The Law
Student’s
Newspaper
No.
VOL I MARCH
APRIL 2010
2009 VOL
No.II8
Moot, Moot, Moot...2010 Moot Season!
Aboriginal Moot Brings Rich Experience
Orlagh O’Kelly (3L)
Third year student David Foster, and second year student Shannon Beckett represented the University of Calgary at
the 12th annual Canadian Labour Arbitration Competition which was held in Toronto on January 31st 2010. The com-
petition took place at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and was sponsored by Mathews Dinsdale, a leading Labour
Law firm in Toronto. The students, who had been preparing for the mooting competition since October, faced off against
teams from Queens, and Dalhousie Universities, and represented both the Union and Management sides of a Labour Dis-
pute concerning doughnuts and defamation.
The competition was judged by arbitration panels composed of Union and Management lawyers as well as Ontario
Arbitrators. The final competition, held on Sunday February 1st was adjudicated by The Honourable John I. Laskin of
the Ontario Court of Appeal; Tim Armstrong, former Deputy Minister and former Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations
Board; and Kevin Whitaker, current Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
When asked what she liked most about participating in the competition Beckett remarked, “I enjoyed the competi-
tive nature of the competition and watching four months of hard work come to fruition. I would definitely recommend
participating in this competition to any student who is at all interested in Labour and Employment Law.”
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2010 Western Canada (MacIntyre Cup) Trial Competition
Andrea Urquhart (3L)
This year the University of Calgary was host to UVic, UBC, UofA,
UofS and UofM for the Western Canada Trial Competition. Unlike
many of the moots the University of Calgary participates in (which fo-
cus on appellant based advocacy skills) the Western Trial Comp trains
you with respect to the “nitty gritty” of trial advocacy. Each team
is assigned to the role of Crown or Defence in a 2nd degree murder
trial that is being tried in front of a jury. Dan Wilson and I were the
Crown and were coached by Crown Prosecutor Janice Rea and Crimi-
nal Defence lawyer Eleanor Funk. Our competition was held at the
University and was judged by The Hon. Allan Fradsham, Bina Border
(Assistance Chief Crown Prosecutor) and Douglas McGillivray Q.C
(Partner BDP).
Despite the profound impact that Law & Order has had on my knowledge of how to be effective and dramatic while
running a jury trial, basic trial skills such as: how to conduct a direct & cross exam, how to use exhibits and knowing how
and what to object to are (in my opinion) really hard skills to learn. For me the opportunity to spend two months focus-
ing exclusively on these skills was an experience I feel fortunate to have had. On competition day we squared off against
UofVic and did well. While we did not advance to Ottawa for the Sopinka cup (only the top two teams advance) Dan and
I were slightly relieved- as 2nd degree murder trials are time consuming and we both have high hopes of making that
convocation list in May.
Corporate/Securities Team
Meghan Waters (2L)
After two months holed up in the library researching directors’ duties and confiden-
tiality contracts, the Corporate/Securities team has finally re-emerged into the real world
after their moot competition in Toronto on March 5 and 6.
The team was made up of mooters Sarah Makson, 2L, Meghan Lindsay, 2L, Clark Kas-
sian, 2L, and Matthew MacPherson, 3L, and researcher Meghan Waters, 2L. The team was
coached by about a dozen of Bennett Jones’ finest, as well as lawyers from Felesky Flynn
and Nexen.
Prior to the moot, there were several weeks of practices in front of leading corporate law-
yers and litigators at many of the major Calgary firms. A definite highlight for the team was
their appearance before Justices O’Brien and Rowbotham at the Court of Appeal.
Apart from the opportunity to meet leading lawyers and judges across Calgary, the
moot weekend in Toronto was loaded with extra perks. With Bennett Jones sponsoring the
weekend, team members were spoiled with amazing dinners
(bacon-wrapped venison, anyone?), a private box at the Rap-
tors’ game, and a fun night out on the town to celebrate the
end of the moot.
The team had a running joke that we would recommend the Corporate/Securities
Phone: 403-260-0100
Common SenSe, Fax: 403-260-0332
UnCommon InnovatIon . www.bdplaw.com
Mooting spotlight on Sarah Thompson, 2L
What moot did you participate in: I participated in the Alberta Court of Appeal Civil Moot. My partner,
Shawn Kraft, and I represented the Appellant.
How did you do at the moot: Although we lost the appeal because the facts of the case were not in our favour, but the
panel of judges found that we were the better mooting team, so we won our moot!
What interested you in mooting and why did you choose this moot: Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy debat-
ing different points of view, and I get a bit of a rush out of “making my case”. I actually enjoyed doing the 1L moot for
contracts last year, and I am interested in pursuing a legal career as a litigator, so I thought it would be a good experience
to do another moot this year.
I chose the Alberta Court of Appeal moot because it was only opened to 2Ls and because it offered an opportunity to
moot a civil law case. I also chose this moot because it didn’t seem as intense as some of the other moots.
