Canadian Lawyer 4Students

TIPS THE COMPILED BY HEATHER GARDINER Considering a career in the realm of legal academia? Canadian Lawyer 4Students spoke to law school deans across the country about what it's like and the path you can take to get there. TOP 1) What/who infl uenced you to consider a career in legal academia? 2) What is the best part about working in the academic side of law? 3) What is the most challenging aspect of your job? 4) Can you recall one specifi c situation where you had an impact on a student? 5) What advice would you give to law students who are considering a career in legal academia? Ian Peach, University of New Brunswick 1) The truth is my career has been varied: I have spent time working on Parliament Hill, in federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in a university-based public policy think-tank, and in legal academia. Throughout my diff erent career paths, the person who had the greatest impact on my career would be John D. Whyte. John was my dean when I was a law student at Queen's University. I worked for John fi rst as his research assistant when I was a student and we have worked together quite frequently in the years since, both in govern- ments and in academia, and have become close friends. As to what has infl uenced my choices, it is the ability to combine thoughtfulness with real-world impact, qualities that John fi rst taught me and other friends reinforced, that makes legal academia most interesting to me. 2) The obvious answer is the students one gets to teach. Law students are so keen to learn and explore the ideas and questions you put to them and they often have fascinating and novel, but really insightful, ways to analyze the questions. It makes interacting with students tremendously fun. I also really enjoy the opportunity to engage with, and bounce ideas around with, my colleagues both here at UNB and across the country. That kind of broad-based, collegial interaction on issues of mutual interest also makes legal academia tremendously interesting. 3) As a dean, the most challenging aspect is probably managing our budget so we can deliver the maximum benefi t to our students as effi ciently and eff ectively as possible for a fair price to them. I suspect, though, that every dean across the country feels this is a tremendous challenge these days. 4) The one instance I can think of is that one of the students I taught at the University of Regina is now considering applying to law school. Because he knew I was now at UNB, it is the law faculty in Canada that he is most interested in coming to. I take that as a real compliment and I would say it sug- gests that I had a real impact on that student when I taught political science at the University of Regina. 5) If a student wants to take the academic path, my advice would be do it because the opportunities that exist in legal academia to address matters of interest to you excite you. It is hard work and you'll never get rich, but if you're excited about the opportunities it gives you to think "hard thoughts," you will stay motivated to always do your best work and make your best contribution to society's body of knowledge. In truth, throughout my varied — and indeed possibly somewhat strange — career, I have always stuck by the rule of doing what strikes me as interesting and fun, the things that keep me wanting to get up in the morning and make a contribution every day. Whether it is my time in government, in the policy think-tank, or in legal academia, I am happy to say it has always worked. C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 11 FROM *

• Cover