Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4STUDENTS AUGUST 2017 59 supposed to have said. e legal profession's version of that might be to say that skill with- out a propelling spirit is a recipe for more of the same. Technical skill alone cannot drive innovation. Technology — and the skill to use it effectively — enables one to be innova- tive. But the driving force behind a culture of innovation is something deeper. e best lawyers have always been cu- rious and have had a strong work ethic. ese things are non-negotiable. Likewise, empathy and a team ethos have always been important attributes for lawyers (even though we oen pay lip service to them when we reward compensation points). But we're going to have to do a much better job at encouraging and nurturing an inno- vative outlook among our young lawyers. Part of this falls on us in the law schools. Yet an equal part falls on the practising arm of the profession. If we ask the existential question "Why are lawyers important?" the answer is because we are relevant. is may seem obvious, but we should remember that the common law actually began without lawyers. So, we shouldn't flatter ourselves that the system can't operate without us. It can and it will if we don't consciously recalibrate ourselves. To phrase it in historical terms, the legal profession became important because we served an important role in society. We fa- cilitated the transition from feudalism and absolutism in government to democracy and the rule of law. And we assisted with the flow of capital that fuelled the industrial revo- lution. We did this, possibly without even realizing we were doing so, by recalibrating our professional orientation in response to the changing needs of society. e recalibra- tion was camouflaged, for in many ways we look and speak very much like our forebears did in centuries past. But it was a profound change all the same. e skillset that good lawyers brought to the table aer the Glori- ous Revolution, for example, was different from the skillset they had used during, say, the Plantagenet period. And the perspective that good lawyers brought to bear during the Great Depression had evolved markedly from the mindset of their predecessors dur- ing the Industrial Revolution. e question now is what outlook and skills we must bring to bear in the current revolution — the global revolution — that is taking part in our society. Yet there is an important difference between then and now. e transition from feudalism to consti- tutionalism took 300 years. e Industrial Revolution took 150 years. e development of the welfare state took three generations, and it was punctuated by two world wars and a Cold War. But the information revolution is taking place at breakneck speed. We don't have the luxury of a gradual, multi-genera- tional transition that our professional fore- bears did. at is why this project of innova- tion — a project of collective self-realization, really — is so urgent. Ian Holloway is the dean of law at the Univer- sity of Calgary and former dean of Western Law. Opinion 4S Remember when all you wanted to be was a lawyer? It's time. We're one of Canada's leading employment DQGODERXUODZÀUPV representing employers. Join us. www.sherrardkuzz.com | 416.603.0700 | 24 Hour 416.420.0738 250 Yonge St #3300, Toronto, ON M5B 2L7 | @sherrardkuzz C A N A D I A N RANKED ntitled-1 1 2017-07-14 9:46 AM

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