What was the toughest part of the competition: The toughest part of the moot was getting grilled like a steak when
answering questions from Justice Slatter of the Alberta Court of Appeal.
Just kidding! The toughest part of the moot was writing the factum, but practicing my oral arguments and getting
comfortable having a “conversation with the court” was a close second.
What was the most useful skill you
learned: The most useful skill I learned
was how to answer questions in a way that
advanced my argument. It was difficult to
answer a judge’s question without getting
derailed from my argument.
What advice would you pass on to fu-
ture mooters: If someone is really interested
in doing a moot next year, my advice would
be to take constructive criticism with a grain
of salt. When you practice,
every judge will have a comment on
how you should have presented your argu-
ments, on whether or not you should be
gripping onto the podium for dear life, and
everyone will tell you something different.
The important thing is to find your advo-
cacy style and embrace it. Your job as a
mooter is to be persuasive, and you can only
persuade a court if you feel comfortable with
what you’re doing.
The JESSUP
There are two parts to the
competition, which started
in late September: detailed
written submissions (known
as memorials), followed
by oral advocacy. By the
time the team competes in
Toronto, the team will have
practiced more than twenty
times, more than half of
which in front of panels Chad Conrad, Kristy Williams, Christine Viney (back), Joanne Luu (front), Claire
of practitioner judges, Marchant, Owen Saunders (coach)
the majority of which are
former Jessup competitors.
The team is grateful for the support of these volunteer judges, as well as coach Owen Saunders, library staff, and others,
including patient friends and family. Wish us luck!
Chad Conrad
4
Why choose Bennett Jones?
6
There’s no
“i” in Blakes.
Sign on with the winning team
at joinblakes.com.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP | MONTRÉAL OTTAWA TORONTO CALGARY VANCOUVER NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON BEIJING blakes.com
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7: Watching
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10: A parade on
Granville Island
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Centre in Yaletown
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Photos, Text & 22: The tag inside lululemon’s
Layout by Anjli infamous Cheer Gear
23: Hockey party for the first
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Canada-USA game at lululemon lab
otherwise noted
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collaborative by Etienne
effort by Eric Zack for the
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Cultural
Olympiad
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26, 29: An eccentric local getting some attention
27, 28: An impromptu hockey game
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If you could be any place right now, where would you be? Hometown: South West Calgary, AB
I am just happy being back home right now.
Undergrad Studies: Bachelors in
What’s the scariest thing you have ever done? Well it Keepin’ it Real
wasn’t me, but a fellow I knew from Seattle was working
in downtown Baghdad close to a military base when he Pre-law school employment/vol-
was woken up by a rocket that was shot into his living unteer experience: Bread packer at
quarters or “hooch” (really just a modified sea can). Any- Daniel’s Bagels and Baguettes
way it didn’t explode and he was fine but he quit shortly
after… Now that is scary…. and everyone started arming Exam Rituals? Rubix cube
themselves after that….
What do you do to keep sane?
Person you look up to and why? Winston Churchhill or Group therapy sessions
maybe Dwight Eisenhower. Both were very important
leaders in their time and held interesting positions in gov- If you could be any place right now,
ernment and the military. where would you be? Knots Berry
Farm
One thing people in law school don’t know about you:
I have What’s the scariest thing you have
lived in ever done? Drink expired milk
Dublin,
Bor- Person you look up to and why?
deaux Adam Armeland, he is very tall
and
Dubai, One thing people in law school don’t
each for know about you: I’m a cage fighter
a year.
12
Name: Gavin Carscallen
Moot Notebook
By Orlagh O’Kelly
forward to summer positions with SLA, including incom-
ing student director, James Thomas, Kathleen Ganley, Aghi
Balachandran, Tim Stock-Bateman, Emma Neary, Emily Mc-
Cartney, Mike Boyd, Vincenzo Pingitore, Kiel Swaby, Tom
Anjli Patel’s marvelous Olympic spread is ample evi- Spark, and Jillian Williamson.
dence that many students took advantage of the opportuni- Pro Bono Students Canada is also set to hand over the
ty to love sport and Canada in Vancouver last month. But, torch. Tiffany Butler will take over for Nabeel Peermohamed
as the sun comes out in Calgary, students are gradu- as Program Coordinator, and Erik Arnold will take over
ally starting to log off facebook, veer away from springtime from Allison Cintosun as Family Law Project Coordinator.
patios and hibernate for the study period. The one last kick On the eve of publication, Brynne Harding (2L) was
at the can takes place on March 20, the student’s annual awarded the most prestigious honour out of a Canadian law
law show at Quincy’s put on by Aghi Balachandran and a schoo- a Supreme Court Clerkship. Harding will work under
committee of first year students. Justice Rothstein, who is perhaps happy with another U of C
With the exception of the Mooting season, there is little grad currently clerking at the SCC, Jocelyn Stacey (‘09).
