Moot Times September 2016

The Moot Times The University of Calgary Law Student Newspaper | September 2016 Edition

WHAT WILL CWSLA BE UP TO THIS YEAR? Calgary Women Studying Law Association hosting a number of events in 2016/17 Hayley Rushford 2L

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volunteered for Calgary Women Studying Law Association (CWSLA) in my 1L year and served as Director of Community Relations. So I’m biased about how awesome we are! However, we a pretty cool group and we’ll be doing a bunch of interesting things this year.

The CWSLA team consists of Samantha Jobin as Director of Events and Sponsorship, Natalie Nolan as Treasurer, Raj Gurvinder as Chair, and me. We have some exciting plans for you to check out.

We’ll start off the year with the second annual “September Mixer,” where students will get their first dose of mingling with lawyers and the art of networking. We were thrilled at the turnout to the event last year and got great feedback from the 1Ls. Our first panel event will feature perspectives from female defense lawyers and prosecutors in the criminal justice system. The panel will be a conversation about unique experiences women encounter as criminal lawyers, and panelists will share their stories and advice with students. There will also be

CWSLA members attending the BLG Summer Mixer in August. an opportunity for all you aspiring criminal lawyers to ask questions! This event is a great chance to learn more about working in the courts and to gain some insights into particular challenges and advantages that come with being a woman and participating in the adversarial criminal process.

Next up will be our interactive workshop event, which will focus on the three pillars of self-advocacy, public speaking, and personal wellness. The speakers for this event are diverse

and come from all kinds of different backgrounds outside the legal profession.

This is a great opportunity to learn something new in a relaxed, fun setting with your friends. This will be an especially useful event for 1Ls heading into their mooting module in January. The self-advocacy module will focus on becoming your own best advocate and negotiating a career on your terms, whether that means negotiating your salary or collaborating with your team.

The public speaking module

Credit: CWSLA

will give students tools to command the boardroom or the courthouse and to do so with conviction! Finally, the personal wellness workshop will address an often overlooked area of being a lawyer: stress. Learn how to cope with piling deadlines, difficult clients, and long hours. All years are welcome to come visit with the workshop practitioners over cocktails and to get a quick professional development event under your belt at the same time!

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Moot Times The law student newspaper at the University of Calgary.

Gettin’ legal since 2008.

Senior Managing Editor Janna Crown Copy Editor Amy Matychuk Layout Editor Curtis Wolff Treasurer Tim Horon Contributors Hayley Rushford Raj Gill People Who Said They Would Write Something, But Did Not Morgan Crilly Iain Mingo Contact Email jannacrown@gmail. com with news submissions, story ideas.

Disclaimer The opinions and articles expressed within are not those of the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law. The Moot Times is an independent publication, run by students for students. Don’t even think about suing us. We will hire, like, the best lawyer.

1Ls are strongly discouraged from crumpling the Moot Times into a ball and throwing it at their block week professor when they make you re-do your first assignment. Use your assignment instead; that’s why they give it back to you.

It’s far too early in the semester to be reading this deep into the disclaimer. Surely you’re not bored of reading your textbooks already? Go back to the library you sloth.

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CWSLA, continued from cover Fast-forward to second semester. We will be kicking off with our second panel event of the year. The focus will be legal opportunities outside of the firm. There are tons of totally viable options for students interested something different from the traditional legal route. Women from industry organizations, non-profits, and other businesses will be coming to speak about their unique experiences doing work as inhouse counsel, both the good and the bad. Once again, we want students to get as much out of this event as possible, so there will be opportunities throughout to ask questions. This event is definitely worth attending, especially if you have a particular passion that you’re wondering how to incorporate into your future law career. The possi-

bilities are endless and these women will show you all the opportunities that are out there!

Finally, we’ll cap things off with our staple event, “Anecdotes and Advice.” CWLSA was founded on the need to create a platform for difficult but critical discussions about women in legal workplaces. As such, this event will tackle the issue of sexual harassment in the profession head-on. Women will come together to relate their experiences, offer support, and suggest solutions and tactics to effectively navigate uncomfortable or inappropriate situations in the workplace. This was our most popular event last year, and is definitely worth checking out! We will be partnering with Yes Means Yes for this event, who will coordinate to

send some high-school students from around the city to attend as well and share their ideas. This event will feature a forum of women from various generations, and is meant to help remove the stigma of discussing sexual harassment. This is your chance to be a part of the movement!

