Legal Submissions in 140

By: Omar Ha-Redeye · December 14, 2011 · Filed Under Aboriginal Law, Environmental Law · Add Comment 

I’ve been invited to participate in the first moot to be held entirely on Twitter.  The Twitter Moot will cover environmental law and First Nations rights, and is already attracting international attention.  I’ve written a little more about this on Slaw.

The student competitors this year are:

  • Team Dalhousie: Michele Charles and Kristen Balcom from the University of Dalhousie in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
  • Team Osgoode: Nikki Peterson and Emelia Baack from York University, in Toronto, Ontario;
  • Team Ottawa: Yana Banzen and Kowlasar Misir from Ottawa, Ontario;
  • Team UBC: Meghan Trepanier and Matthew Kalkman from Vancouver, British Columbia;
  • Team UVic: Matthew Nefstead and Julie DeWolf from Victoria, British Columbia;

Press release by WCEL below.

Read more

What law firms are looking for

By: Law is Cool · February 25, 2009 · Filed Under Law Career · 1 Comment 

Léna Taylor, Director of Student Programs at McCarthy Tétrault, answers your questions,

Law students and new lawyers have a variety of things to worry about, from finding a job in this job market, to figuring out what kind of law they’d like to practice, especially with rapidly emerging areas offering opportunities for specialization. Then there’s the crystal-ball question: What areas of practice will be strong in the near future?

Send your questions for Ms. Taylor now to jump the queue, or join us live on Feb. 27 from 1-2 p.m. ET.

h/t Gillian Moody

Partners Without Borders

By: Law is Cool · January 23, 2008 · Filed Under Pro Bono · 1 Comment 

McCarthy Tétrault announced recently that they are the first firm to join Partners Without Borders with Avocats Sans Frontieres in Quebec.

The organization was founded in 1992 in Belgium, and founded the Quebec chapter in 2002.

The news release states,

By becoming the first major Canadian law firm to be granted the status of “Partner without Borders,” McCarthy Tétrault continues its long tradition of providing pro bono legal services and community outreach.

LawIsCool has previously mentioned McCarthy Tétrault as the 2006 winners of the Canadian Pro Bono Awards, and is pleased to see them continue their support of such initiatives.

Jordan Furlong says on Law21,

Any law firm worth its charter has always been active in its community, of course, but in this age of megafirms with global reach, we’re starting to see super-national firms display a truly remarkable degree of involvement in issues and organizations that transcend the usual local undertakings. Check out DLA Piper, whose New Perimeter project is an incredible piece of work: a worldwide pro bono initiative that has seen 13,000 lawyer hours contributed to, inter alia, drafting new judicial laws in Kosovo, restructuring a micro-lending project, developing a worldwide food bank system and creating a human rights center in southern Africa. This is work on the scale of the CBA’s sterling International Development Committee, but supported by a for-profit firm rather than a non-profit association.

LawIsCool interviewed Jordan previously on the CBA and its benefits to students.