TLA series gives licensing candidates boost in articling efforts

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • The Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) is looking to make the articling year a little less challenging for licensing candidates with a three-part online series designed to have a lasting impact, says executive director/library director Joan Rataic-Lang.

“Articling is the beginning of a new lawyer’s career. This is an important year for them,” says Rataic-Lang. “It is a time to learn, but they also have to show good judgment and be able to communicate well. There are many skills they need to master to succeed in the coming months if they want to stand out from the pack and have their firm recognize them as a valuable future asset.”

The Association is presenting Licensing Candidates Head Start – From Articling Student to Lawyer, a weekly Zoom forum running from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1. The 11^th annual program costs $25 for members. The TLA offers free membership to licensing candidates.

“I am particularly excited about this year’s event for a number of reasons,” Rataic-Lang tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “We are here to make that initial period easier for licensing candidates and give them a head start with some good advice. Hopefully, they’ll feel a little more empowered, more confident and it will result in a lasting relationship with the TLA. It is our goal to help them succeed.”

Program offered across the province for the first time

She explains that while COVID physical distancing shut down most of society for long periods and limited TLA gatherings to the video screen, it has had an unexpected bonus. Educational programs forced online instead of being held in person meant more people could attend. That also means the TLA can now offer the Head Start program to those across Ontario for the first time.

“This is something new that we have never tried before,” Rataic-Lang says. “Zoom allows us to accommodate everyone. There may be an articling student in a small town whose law library doesn’t have the time or resources to offer an education program like this. 

“A great deal of work goes into putting our program together. Why not let everyone know about it so they can join us? We just really want to get the word out there and help people.”

An added twist is a collaborative effort with the County of Carleton Law Association (CCLA) to present the legal research portion of the program.

“We are quite excited about this combined effort. We have a really good relationship with our colleagues across the province so I approached the head librarian at Carleton and suggested we do this program together,” says Rataic-Lang. “It is nice to share all of our knowledge with the students. We hope we can begin building a rapport with them.”

She says it’s important “to bring different viewpoints to the table” to keep the program interesting.

‘Gives it a little more punch’

“We have a lot of experience and so do the librarians at Carleton. And to be quite honest, when you do a presentation if it’s the same person talking the entire time it can get a little bit dry. So we figured let’s share the spotlight,” Rataic-Lang says. “It makes it a little more interesting for the audience. Gives it a little more punch.”

While it can be beneficial to change some things up, she says they were careful not to fix something that wasn’t broken. Point in case is the return of Mary Paterson, partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, who kicks the program off with Part 1: A Partner Telling It Like It Is: What, How and Why.

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“Mary spoke last year and she was well-received,” Rataic-Lang says. “She is an exceptional speaker with plenty of good advice. She is someone who can relate to the students. She is a warm person, able to answer questions comfortably.

“She’s going to talk about what she’s looking for when working with an articling student and covers such aspects as communication, collaboration, networking and managing expectations,” she adds. “Those are all things that don’t always come naturally to people.  They are soft skills that need to be developed.”

Rataic-Lang says there will be an opportunity for questions and for some participants, this can be invaluable.

“It’s not like they’re asking a question of someone in their firm. There’s nobody here judging them,” she says.

Experienced lawyers share their insights

Rataic-Lang also points out that for some, it might be one of the few chances they have to pick the brain of an experienced lawyer.

“I used to work on Bay Street and I know how much support is given to the articling students in large firms. They have mentors, their orientation can go for weeks and they have regular training,” she says. “But those in small firms may not get the same attention or support. Lawyers may be too busy running the business to give licensing candidates much of their time.” 

Part Two, Practice Tips and Avoiding Malpractice Claims on Sept. 24, will be presented by Ray Leclair, vice president, public affairs of Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company. 

“It’s good for candidates to understand what their insurer says right from the beginning of their careers, so they know that it is alright to admit to making a mistake and how to deal with all of that,” Rataic-Lang says.

The program wraps up on Oct. 1 with Legal Research – The Secret to Your Success.

“There is a way to approach legal research. Time is valuable so articling students need to be able to balance and manage everything they do,” she says.  “Research is one area where the library plays a big role. Most people are going to have to do legal research while they are articling and they better be able to do it efficiently and properly and not miss anything.

‘We can help them get to the answer’

“We can instruct, we can guide. We’ve got a lot of experience and while we’re not lawyers, we can help them get to the answer in the fastest, the most efficient way. They may not know about all the resources or all the strategies. What may take them 10 hours to do may take us an hour.”

Rataic-Lang says law libraries know the “best way to tackle a problem” and can be a valuable resource to candidates as they move forward with their careers.

“When we build those connections with students, they start becoming regulars in the library. They keep coming back because they know what we can do,” she says. “I can’t tell you the satisfaction that our team gets out of that. That’s why we do this kind of thing.” 

For details on the forum, click here.

Along with the Head Start program, the TLA will be offering a stand-alone session on masters’ motions on Oct. 6 that is open to licensing candidates and recent calls.

TLA states the webinar is essential for those new to arguing Masters’ Motions and contains “valuable lessons on procedure, presentation, practice management, professionalism and ethics.”

Click here for more information and details on registration.

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