Monday, January 10, 2005
Articling Update
I graduated from law school last May, then did the bar admission courses last summer... now I am fulfilling the articling requirement of the Law Society of Upper Canada. You know what gets me? They keep raising the bar. (No pun intended) Every time I think... OK, this is the LAST thing I have to do, they tell us... well, actually, there is ONE more thing... I thought it was going to be the accounting exam which I have to write on January 31st (and haven't started studying for)... but now they sent us another package this week saying we have to do a Professional Responsibility Exam by March. Back Off! I say. We took a whole course on this topic during the bar ads and wrote a friggin' exam. What the heck are they trying to do? Kill us? I mean. GRRRRR.
Now that I have that I have that out of my system.... I am actually mostly enjoying my articling. I get to meet mostly nice people and I love Rod, one of my "principals" (the lawyer who is supervising me half-time). He does family, real estate, civil law, estates, wills... but I am mostly doing family law stuff with him. Today we went to court and I got to watch him arguing a motion. We lost our side, but so did the other side, and then the other side had to pay for our costs, so it wasn't too bad after all. It was quite telling when our client said to me after we left the courtroom. "What just happened in there?" I said - "you don't have to pay for today".
Otherwise, my other articling position is great in terms of what I get to do. I think I get to go to a real Federal Court hearing this week. It is pretty rare and exciting - a judicial review of a refugee claimant who was turned down because she was a diplomats wife. The bottom line is that she was a victim of domestic violence and when they came on a trip to Canada, a friend of hers explained she could claim refugee status, which she did. But the Refugee Board didn't believe her, because of course, women who are diplomats wives are too rich, educated and smart to be abused, don't you know?
Nanci would love this case. I used to work with her on woman abuse projects for Family Services. A lot of my current work overlaps with my past work.
Now that I have that I have that out of my system.... I am actually mostly enjoying my articling. I get to meet mostly nice people and I love Rod, one of my "principals" (the lawyer who is supervising me half-time). He does family, real estate, civil law, estates, wills... but I am mostly doing family law stuff with him. Today we went to court and I got to watch him arguing a motion. We lost our side, but so did the other side, and then the other side had to pay for our costs, so it wasn't too bad after all. It was quite telling when our client said to me after we left the courtroom. "What just happened in there?" I said - "you don't have to pay for today".
Otherwise, my other articling position is great in terms of what I get to do. I think I get to go to a real Federal Court hearing this week. It is pretty rare and exciting - a judicial review of a refugee claimant who was turned down because she was a diplomats wife. The bottom line is that she was a victim of domestic violence and when they came on a trip to Canada, a friend of hers explained she could claim refugee status, which she did. But the Refugee Board didn't believe her, because of course, women who are diplomats wives are too rich, educated and smart to be abused, don't you know?
Nanci would love this case. I used to work with her on woman abuse projects for Family Services. A lot of my current work overlaps with my past work.
