RSS FeedLaw is Cool – Podcast #10
Show Notes
25:29 Total Running Time
0:16 Thomas Wisdom and Omar Ha-Redeye introduce themselves, with interviews from David Aylward and Hon. Chris Bentley.
1:14 Omar discusses the 7 Year Law Degree from Jordan Furlong, while Thomas mentions the importance of learning on the job.
2:25 Thomas shares his new smoking habit that he picked up during law school.
4:50 Omar introduces David Aylward, founder and director of COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance, on how to transition out of a typical legal career into other sectors.
5:22 David Aylward describes his educational, legal and political career in Congress and the U.S. House of Representatives.
6:37 David Aylward relates how the discipline of the legal education and the focus on the meaning of words helped him outside the law and creating a non-profit promoting agency interoperability.
7:52 David Aylward explains how in responding to any emergency there is a need for information exchange and a system that allows voice, data and video sharing.
9:31 Public agencies don’t look at the private or commercial sector enough for communications capability and have a higher degree of cultural resistance to sharing, but technically still have similar challenges.
12:02 David Aylward provides career advise on how to psychologically prepare on transitioning into non-traditional legal careers where the essence of the work isn’t the law.
14:42 There are lots of opportunities in North America, and anyone who has a law degree has lots of choices.
15:56 Thomas describes his trip to Florence, Italy and the 10 year delays in the tort system there.
16:28 Omar introduces Min. Chis Bentley, the Attorney-General of Ontario.
17:25 The Attorney-General of Ontario relates his experience teaching at the University of Western Ontario faculty of law.
18:02 Min. Bentley explains the access to justice issue, and changes his office have made to the criminal justice system such as the Justice on Target program.
21:02 Min. Bentley says we have a good human rights system and shares groundbreaking initiatives they have undertaken starting June 30, 2008 which will strengthen human rights in Ontario.
22:22 Min. Bentley explains why human rights are so important to our society, which values optimism and opportunity without barriers and discrimination.
24:52 Omar signs off.
Seven Years of Law School. Seriously.
A few months ago I was asking for some career advice from Jordan Furlong, of the CBA‘s National Magazine.
My concerns over bait-and-switch tactics by law firms and the enormously high turnover in some had me thinking.
We compared law to other professional degrees, and the pros and cons of each. Jordan suggested that I look at law as an investment in a personal skills enhancement project,
He responded at that time by saying,
I think a better way to look at it might be to consider the first seven years in the law to be the admissions process: three in school, one in articling, three in post-articling (most often, in a large law firm). At the end of those seven years, you’ve accumulated at least a minimal set of knowledge, skills and networks, you’ve paid down a chunk of your investment debt, and you can actually go out and start your real career. Viewed in that light, the working conditions for new lawyers seem a little more palatable, because new lawyers don’t see the harrowing associate experience as the norm or the template for the rest of their careers; they see it as an extended work term, co-op placement, apprenticeship, whatever, that has no particular bearing on where they’ll go next. If we could ever establish that way of thinking in the profession, we’d have much calmer and happier new grads.
Our conversation grew into an article that he posted on his site.
It proved so popular that the Young Lawyer’s Edition of the Addendum published it this month.
Perhaps it’s slightly disheartening to think of even more years ahead of me. But at the same time it might bring greater satisfaction and purpose to the challenges ahead.
Law is Cool – Podcast #9
Show Notes
Total running time 21:15
0:16 Jacob Kaufman and Omar Ha-Redeye introduce themselves.
0:44 Jacob and Omar discuss final exams.
2:10 Omar introduces Lisa Feinberg of UofO Law and the Canadian Interest and Public Policy Clinic (CIPPC), who is one of the law students that filed a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner over Facebook.
3:19 Lisa describes the 22 violations of PIPEDA that the students identified.