activity to report at Murray Fraser Hall. Mooters returned Meanwhile, faculty members are busy. Jennifer Koshan
with great accolades but, unlike last year, with few “wins.” recently returning from Kenya were legal issues around
Kudos go out to Sarah Thompson and Shawn Craft who marital rape in Africa and Canada were discussed. Stay
impressed their judges at the Alberta Court of Appeal Civil tuned for a follow up discussion with Calgary Peace Award
Moot. The Calgary team also received buckets of positive winner and journalist, Sally Armstrong. Arlene Kwasniak
peer review and Christine Viney won an oralist award at and Alan Ingelson recently contributed to academia in their
the prestigious Jessup Moot. respective areas of study: Instream Flows and NAFTA. Ap-
Third year students are looking forward to the gradu- pointments were made with Kim Clarke as the University’s
ation reception at Banff Springs thanks to Caitlin Hanly’s Associate Vice Provost of Research Services for Libraries and
and Ara McKee’s hard work, who are right now organizing Cultural Resources and Chris Axworthy as the Founding
who will take the coveted honours of speech maker and Dean of Law at the innovative Thompson Rivers University
master of ceremonies. (TRU). Another innovation, the Ablawg is celebrating its
Other first and second year students are looking second birthday with great success.
13
There’s more
To being a
greaT lawyer
Than your gPa.
Within our firm you’ll find lawyers who’ve closed billion-dollar deals,
represented Prime Ministers and argued precedent-setting cases
before the Supreme Court. You’ll also discover adventurers,
marathoners and humanitarians. Every year, through our summer
and articling programs, we seek out students who, like us, have
both a passion for legal success and a desire to push themselves
to their limit. We’re not just looking for exceptional lawyers, we’re
looking for exceptional people.
To read our lawyer profiles and to see if BLG is right for you,
visit blgcanada.com/student
I work part-time for the Research Services Office at the U of C, in the Strategic Projects
Unit. My role is Industry Liaison, and in that capacity, I help researchers and faculties
develop industry partnerships as part of large research programs. It’s been a great ex-
perience, giving me the opportunity to learn about some of the great research going on
at the U of C, as well as getting to know industry representatives in everything from oil
and gas, to computing systems, to health care and pharmaceuticals.
Between school and work, I also serve on a federal electoral district association. My MP,
the Hon. Diane Ablonczy, is the Minister of State for Seniors. As part of her board, I
help promote her in the community, raise funds for upcoming elections, and just gener-
ally support her and the party. Specifically, I serve on the Executive of her board, as VP
of Election Readiness. In the minority government situation we’ve had for the past few
years, an election is always being threatened, so it means we have to be ready to go to
the polls at any time. Everything from signs, to finding a campaign headquarters, to lin-
ing up volunteers must be ready to go at all times.
My wife and I also take every chance we can to get out to the mountains. Between
school and work and other volunteer commitments (both mine and hers), we like to
make the most of the time we have together. Nothing recharges the batteries like a day
hiking or snowshoeing in Kananaskis Country!
Work is the biggest commitment for me, taking about 25 hours a week; volunteering takes up a bit of time, but closer to some-
where in the range of 2-5 hours a week. After setting aside the obligatory study time, my wife and I try to use the remaining time
to do stuff together. It may seem busy, but I’d rather be busy than bored, and it sure has made the 3 years fly by!
We all run the risk of being stuck inside “the bubble.” It’s easy to get swept away in law school and law school alone. In addition
to the financial benefits of working part time, both work and volunteering have been an amazing opportunity to develop a social
network in Calgary. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside a lot of prominent citizens and businesspeople in the city. Not
only does that provide a needed distraction from hours of case briefs, but it’s helped put me in a position that I think will benefit
my career.
Well, time, obviously. It can be stressful when you have multiple commitments all coming due at the same time. Exams get even
more stressful when you’re trying to fit in 3 days a week at the office. However, it is do-able, and if anything, it focuses me to be
more efficient with my time.
We all waste a lot of time – and I’m definitely one of the best examples there! But when push comes to shove, time management
skills can make all the difference in the world. There are a lot of hours in the day, and there’s definitely time to do it all and still
have time for family. Forcing myself to have a full plate now is definitely going to be an asset when I get out into the working
world and have the same challenges put on me by my firm.
What advice do you have for students who want a life outside law school?
Do it! The advantages, in my mind, are threefold. Number one – you’ll get a needed distraction from the sometimes dry law texts.
Number two – you’ll build your own networks outside of school and brush up on your communication skills. Number three –
you’ll start learning the time management skills that will get you through your articles and junior associate years. There’s defi-
nitely time in the day – all we have to do is look for it.
15
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Sally Arm- Talk on “Copyright
Gwynne Dyer International strong and the Digital Age” Tim McGraw to-
speaks at Day for the discusses in 2370 from 12 - 1 night at the
15:00 in Rozsa Elimination of Afghanistan Saddledom
Water For Life 2010
Centre Racism at 12 in the Conference at the
Rosza Centre U of C
28 29 30 31 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Dillinger
Escape Plan LAST DAY
plays tonight OF CLASS
at the
Republik
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Angles and
Airwaves plays Bermuda
tonight at Mac Hall Shorts Day