We’ve got a great year planned and would love to see you all out at our events.

Getting involved and attending is a fantastic way to network with influential, talented female lawyers in the city.

Promos and other info will be communicated mostly through Facebook, so keep an eye out. As well, if you’re interested in volunteering, or want to learn more about what CWLSA is about, feel free to get in touch with us here: cwslassoc@gmail.com

2016-17 CWSLA Events 1L Welcome Mixer at Barcelona Tavern sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association: Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.

“Anecdotes and Advice” with Yes Means Yes: TBD. Panels and workshops throughout the year.

Email cwslassoc@gmail.com for more information or talk to Raj Gill, Samantha Jobin, Haley Rushford or Natalie Nolan.

Curtis Wolff

CALGARY’S BEST STUDENT BARS AND CAFES Welcome to Calgary! Here’s where to eat and drink in your new neighbourhood.

Curtis Wolff 2L

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new year at a new school means you need to find a new place to unwind. Here are my picks for after class shenanigans.

Hayden Block BBQ & Whiskey Kensington The recipe for a good night out is pretty simple: meat and whiskey. Newly opened this summer and located in the heart of Kensington, Hayden Block knows this recipe well and is destined to be a student favourite for years to come.

Hayden Block offers all the classic southern BBQ staples and requisite sides at a reasonable price. But if you want an even better deal, slip in after 10 p.m. when all meat is half-priced, or between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. when the whiskey is half-priced.

My order: Beef brisket with a side of macaroni salad and a double Tangle Ridge on the rocks.

Lazy Loaf & Kettle Cafe/Bakery Parkdale The quiet riverside community of Parkdale is located directly south of campus and is home to my favourite lunch spot, Lazy Loaf. Re-

nowned for their custom sandwichs and in-house deserts, Lazy Loaf is packed around lunch time any day of the week. They also have good coffee and a quiet front patio where you can soak in some afternoon rays. Pick up a loaf of their bread-of-theday while you are there.

My order: Ham sandwich on sourdough bread and a coffee. Boring yet delicious.

Also try the “Eatmore Bar”.

National on 10th Bar Downtown Whoever owns National decided that three floors of drunkeness wasn’t fun enough, so naturally they

decided to put a bowling alley in the basement.

National has four locations in Calgary (Stephen Ave, 17th Ave and Westhills) but their 10th Ave location is their biggest and most popular. Unique to this location is the bowling alley in the basement, which makes you feel like you’re at an adult version of every birthday party you went to as a kid.

National also offers a massive craft beer menu to keep the beer snobs occupied. The drinking scene has been a bit quieter in Calgary due to the economy, but National is a guaranteed good time on the weekend. Craft Beer Market next door offers similar vibes.

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Bars and Cafes, continued from page 3 My order: A beer, some bowling, and then five more beers.

Palomino BBQ & Beers Downtown I love Hayden Block but Palomino is still the king of Calgary’s southern BBQ scene in my mind. Located right in the middle of downtown at the end of a row of sketchy pawn shops, Palomino’s rustic atmosphere attracts a diverse clientele. The main floor is packed with white-and-blue collared workers alike in the late afternoon and early evenings, giving way to members of the music scene at night as the downstairs becomes one of Calgary’s coolest music venues.

My order: Pulled pork sandwich with a double side of bacon-wrapped corn.

Make sure someone loud is playing downstairs and sweat it out in the mosh pit after dinner.

be held at the Ship & Anchor.

Lucky winners go home with prizes, but bingo-goers that cry wolf get humiliated with a stern paddling. Come back the next evening for Wednesday night stand-up comedy.

My order: The meatloaf.

Oak Tree Tavern Pub Kensington

Tubby Dog Fast Food 17th Ave

Cozied away on an upper floor on tenth street, Oak Tree consists of a small patio and an even smaller interior.

The patio is ideal for some beers and good conversation, while the inside is host to a bevy of events, including live music.