4:12 Lisa explains the effort that went into developing the project
5:01 Lisa tells us how the Privacy Commissioner creates and issues recommendations
5:50 Lisa relates the implications for Facebook users, even outside of Canada
7:39 Even though Lisa uses Facebook, she tells us how much more she learned about the site through the project.
9:11 Lisa expresses her interests in social networking, and how she got involved in the project.
11:23 Jacob shares some Facebook policies that demonstrate their attitude to privacy.
11:45 Jacob quotes James Grimmelman, who likens Facebook to a virus. Omar says it sounds like something out of The Matrix.
12:24 Omar introduces an interview with Khurrum Awan, complainant in a case against Maclean’s.
13:30 Khurrum describes the turnout at the Tribunal by members of the media, and the importance of independent coverage.
15:10 Khurrum explains the procedural elements of the Tribunal, when we can expect a decision, and where the case can potentially go from here.
16:32 Jacob talks about the different ways that law students apply their legal education towards advocacy work in real life.
17:08 Jacob shares some of the things he learned from the Facebook complaint, such as how applications can obtain your information without your explicit consent.
17:45 Jacob mentions Robert J. Sawyer’s theory in Maclean’s that notions of privacy are themselves outdated, and that we should have chips implanted in us at all times to track our movements.
18:40 Jacob mentions David Lat, a former American prosecutor who left the law to blog on Above the Law, and how he documented his weight-loss program online. Omar relates how this could be used in the potential trend of obesity lawsuits we could see in the future.
19:54 Jacob describes a New Brunswick case on the disclosure of Facebook materials, Knight v. Barrett, [2008] N.B.J. No. 102.
20:34 Omar and Jacob sign off.
(Look for an upcoming post on a recent Ontario decision regarding Facebook)
Law is Cool – Podcast #8
Show Notes
(Total running time 24:19)
0:14 Jacob Kaufman and Omar Ha-Redeye introduce themselves
0:25 Jacob mentions Canadian Lawyer’s listing of Law is Cool as the Top Ten of the Canadian Blawgosphere
0:52 Omar congratulates all the winners, as well as some honourable mentions on the site
0:58 Jacob comments on the word “Blawgosphere,” and says it sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss
1:12 Omar introduces Mark Popiel, senior counsel at Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLCC, stationed in Buffalo, N.Y., who specializes in U.S. corporate immigration
2:41 Mark explains how the Internet gives him greater exposure to clients worldwide, and enhances communication and legal services across timezones
4:26 Mark projects some developments in immigration law, that expect increase trade across borders despite recent travel restrictions
5:34 The Internet allows movement of documents at a much more rapid rate, and the emergence of Canadian company Research in Motion’s Blackberry promotes greater accessibility
6:07 Mark explains some of the opportunities for Canadian lawyers, including NAFTA work permits that are quick and inexpensive
7:17 Mark shares how he made the transition to working in the U.S. as a Canadian who decided to study law in the U.S.
