Robson Hall Clinical Experience Information 2020-2021
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Robson Hall Clinical Experience Information 2020-2021 Table of Contents Clinical Experience Opportunities for Law Students .............................................................................. 2 Mini Moot ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Competitive Moot Program..................................................................................................................... 3 Fox – Intellectual Property Davies – Corporate/Securities Gale – Criminal/Constitutional Bowman – Tax Laskin – Constitutional/Administrative Bastarche – En Français Advocacy Trials ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Negotiations Competitions ..................................................................................................................... 8 Tryouts and Selection Process ............................................................................................................ 9 National Negotiation Competition ....................................................................................................... 9 Selection Process .............................................................................................................................. 10 1 Clinical Experience Opportunities for Law Students Practical advocacy opportunities are an amazing way for law students to gain valuable clinical experience that is not otherwise available in the typical theoretical law school classroom environment. This type of learning often requires the help of practitioners, the judiciary, and the faculty, and can create great networking opportunities for students. While some of the opportunities are purely extracurricular and some can be taken as credits, it must be noted that clinical experiences can require a lot of work and can take up a lot of time. Therefore students should be mindful of their courseload and other additions to their general workload before mooting or otherwise competing. The Clinical Experience Committee (CEC) facilitates practical learning opportunities for law students and coordinates with the faculty and Moot Committee to promote competitive moots and negotiations. The following programs are available for Robson Hall students and will be explained in detail below: Mini Moot Advocacy Trials Moot Program Negotiations Competitions Please note that while students can participate in two (or more) of these experiences, students are only allowed to get credit for one of the external moots/competitions. However, some students in the past have sought a waiver of this rule from the Academic Affairs Committee and received credit hours from both (ex. participating in the a negotiation and a moot). If you have any questions about these opportunities, you can contact the CEC (Amber Harms, Chair: [email protected]), or refer to the specific program contacts included below. *** COVID-19 PANDEMIC *** Under normal circumstances, all of these opportunities would be held in-person and the moots would be held in various locations across Canada. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the high risk associated with travel, students will not be permitted to travel for school-related activities for the 2020-2021 year. As a result, many of these clinical experiences will be available in an online virtual format and some of these opportunities may not be available for the 2020-2021 school year. Any Winnipeg events that aim to be held in person in 2021 will remain subject to change given the circumstances at the time. 2 Mini Moot The Mini Moot is an annual event hosted by the Clinical Experience Committee that is open to all Robson Hall Faculty of Law students and Masters of Human Rights students. It is the only opportunity available to first year students to practice researching/preparing arguments and advocating orally. There are no try-outs and the Mini Moot is not for credit. Students sign up in pairs and prepare to argue one side of an appellate Supreme Court of Canada decision. Each team argues for 15 minutes, inclusive of interrupting questions from the panel of Winnipeg lawyers that act as judges. Teams are scored and provided with feedback on their argument and oral advocacy skills. The highest scoring team from each side will advance to the final round to argue their case once more for the winning title. Topic: Human Rights and Constitutional Law Date of Mini Moot: late January/early February (two days) Date of Sign-Up: December Mini Moot Contact Information: Amber Harms: [email protected] Competitive Moot Program Mooting is a simulated trial argument of a fictional or previously decided court case argued in front of real judges and practitioners. Mooting is a great way to sharpen your practical skills through written facta, oral argument, and public speaking. Each team will be guided by a team of two or more coaches that will give instructions, lead practices, and attend the competition with the students. Typically, most moot competitions require out-of-province travel to Ontario, Quebec, and/or British Columbia. Robson Hall funds the cost of travel and food for participants. Mooting can also be a great opportunity to network with legal professionals who practice throughout Canada. Many moots recognize and award excellent factums, oralists, and overall performance. Each Moot is worth 3 credit hours in the term that the competition occurs (winter semester). Students can participate as oral presenters or researchers to receive credit. There are typically two or four oral presenters and one researcher per moot team. Researchers are chosen by the moot coaches to assist the oral presenters with finding relevant case law on the topic(s) of the moot, preparing brief legal memos, and drafting and editing facta. Their role is to be a resource that works proactively in collaboration with the mooters to prepare and practice for the competition. Researchers typically also travel and attend the competition with the oral advocates and coaches. 3 There are two bilingual moots: the Laskin requires one English oral presenter and one French presenter, and the Bastarche is an entirely French moot. If you are selected for a moot on a specific area of law, you might want to take the relevant course(s) on that subject matter in the fall semester (ex. take Tax for the Bowman). Moot Committee Contact Information: David Ireland: [email protected] Darcy MacPherson: [email protected] Gerald Heckman (French Moots): [email protected] Tryouts and Selection Process Date of Tryouts for Oral Presenters: September 24-25, 2020 (via Zoom) ñ Only second and third year law students can participate in a moot. ñ While there is no GPA requirement in order to participate in a moot, those that tryout will need to grant the Moot Selection Committee access to view their transcripts and grades. ñ If you wish to participate in a bilingual moot such as the Laskin or the Bastarche, you may need to be comfortable communicating in both French and English. The Tryout Process ñ Sign up in late August/early September. Rank the available moots that you would like to tryout for in order of preference (there is only one tryout for all of these competitive moots). ñ The case to be presented in the tryout will be released at least a week prior, and students can choose either side to argue for 6 minutes in front of the Moot Selection Committee, who will interrupt with questions, and provide feedback after the tryout. ñ If you are not selected as an oral presenter, you will be able to participate in the capacity of a researcher. The call for researchers will be released shortly after oral presenters are announced. To apply as a researcher, a writing sample must be provided. Competitive Moots Available Fox – Intellectual Property The Harold G. Fox Moot alternates between the topics of trademarks, patents, and copyright. The team consists of two respondents and two appellants, and a researcher. Each side will be required to prepare a factum. Date of Competition: late February Date Fact Pattern Released: early October Location of Competition: Toronto Website: https://ipmootcanada.ca/ 4 Davies – Corporate/Securities *** Due to COVID-19, the Davies Moot has been cancelled for the 2020-2021 year *** The Davies Moot alternates between the topics of corporate law and securities law every year. It is typically a trial decision and appellate decision, with pre-determined issues. The team consists of two respondents and two appellants, and a researcher. Each side will be required to prepare a factum. Date of Competition: early March Date Fact Pattern Released: mid January Location of Competition: Toronto Website: https://www.dwpv.com/en/Resources/News/Announcements/2017/Davies-Annual- Corporate-Securities-Law-Moot Gale – Criminal/Constitutional The Gale Cup Moot involves a previously decided Supreme Court of Canada decision on the topics of criminal and/or constitutional law The team consists of two respondents and two appellants, and each side will be required to prepare a factum. There is not usually a student researcher for this moot. Date of Competition: mid February Date Fact Pattern Released: October/November Location of Competition: Toronto Website: https://www.galecupmoot.com/en/home Bowman – Tax The Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot is Canada’s first competitive moot on taxation, named after the Honourable Donald G.H. Bowman,