Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 11 A Law Society of Upper Canada committee has recommended ending the Law Practice Program after it finishes its pilot. The committee's report on the LPP said that while the program had many positive reviews, it failed to provide an alternative to articling "that has gained acceptance by candidates and the profession and that is sustainable in the long term." "We have to have a process for licensing candidates that is fair and defensible," says Peter Wardle, the chairman of the Professional Development and Competence Committee. "And so we have a group of candidates who are going through one pathway who are telling us that they don't think the process is fair and defensible and that's obviously something we have to be concerned about." Despite the fact that the report notes the LPP may in fact excel over articling in a number of areas, it says the program would not be viable past its pilot because of a perception that the LPP has created a two-tiered system. The report found that 62 per cent of candidates in the LPP's first year said the program was not their first choice. In the second year, 73 per cent said the LPP was not their first choice. The report acknowledged that there is no evidence "to suggest that the LPP is in fact second-tier" but that the perception itself among candidates was enough to mean the program would not be sustainable. This perception sprouted opposition to the program when it was first proposed and approved in 2012, along with concerns it would be costly and that its placements would not necessarily be paid. Gavin MacKenzie, a former bencher who voted against approving the program in 2012, says his reservations at the time were centred on the idea that the program created two tiers in the licensing system. "A major objection that I and others had to the proposal that carried . . . was that it created a two-tiered system and that graduates of the Law Practice Program would not be perceived in the same light as students who secured articling jobs," says MacKenzie. MacKenzie says he would have preferred to see a system in which the law society makes more articling positions available. "We've seen over time that firms in certain practice areas and in certain parts of the province that formerly hired articling students have stopped doing that for a variety of reasons," he says. Proponents of the LPP have said it provides a skills-based program that is just as good if not better than the experience articling provides and that it offers opportunities that otherwise would not exist. The program entails four months of course work followed by a four-month placement. The report — which was based on information gathered from surveys and focus groups with candidates and employers — says that LPP candidates have been more diverse than their counterparts in articling. In the program's first year, surveys showed that 33 per cent of LPP candidates identified as racialized, compared to 21 per cent of articling students that year. The report also found that larger percentages of LPP students were internationally educated, francophone and older than 40. The LPP was first proposed as a five-year program and later shortened to three over concerns the program would become "entrenched" before it was reviewed. But the shorter pilot has meant that there is not sufficient information to compile statistics concerning employers' views of the program. The committee, however, still felt it had enough information about the program and how it is perceived to make its recommendations, which will be voted on at Convocation's November meeting. — ALEX ROBINSON \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP LSUC committee recommends scrapping articling alternative IT'S TIME TO RANK… THE TOP 10 INSURANCE DEFENCE, TAX, WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATES BOUTIQUES Complete the survey online at canadianlawyermag.com/surveys and make your picks. SURVEY IS OPEN UNTIL OCTOBER 31 st Untitled-6 1 2016-09-15 11:52 AM

• Cover