Oak Tree is my pick for mid-week fun. Tuesday is home to Steve B’s famous Punk Rock Bingo that used to

Tubby Dog is the overgrown child’s dream: a liqour licensed hot dog restaurant with a completely insane menu — peanut butter, jelly and Captain Crunch anybody? — complete with old arcade games lining the walls. And they hold punk rock shows there, because why not.

My order: I challenge you to stuff their signature Tubby

Dog down your throat while playing Pacman without either killing the beloved arcade character or choking on your wiener.

Broken City Bar Downtown Home to Calgary’s proudest hipsters, Broken City offers something new every night of the week. Saturday’s hip hop night is their crown jewel, but you can find me there on Wednesday night for Rockin’ For Dollars, an open mic for some of Calgary’s best (and worst) upcoming bands.

Tuesday’s quiz night is also a must and the unassuming rooftop patio is one of the best in the city.

My order: PBR tall boy and onion rings.

Original Joe’s Pub Kensington

Curtis Wolff

Two words: Wine. Night.

This is a classic hangout spot for law students on Thursday nights when bottles of wine are half-priced. Original Joe’s heated outdoor patio is packed with law students drinking away the week’s sorrows from 9 p.m. until late.

My order: The cheapest bottle of wine possible.

Honourable Mentions Local on Stephen Ave is a big downtown hangout for lawyers. The Backlot is Calgary’s best LGBTQ option. For karaoke goers, both Nanta and Galaxy will keep you singing long into the night.

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A TALE OF TWO SUMMERS Amy split her time working with Prof. Bankes and the Public Interest Law Clinic in 2016 Amy Matychuk 2L

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spent my summer working two half-time positions at the university: one a research position for Professor Nigel Bankes and the other a summer student position at the Public Interest Law Clinic.

As a researcher, I spent the summer learning about the way the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has been applied in Canada and writing up my findings. I reviewed case law, UN Human Rights Council documents, and statements from Canadian politicians. One of the more memorable aspects of this project was reading through discussions about UNDRIP in federal and provincial hansard, which records what MPs and MLAs say in Parliament and in provincial legislatures. I read many an emotional outburst and mixed metaphor from

our elected representatives.

The work was very solitary, and I spent many mornings with my laptop in the floating study spaces in the new TI building, with Spotify playing in my headphones.

There were times when it seemed ludicrous that I was getting paid to sit around in shorts and a t-shirt with a latte in hand and read United Nations reports.

As a summer student at the Public Interest Law Clinic (PILC), I did much less solitary work that more directly engaged the reason I came to law school in the first place: to be a social justice warrior! The PILC is a fledgling clinic; it has existed for less than a year. Its mandate is to take on projects that advocate for the rights of vulnerable people and support law reform that will make Canadian society more equal. Working for such a new organization was both inspiring and challenging. I, along with my two

student colleagues and our boss, Molly Naber-Sykes, spent the summer learning what we were doing as we did it. We connected with possible clients, met with non-governmental organizations doing humanitarian work, researched possible projects, launched a clinic Twitter account, watched youtube videos of French bulldogs yodeling (it’s a real thing), tried our collective hand at drafting vision and mission statements, wrote memos, and ate toasted coconut chips together. We all worked in the same office, a happy circle of laptops and tea mugs, and collectively wondered what we had done to deserve the good fortune of working at a place where we not only got to advocate for the rights of the vulnerable, but where we genuinely found the company of our colleagues enjoyable and inspiring. Being a summer student at the Public Interest Law Clinic was genuinely a

dream job—I never anticipated finding a summer position after 1L that so perfectly fit my aspirations for a legal career.

Lest you assume that I had the good fortune of spending idyllic summer days contemplating human rights because of my own brilliance, my grades after 1L were very average, and I spent most of my first year feeling as dumb as a brick and about as employable as one. Never fear, incoming 1Ls—the big secret that no one tells you about law school is that we’re all afraid we’re stupid. If my experience is anything to go by, you don’t have to get stellar grades or get hired at a big firm to have access to exciting opportunities. Try not to freak out, and remember to eat and sleep enough this year and to hang out with friends once in a while. I promise, it’s all going to be okay.

Looking for a 2017 Summer Job!

• • • • • • •

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Hard-working Smart Professional Time-management Good social skills Proficient in Microsoft Word Knows Jiu Jitsu

www.mihaibeschea.com

IMPACTING YOUR COMMUNITY WITH PBSC Pro Bono Students Canada have a number of projects on the go this year, and need your help.

Rajvir Gill 2L

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hen I think of why I applied to law school after 5 years of work in the non-profit sector, I believe I was simply looking to do more. I am not diminishing the role of research and program direction in the community, but my work showed me that vulnerable populations lacked access to much-needed legal services. While doing research on honour-based violence, I spoke with clients who posed legal questions that I felt helpless to answer. I didn’t even know to whom and where I should refer them.

One particular incident resonates with me. While working for an immigrant serving agency in Edmonton, I received a frantic phone call from a woman asking for help. She was fighting against her abusive ex-husband for full custody of her children and was not happy with her Legal Aid lawyer. Unfortunately, she was not in a financial position to pay for a private lawyer, as she earned a little above the minimum wage.

She did not understand her lawyer’s legal advice, and she felt her concerns were not being addressed. Beyond Legal Aid, I did not know where to refer her. This phone call was one of many interactions I had with cli-

ents that indicated the need for better communication between the non-profit sector and the legal community. I was, shamefully, only vaguely aware that Student Legal Services at the University of Alberta and the Edmonton Community Legal Centre provided access to legal representation for those who met certain requirements. I didn’t know what services they offered or what the requirements were.

Once I started researching these organizations, it become apparent that legal services for those with low incomes were under-resourced and in high demand. Ultimately, my work in the non-profit sector and my personal experiences taught me that I wanted to be a legal advocate. I wanted to use my position in life to help others whose lives are being dictated by laws they do not fully understand.

Thus, when Pro Bono

Students Canada (PBSC) presented their project roster to the 1L class during my orientation, I immediately knew I had to get involved.

PBSC Calgary works with newcomer, vulnerable and Aboriginal populations to provide legal information and education that will lessen the systemic barriers preventing these groups from accessing legal services. Our communities need access to legal information and education because most low income and middle class communities view the legal system as inaccessible.

Considering the legal system dictates how our society functions, sets out rules and procedures, determines futures, protects its citizens, punishes, rehabilitates, and codifies much of what we believe to be moral or right, its inaccessibility to the most vulnerable ought to concern us deeply.

Therefore, we at PBSC

want to assist organizations in increasing their clients’ ability to navigate the court system and obtain legal information, and to lessen the inefficiency of an overburdened legal aid system.

This is not to say that volunteering for PBSC is purely altruistic; as a PBSC volunteer, you also gain legal experience and an opportunity to get to know your community, both lawyers and non-lawyers. PBSC provides a chance to learn about different areas of law, meet practicing lawyers who act as supervisors, and gain legal skills. Our projects are not limited to research and presentations; we also offer direct legal assistance to clients at the Calgary Courts Centre through our Civil Claims Duty Counsel project, QB Amicus project, Emergency Protection Order project, and Family Law project.

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PBSC, continued from page 7 However, research and presenting skills are not to be undervalued--these are crucial legal skills that will benefit you in the long term.

I am so proud of PBSC for not only assisting community and government agencies on law-based projects, but for being alert to community needs and developing one-of-a-kind projects to address them. For example, if you take a look at news headlines, it is impossible to escape stories of youth involved in sexual assault cases. These stories prompt the question: who is teaching our youth about sexual consent? Do youth (and adults, for that matter) know what the criminal law is on sexu-

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al assault and consent? Our partnership with the Women’s Legal Education Action Fund (LEAF) in adapting the “Yes means Yes” program to Calgary youth has put us at the forefront of education on consent laws — a topic public schools do not address.

I sincerely hope you choose PBSC as part of your law school experience. We as law students are in a great position to make an impact in our community. No matter how busy your schedule gets, or what type of law you decide to practice in the future, volunteering helps you discover the legal issues affecting people in our city and sets you up with skills for future success.

Clubs Day Friday, September 9 Noon – 1 P.M. Student Lounge

Clubs Day

is your chance to

sign up for all law clubs and intramural teams.

all clubs will be

Reps from there, so this

is your chance to ask them

questions and get involved in

the law school community. you there!

See

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER: IN-HOUSE Hayley reflects on the pros and cons of working in-house based on her summer experience.

