ARCTIC OBITER
September/October 2011 - Law Society of the Northwest Territories September/October 2011 - Law Society of the Northwest Territories
10 | ARCTIC OBITER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Hitting the Books LAWYERS HEAD BACK TO CLASS AT THE 2011 INTENSIVE TRIAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM by Ben Russo Following three exhaustive days of demonstrations, exercises, assignments and researching, twenty-two students are sent to trial at the Yellowknife Courthouse. Gowned and ready to go, each pupil enters their respective courtrooms to face each other. Many of them have been here before, and many of them have stood in front of the judges now peering at them. After all, these students are tried and true Northern lawyers, and these walls are quite familiar. Today, they are counsel for imaginary people in imaginary cases, but the rest is real: The courtrooms are real, the gowns are real, and the results are real. Judges, well-known in this community, watch and listen attentively while counsel, real lawyers in their own right, make their opening statements, call their witnesses and ultimately prove their case. These lawyers have had three full days to prepare their arsenal, and some of their instructors sit in the gallery to see if their training comes to fruition. This is their chance to be different, and it’s noticeable. Each lawyer stands with intention and purpose. Each question demands substance. Each objection is full of confidence. Each cross-examination is full of conviction and a hard-lined quest for the truth. Voices are louder and clearer, and hands stay steady and firm at the podium. There are also the curveballs. The tricks and tactics learned over the past 72 hours are now being tested. This may be a harmless mock trial, but seated at the Bench is the very juror that, everyday, decides what works and what doesn’t in their courtrooms. Hours pass, and adjournments draw nearer. Counsel make their closing statements to the judge (or the jury), and decisions are ultimately, unfortunately, withheld. This is only a learning experience, after all. Instead, those tricks and tactics are laid out for scrutiny. What worked? What didn’t work? What would be better? It is an opportunity to converse with a trier-of-fact about the case that just ended. It’s casual now, as gowns are put away, but the lessons continue. Lawyers are students again as they dissect their own trials, and judges don their instructor hats one more time for this final critique. It’s been a long week, but this is perhaps the most important feedback these students will receive. And, as the day ends, Yellowknife’s 3rd Bi-Annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Program draws to a close. The graduates
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 11 can finally relax and close their books. But the night is still young, and most of them will head to the much-anticipated pizza party a few blocks away. It’s been a long week. ••• The Northern model for a Trial Advocacy Program was the brain-child of Justice John Vertes, who had just finished teaching at the course offered by the University of Calgary. Citing the many benefits the resident bar could reap from a Northern program, he quickly convinced the Law Society to adopt the program for the territories. An organization committee was formed, headed by Terri Nguyen, and plans began for a program to be offered in Yellowknife. Closely following in Calgary’s footsteps, and borrowing much from their materials, the new Northern-based program was launched in 2007. Feeding from the very positive response of this inaugural offering, as well as each successive course, the program is now offered every two years, growing and expanding each time. This year, the 3-day intensive program was again hosted at the Yellowknife Courthouse which, for the second year, opened all of its courtrooms and boardrooms for use by the program. Placing even more emphasis on the insitu atmosphere, many from the local Bench then presided over demonstrations and instructed during smaller group sessions, ensuring students received a full perspective in their feedback and critique. In all, at a capacity of 24 students and a heavy line-up of judges and instructors, students were paired with instructors at a 2:1 ratio. LEARNING BY DOING The basis of the program is its hands-on approach to teaching. Using demonstrations from instructors as a guide, students become actors and actresses as they navigate through the various exercises and components of trial advocacy. It is this learning-by-doing model that not only teaches the fundamentals of a trial performance, but also puts the teachings to immediate use by the students. By acting out each exercise, students also open themselves to individualized critique and feedback as the rest of the class takes pointers on style and delivery. “The opportunity to practice and try things was fantastic,” said one student, “and getting to supplement that with comments and suggestions was even better. I would NOTICE OF ELECTION and ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TAKE NOTICE THAT an election of members to the Executive of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories will be held on Friday, December 2nd, 2011 pursuant to the Legal Profession Act and the Rules of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories. AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE THAT the Thirty- Fourth Annual General Meeting of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories will be held on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 commencing at 09:00 am, in the Champagne Room, (2nd Floor) 5004 – 50th Avenue, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Annual General Meeting shall be immediately followed by a meeting of the present and newly elected members of the Executive. LEARNING FROM THE PROS: Students discuss the role an expert witness plays in a trial.
- Page 1 and 2: ARCTIC OBITER MAY/J SEPTEMBER/OCTOB
- Page 3 and 4: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 3 PRESIDEN
- Page 5 and 6: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 5 THE DIRE
- Page 7 and 8: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 7 Justice
- Page 9: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 9 Interven
- Page 13 and 14: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 13 NWT LEG
- Page 15 and 16: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 15 RJR - M
- Page 17 and 18: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 17 the tim
- Page 19 and 20: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 19 S.C.C.
- Page 21 and 22: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 21 the con
- Page 23: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 23 RESOURC
10 | <strong>ARCTIC</strong> <strong>OBITER</strong><br />
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT<br />
Hitting the Books<br />
LAWYERS HEAD BACK TO CLASS AT THE 2011 INTENSIVE TRIAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM<br />
by Ben Russo<br />
Following three exhaustive days of demonstrations,<br />
exercises, assignments and researching, twenty-two students<br />
are sent to trial at the Yellowknife Courthouse. Gowned and<br />
ready to go, each pupil enters their respective courtrooms to<br />
face each other. Many of them have been here before, and<br />
many of them have stood in front of the judges now peering<br />
at them. After all, these students are tried and true Northern<br />
lawyers, and these walls are quite familiar.<br />
Today, they are counsel for imaginary people in imaginary<br />
cases, but the rest is real: The courtrooms are real, the gowns<br />
are real, and the results are real. Judges, well-known in this<br />
community, watch and listen attentively while counsel, real<br />
lawyers in their own right, make their opening statements,<br />
call their witnesses and ultimately prove their case. These<br />
lawyers have had three full days to prepare their arsenal,<br />
and some of their instructors sit in the gallery to see if their<br />
training comes to fruition.<br />
This is their chance to be different, and it’s noticeable. Each<br />
lawyer stands with intention and purpose. Each question<br />
demands substance. Each objection is full of confidence.<br />
Each cross-examination is full of conviction and a hard-lined<br />
quest for the truth. Voices are louder and clearer, and hands<br />
stay steady and firm at the podium.<br />
There are also the curveballs. The tricks and tactics learned<br />
over the past 72 hours are now being tested. This may be a<br />
harmless mock trial, but seated at the Bench is the very juror<br />
that, everyday, decides what works and what doesn’t in<br />
their courtrooms.<br />
Hours pass, and adjournments draw nearer. Counsel make<br />
their closing statements to the judge (or the jury), and<br />
decisions are ultimately, unfortunately, withheld. This is<br />
only a learning experience, after all. Instead, those tricks and<br />
tactics are laid out for scrutiny. What worked? What didn’t<br />
work? What would be better? It is an opportunity to<br />
converse with a trier-of-fact about the case that just ended.<br />
It’s casual now, as gowns are put away, but the lessons<br />
continue. Lawyers are students again as they dissect their<br />
own trials, and judges don their instructor hats one more<br />
time for this final critique. It’s been a long week, but this is<br />
perhaps the most important feedback these students will<br />
receive.<br />
And, as the day ends, Yellowknife’s 3rd Bi-Annual Intensive<br />
Trial Advocacy Program draws to a close. The graduates
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