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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
FEATURE Left: Marshall Ring, Biomedical Commercialization Canada (BCC), law student Kristopher Advent, and Robert Gabor, Aikins Law student develop her lawyering skills, while also contributing to a highly worthwhile cause. I would definitely do it again,” he adds emphatically. Aiding innovation at Biomedical Commercialization Canada Kris Advent had the opportunity to intern with Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson LLP (Aikins) for its client, Biomedical Commercialization Canada (BCC), a non-profit incubator for entrepreneurs and science and technology start-up companies. He sat in on management meetings and negotiations with prospective client companies. Kris provided opinions on contracts, unanimous shareholders agreements and term sheets under the supervision of Robert Gabor, a partner at Aikins. He also researched licensing agreements for patents. “After meeting with BCC, Robert and I would sit down and review the corporate documents, sometimes clause by clause and discuss what he told the clients and why. I gained a working knowledge and understanding of corporate law. It was an incredibly valuable experience.” Robert Gabor points out that the Internship program employs a practical, real-life approach. “Students get to see how the legal principles they learn at school function in the real world.” He adds, “being a mentor was very rewarding and I had a lot of fun doing it.” From BCC CEO Marshall Ring’s perspective, the Internship was a resounding success. “Kris helped us out by performing a gap analysis and cleaning up some of the legal documents we routinely use. Beyond that, he added value to our business and we enjoyed having him around.” Facilitating Compliance for Charitable Organizations Lyndsey Amott describes her Internship experience with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) as “enlightening.” “Truthfully I wasn’t particularly attracted to corporate law before this, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the course. It made me re-consider what I want to do after graduation.” Lyndsey assisted several charitable organizations convert their governing documents to conform with recent changes to applicable legislation. “The more practical knowledge we can impart to students, the better,” says Lyndsey’s supervising lawyer, UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA, FACULTY OF LAW umanitoba.ca/law 66
- Page 15 and 16: Photo courtesy Joe Bryksa, Winnipeg
- Page 17 and 18: A seminAr series held At the Univer
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- Page 21 and 22: BRIEFS Rebels with a Cause LAW STUD
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- Page 25 and 26: AWARDS AND PRIZES LIEUTENANT M.M. S
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- Page 30 and 31: Front-Line Legal Magdalena Siepka -
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- Page 34 and 35: New York New York Mark Adkins - Cla
- Page 36 and 37: “My prior firm merged with a New
- Page 38 and 39: 37 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT
- Page 40 and 41: education I got at the Manitoba Law
- Page 42 and 43: International Law a Passport to the
- Page 44 and 45: FEATURE Fenwick was given an opport
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- Page 62 and 63: It’s fun being ‘Green’ James
- Page 65: Business Law Education Moves from t
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- Page 72 and 73: In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canad
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- Page 76 and 77: Did the Supreme Court of Canada Get
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- Page 84 and 85: Faculty Research Report 2011 - 2012
- Page 86 and 87: Meet Our New Dean DR. LORNA A. TURN
- Page 88 and 89: Faculty News TENURES AND PROMOTIONS
- Page 90 and 91: BRIEFS Faculty Awards & Achievement
- Page 92 and 93: The Gender Divide In Corporate Law
- Page 94 and 95: Students questioned whether they sh
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- Page 98 and 99: oriented approach. The double botto
- Page 100 and 101: Alumni News HOMECOMING 2011 & REUNI
- Page 103 and 104: Alex Forrest - Class of 1995 By Mar
- Page 105 and 106: PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANA
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- Page 111 and 112: 1995 Gary Gervais, founder and pres
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FEATURE<br />
Left: Marshall Ring, Biomedical Commercialization Canada (BCC), law student Kristopher Advent, and Robert Gabor, Aikins <strong>Law</strong><br />
student develop her lawyering skills, while also<br />
contributing to a highly worthwhile cause. I would<br />
definitely do it again,” he adds emphatically.<br />
Aiding innovation at Biomedical<br />
Commercialization Canada<br />
Kris Advent had <strong>the</strong> opportunity to intern with<br />
Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson LLP (Aikins) for<br />
its client, Biomedical Commercialization Canada<br />
(BCC), a non-pr<strong>of</strong>it incubator for entrepreneurs and<br />
science and technology start-up companies. He sat<br />
in on management meetings and negotiations with<br />
prospective client companies. Kris provided opinions<br />
on contracts, unanimous shareholders agreements<br />
and term sheets under <strong>the</strong> supervision <strong>of</strong> Robert<br />
Gabor, a partner at Aikins. He also researched licensing<br />
agreements for patents. “After meeting with BCC,<br />
Robert and I would sit down and review <strong>the</strong> corporate<br />
documents, sometimes clause by clause and discuss<br />
what he told <strong>the</strong> clients and why. I gained a working<br />
knowledge and understanding <strong>of</strong> corporate law. It<br />
was an incredibly valuable experience.” Robert Gabor<br />
points out that <strong>the</strong> Internship program employs a<br />
practical, real-life approach.<br />
“Students get to see how <strong>the</strong> legal<br />
principles <strong>the</strong>y learn at school function<br />
in <strong>the</strong> real world.” He adds, “being a<br />
mentor was very rewarding and I had a<br />
lot <strong>of</strong> fun doing it.”<br />
From BCC CEO Marshall Ring’s perspective, <strong>the</strong><br />
Internship was a resounding success. “Kris helped<br />
us out by performing a gap analysis and cleaning<br />
up some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> legal documents we routinely<br />
use. Beyond that, he added value to our business<br />
and we enjoyed having him around.”<br />
Facilitating Compliance for<br />
Charitable Organizations<br />
Lyndsey Amott describes her Internship experience<br />
with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS)<br />
as “enlightening.” “Truthfully I wasn’t particularly<br />
attracted to corporate law before this, but I was<br />
surprised at how much I enjoyed <strong>the</strong> course. It made<br />
me re-consider what I want to do after graduation.”<br />
Lyndsey assisted several charitable organizations<br />
convert <strong>the</strong>ir governing documents to conform with<br />
recent changes to applicable legislation. “The more<br />
practical knowledge we can impart to students,<br />
<strong>the</strong> better,” says Lyndsey’s supervising lawyer,<br />
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA, FACULTY OF LAW umanitoba.ca/law 66
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