downloading the PDF - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

FEATURE
Recalling his own experience as a young lawyer,
Pellizzaro says, “When I first came here I ended up
doing a lot of cases that I probably wouldn’t have
done until much later in my career if I’d stayed in
Winnipeg. Because you’re dealing with such a diverse
number of cases, you build up a lot of experience
earlier in your career and the level of responsibility
ends up being a lot greater much sooner.”
The northern Manitoba terrain earns high marks with
Pellizzaro and family. “We are in the middle of the
boreal forest with thousands of lakes and trails, so if
you are an outdoorsy type person that’s definitely a
plus. I’m a mountain biker; that’s my passion. In the
winter, we have a ski hill just 20 minutes out of town
where we enjoy some great downhill skiing.”
“I typically take long holidays over the summer and
my wife is a teacher so she gets the summers off. I
don’t know many of my former classmates who can
take a month or two off in the summer and still have a
busy practice.”
Highlighting the benefits of rural practice to law
students is more than a laissez-faire, word-of-mouth
activity, according to Allan Fineblit, President of the
Law Society of Manitoba.
“We observed about five years ago that
there was an ongoing problem with the
number of lawyers available to provide
services, especially in the north and in
smaller rural communities.”
“Our concern was magnified when we realized
the legal profession in those communities wasn’t
refreshing itself and resident lawyers were aging. We
began to look at what other professions had done,
particularly the medical profession, to address a
shortage of professionals in some communities.”
What emerged was the Forgivable Loan Initiative (FLI),
a pilot program designed to tackle the shortage of
lawyers in small towns around the province.
“One of our observations was that the people who
are most likely to go to those communities and
stay are the people who are originally from those
communities,” says Fineblit.
One of the barriers was that lawyers continued to
maintain two residences: one in Winnipeg and the
other in their home community. “We thought that
if we offered to pay for those costs, up to $75,000
per student, with the understanding that those
costs would be given as a forgivable loan, we might
attract students from those communities who
might otherwise be deterred from attending law
school,” says Fineblit.
“Loans to students are provided on the condition that
they return to practice and serve in their community.
We forgive the loan at a rate of 20 per cent a year
for every year that they remain and practice in the
community so in five years it’s entirely forgiven. If they
don’t go back, they have to pay it back in full.”
Margaret Hillick is the first participant in the FLI
program, having completed her first year of law
and taken a summer job in her home community
of Thompson, working for Mayer, Dearman and
Pellizzaro. “So far it’s working as we’d hoped,”
commented Fineblit.
Another partner in the program, the Manitoba Bar
Association, ensures that there are good law-related
summer jobs available back in the home community
to reduce the risk that the FLI participant would be
recruited by a Winnipeg law firm.
Adds Fineblit, “We’re now looking for FLI student
applicants for the next year.”
55 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT