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FEATURE
The Internship pairs law students with lawyers from
participating firms to assist non-profit organizations
with entity formation and corporate governance
matters. “While the students are providing a valuable
service to non-profit organizations, the business law
skills they gain are transferable to private practice. It’s a
win-win,” explains John Pozios, the Director of both the
L. Kerry Vickar Law Clinic and the Marcel A. Desautels
Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. The program
was introduced in 2011/12 to provide students with an
opportunity to gain experience with real clients under
the supervision of experienced counsel, while helping
non-profit community organizations with a need for
legal advice they may not otherwise be able to access.
The students spend a minimum of six hours a week on
the project assigned to them by supervising counsel.
They also attend two hours of faculty-led workshops
and feedback meetings weekly.
Lending a Helping Hand
to Winnipeg Harvest
Erika Robson and Joel Myskiw completed their
Internships with Pitblado LLP (Pitblado) for its
client, Winnipeg Harvest. Several Winnipeg Harvest
volunteers came up with the idea of publishing a
newspaper, (The Better Times), to give a voice to its
clients. Winnipeg Harvest wanted to fund the paper,
but allow an independent editorial board to operate it.
“We weren’t sure how to structure
ownership of The Better Times,” explains
Donald Benham, Director of Public
Education at Winnipeg Harvest.
Under the supervision of Andrew Buck and Adam
Herstein, of Pitblado, Erika and Joel conducted
research and outlined the attributes of different types
of business organizations. The students presented
several options to the Boards of Winnipeg Harvest and
The Better Times. “It was a great learning experience,
very different than writing a theoretical memo for
law school. I had to take into account a number of
practical considerations based on the client’s situation.
It was also a good opportunity to learn about client
management. They had their own timelines that didn’t
necessarily match mine and I had to figure out how to
work within them,” says Erika.
The Better Times ultimately decided to incorporate
as a not-for-profit corporation. Benham offers high
praise: “It was such a wonderful solution to have a law
student, supervised by experienced lawyers, help us
out. Erika and Andrew listened very patiently and
treated our issue as a priority. We received important,
practical legal advice on a specific problem that we
could not have otherwise afforded.”
It is not just the students and community
organizations that benefit from the experience.
Andrew Buck describes his involvement as a
mentor as incredibly satisfying and rewarding.
“I was able to use my experience to help a
Left: Andrew Buck, Pitblado LLP, Nick Ternette,
Winnipeg Harvest and law student, Erika Robson
65 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT