supporting the LPP," says Mor- timer who was a mentor and professional partner of one of the LPP fi rms in the pro- gram. "We did see it as distinct from our articling program." e fi rm took one LPP candidate for the four-month term and will be taking one again next year. Hicks Morley usually takes on about 10 articling students. " e LPP student we were fortunate to have arrived with a very good technical knowledge through the LPP training, much of which was not applicable directly to our practice, but he was ready to step in and much like any other new student arriving in need of the real life experience," he says. "I think around eight weeks in, he was up and run- ning as any other student." Mortimer says the LPP candidate was a welcome addition to the articling group but wasn't hired back — something he knew going into the experience. "We believed it was more of an internship than articling to a path of associateship. We spoke openly about that from the beginning," he says. Mortimer says four months is a short period of time to learn the actual practice of law. "In our mind it's enough time for the LPP candidate to have a good experience and learn a fair amount about the opera- tion of a law fi rm, yet the length of articles provides a far greater opportunity for students to re- ally experience a specifi c prac- tice area," he says, "recognizing we are a niche fi rm. Our view is if this is the profession sup- porting people in getting their training to be called to the bar, then it's eff ective," he says. "We believe it can be eff ective for the candidate. We don't believe it's as eff ective for training future associates at a fi rm." Bentley says it's important to realize it's not only the profes- sion of law that is having a hard time plac- ing graduates of professional programs. "You look at any cohorts from professional schools or general programs it's tough to get connected to the workplace — look at teachers' colleges in Ontario and through- out Canada," he says. " e law is struggling with what many are struggling with and what we provide is a two-fold opportunity — to complete the experience required to be called, but more than that the oppor- tunity to benefi t from 21 st - century training for the legal practice it is and the legal practice it will become in the years to come." ■ For a profession that insists on evidence before judgment is rendered, I think it's helpful to look at the evidence. The LPP cohort refl ects the province of Ontario. Almost half were from Ontario and Canadian law schools and in this next year more than half will be from Ontario and Canadian law schools. " CHRIS BENTLEY, Ryerson University. "

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