8:35 Jacob introduces Ian Hull of Hull & Hull, an estates lawyer with a firm that is a leader in technology initiatives
9:17 Ian describes their daily blogs and two weekly podcasts, which focus on potential clients as well as lawyers in the field, who are their referral sources
10:58 Mark shares how he got involved in blogging and podcasting through Terry Fallis of Inside PR in March 2007
11:38 Mark explains how blogging and podcasts have changed his practice, its usefulness in communicating internally on important issues, and how their audience has grown over time
13:56 Mark explains the learning curve for blogging and podcast, and how their show improved over time
15:16 Mark addresses fears and apprehensions that large law firms have over blogging, likens it to a daily newsletter
16:53 Mark describes how their firm ensures editorial oversight by having a partner review content produced by associates
17:37 Mark mentions Podcasters Across Borders, how their podcast has grown, the perceptions of their firm in the legal community, and an umbrella of benefits that are often not anticipated
19:01 Mark says that lawyers are often technology dinosaurs, and often miss on innovative developments in the field
19:46 Mark provides some feedback about LawIsCool
20:23 Jacob raises some issues with the problems on some social media sites such as Facebook, including a recent case R. v. Sather of potential threats on his status updates, where technology expert Jesse Hirsch testified
21:32 Jacob claims that there have been very few cases mentioning Facebook to date, most not fully understanding it, and how photos of people’s personal activity can affect personal injury cases
22:23 Jacob mentions an upcoming event hosted by Jesse Hirsch where Omar is speaking on a panel on March 18, 2008
22:53 Omar states that Law Is Cool will be slowing down for exams, and indicates that the site will be announcing a recognition of one of the team members who has provided a unique contribution over the past year
23:18 Jacob states that incoming law students for the 2008-2009 interested in joining the site should contact us at: admin[at]lawiscool[dot]com
23:40 Omar signs off
First-Year Law Student Teaches Ethics to Chinese Delegation
(reproduced with the author’s permission)
First-Year Law Student Teaches Ethics to Chinese Delegation
TORONTO – Omar Ha-Redeye, a law student at the University of Western Ontario, presented a seminar on ethical behaviour in disasters to a diplomatic delegation on Nov. 9, 2007.
The Chinese dignitaries were from China, and represented the Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND). They were in Canada for one week, on a trip to meet with specialists in disaster management and learn from best practices here.
Mr. Ha-Redeye worked internationally in disaster and emergency management prior to starting law at the University of Western Ontario in September 2007. He shared an ethical model he developed in the review of successes and failures of major environmental and unnatural disasters.
The topics covered included the SARS epidemic in Canada, relief to families of Sept. 11, 2001, and the 2004 Tsunami in South-East Asia.
“In the study of ethics, there is no one single right course of action,” said Mr. Ha-Redeye. “What we try to do is present different ethical approaches, and try to reconcile competing needs in an emergent situation.”
Mr. Ha-Redeye explained that in disasters and emergencies there is little time for extensive ethical analysis, requiring professionals to be at least be familiar with ethical theory. The model he presented could also be used in other fields, or in daily situations in life.
First-year law students study ethics in their Spring semester of law at the University of Western Ontario. Western students begin their first class of ethics on Feb. 13, 2008.
“Although I am familiar with ethical concepts, their application specifically to the field of law is something I look forward to,”said Ha-Redeye.
Discussion around ethical behaviour in the legal profession has increased in recent months following the release of a book by a former Dean of Western Law, Phillip Slayton, entitled Lawyers Gone Bad: Money, Sex and Madness in Canada’s Legal Profession.
The training session was held at the Holiday Inn in downtown Toronto, and was hosted by the Foundation for International Training (FIT).
Below: Omar Ha-Redeye offers a session on ethics in disasters to a diplomatic delegation from China (Photo Credit: Omar Ha-Redeye)
Notes
Western Law was featured in the current issue of the CBA National magazine for the legal study of ethics. Western was the first law school to offer a mandatory ethics class in Ontario, and the first to have a mandatory course in the first year.
Ethics is usually more uniformly required in other jurisdictions.
Updates
The Law Society of Upper Canada is debating whether ethics should be a mandatory subject in Ontario.
Law is Cool – Podcast #2
Note: We are receiving hundreds of visitors looking for information on Michael Bryant. Please see this post on the recent accident in Toronto.
Special edition: Interview with Attorney-General of Ontario, Michael Bryant
Show Notes
(5:03 total running time)
0:15 Omar Ha-Redeye introduces the special edition of the podcast interview with Ontario A.G., Michael Bryant
0:43 Michael Bryant talks about pacing yourself during your first year
1:26 Advice shared from law professor at Osgoode Hall, John McCamus, on exam writing
1:49 Bryant suggests taking courses you enjoy
2:42 Importance of the Law Commission of Ontario discussed
3:16 New legal profession of paralegals reviewed, and their impact on the field
4:33 Omar thanks Michael Bryant and concludes podcast
