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Ryerson lands new law practice program
YARA KASHLAN
The Eyeopener (Ryerson University)
The program took Ryerson about six
months to put together.
“We are very excited of the technology that is going to be used. We plan
on using a lot of virtual technology, not
traditional lectures,” said Levin.
Technolog ies that wi l l be used
i nclude i nteractive a nd web - based
learning with the purpose of simulating
virtual law f irms. The program, part
out of law school not being able to comTORONTO (CUP) — Ryerson Uniplete their journey to be full lawyers,”
versity announced that it will be prosaid Downy.
viding a new Law Practice Program
The program will run for eight
(LPP) in early December, the f irst of its
months. Four months will be inclass
kind in Canada to start next September.
education, and four months will be a
The program will be an alternative
work placement, available across the
to the traditional articling program, a
province.
10-month placement in a law f irm after
Downey said that the four month
law school.
class time is a structured way to give a
“ The Law Practice
skill-set to new lawyers.
Prog ra m opens up a
“ T he [ L PP] w i l l
whole bunch of opporc h a n g e h ow s t u d e nt s
tunity, especia lly for
become members of the
people who don’t want
law society.”
to practice in a big law
As part of the program,
f irm,” said Avner Levin,
practising lawyers wi ll
chair of the law and
serve as “coaches and menbusiness department at
tors to [the] students,”
the Ted Rogers School
according to Janet Minor,
of Management.
elected bencher of the
“Articling is a familLSUC and the chair of the
i a r a nd e st a bl i she d
professional development
way to get into the
and competence commitindustry,” said Levin.
tee.
” E ss ent i a l ly we a re
The program will featransitioning law stuture placements in areas
dents into law professuch as family and crimisionals [in a new way].”
nal law practices
The Law Society of
“I anticipate [that] we
RYERSON UNIVERSITY WAS AWARDED THE NEW LAW PRACTICE
Upper Canada (LSUC)
are going to f ind, in time,
PROGRAM BY THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA. FROM LEFT:
chose Ryerson to host
that people will prefer this
AVNER LEVIN, CHAIR, RYERSON LAW AND BUSINESS DEPARTMENT,
the program based on
route,” said Downey.
ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, LAW RESEARCH CENTRE; SHELDON LEVY,
its leadership in innovaRyerson president ShelRYERSON PRESIDENT; JANET MINOR, LAW SOCIETY BENCHER
tion and entrepreneurdon Levy said that a law
AND CHAIR OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMIT TEE;
ship.
school could be a possibilTHOMAS G. CONWAY, LAW SOCIETY TREASURER; AND CHRIS
Doug Downey, chair
ity in university’s future,
BENTLEY, RYERSON STRATEGIC ADVISOR.
of the LPP committee
although it’s not coming
and the Ontario Bar
any time soon.
Association’s (OBA) Treasurer noted of a three year pilot project, will help
“I do think that as our city grows,
Ryerson was chosen as its “strong digi- industry hopefuls overcome the short- there will be an interest from the comtal and media presence [will] provide a age of articling jobs.
munity for another law school,” said
cutting-edge experience.”
“There is pressure on people coming Levy.
duty to warn
Law Games 2014
This week in Montreal, Osgoode
faces off against other law students in
a battle of determination and grit. Stay
tuned to the Obiter’s Facebook and
Twitter feeds for updates from Law
Games.
to you again anyway, so we recommend you just try to show up anyway.
For those attending, this is a reminder
that the madness commences on Friday,
January 17 at 10:30. Contact the Social
Convener for details.
Ski Trip 2014
If you haven’t paid for ski trip yet,
Alex Payne is never going to speak
JCR
Because we know it’s your favourite
place to be, we thought we’d let you all
know that your beloved JCR Bar will be
The Obiter Dicta
reopening in January. Keep an eye on
the door for details.
LPP Information Session
For those students interested in
learning more about the new Law Practice Program, there is an information
session taking place Wednesday, January 8 at 1:30PM in room 2003.
Monday, November 18, 2013