Hayley Rushford 2L

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tudying law poses one of the best problems to have: there are just so many directions you can go with a law degree, and at times the options seem overwhelming. If you want to practice in Calgary, that helps narrow down the possibilities a bit, with a common option being to work inhouse. While in-house work is a totally viable alternative, it tends to be overlooked in the frenzy of firm recruiting, clerking in the courts and just general hustle and bustle of law school life. While most people who work in-house do so a bit later into their law careers, I had the opportunity to work as an in-house legal summer student this year and get a first-hand look at what it’s really all about.

I learned a few interesting things that I thought might be worth passing on, both good and bad.

The first lesson is that the more reasonable, predictable work hours that often seem a huge attraction of working as in-house legal counsel are a bit of a myth. Depending on where you end up, you might find a more concrete work-life balance than a typical lawyer. Some cool examples include working as legal counsel at Sunshine Village or Lululemon (yes, it’s a thing), maybe even for a not-for-profit. The possibilities are truly endless.

Credit: Wikipedia

The house Hayley worked in this summer.

But if you are at an industry company, as most in-house lawyers in Calgary are, it is likely that you will be working comparable hours to lawyers at the vast majority of firms. Having said this, I’ve also been told by several industry in-house lawyers that the autonomy and flexibility of in-house counsel makes part-time work or working from home a bit more accessible. Sometimes this comes at the price of a lower salary, and it’s up to you to assess if the tradeoff is worth it.

The plus side is that you will be doing different kinds of work from what you might be doing on a regular basis in a firm, and generally you will be working in a variety of different areas throughout the company. There are opportunities to be exposed to the business from the inside out, which can be a useful skill if you plan to one day go back

into private practice or if you hope to become a consultant of some kind. There are also opportunities to pursue an academic or even political path if you have worked in private practice and have relevant industry experience.

Another takeaway for me was that the work you do in-house, unsurprisingly, is much more internal-business focused. At law firms, of course the work you do is for business clients, but inhouse in industry, you are working on business solutions and management with geophysicists, landmen, and engineers. It’s an interesting blend of backgrounds. If you are someone who thrives on working in teams and is interested in learning from people with different training than yourself, in-house is a great option. Rather than the client being an external entity, your client is the business you

work for and its people 100% of the time. As well, if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy getting out there and talking to people quite as much, one aspect of a legal practice that working in-house eliminates is the need to build a client portfolio. The business generates its own work and there will always be something to do, which means your practice generally won’t fluctuate with the economy as much as some practice areas in firms do.

There are pros and cons to every path one can take in the legal profession. I really enjoyed my in-house experience this summer, learned a lot, and met lots of great people in Calgary’s business community, including lawyers. The worst thing about working in-house is that you may not gain a worklife balance to the extent that you think you might, and your compensation will likely not compete with private practice. On the other hand, working as a general counsel in-house could mean the opportunity to explore multiple industries from a legal perspective and even pursue your passions. As mentioned earlier, if you’re a ski bum, looking into that general counsel gig at Sunshine might be right up your alley! What I mean to say by this is this: know that in-house is an option and just do some research: you never know what you might find.

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Finished reading this issue?

Think you can do any better?

WRITE FOR US jannacrown@gmail.com 10

MEET THE MOOT TIMES

“Those who can’t do, write. Those who can’t write, write for the Moot Times.”

Born in 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, Janna Crown taught in India for 17 years before she experienced her 1946 “call within a call” to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. Her order established a hospice; centers for the blind, aged, and disabled; and a leper colony. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.

She died in September 1997 and was beatified in October 2003. In December 2015, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Janna Crown, clearing the way for her to be resurrected as the Senior Managing Editor of the Moot Times on September 4, 2016.

We are happy to have her back. She is like a saint to us.

Amy Matychuk is the Moot Times copyeditor.

She is a 2L who frequently describes herself to strangers as a “flaming liberal.” She is always looking for ways to improve her social justice warrior cred; she shops at consignment stores, refuses to buy products containing plastic microbeads, and overuses the words “deeply problematic.” She has an undergrad in English Literature and Philosophy from Ambrose University College, and doesn’t understand people who oppose the Oxford comma.

When she’s not getting case ratios wrong, blogging about being a millennial, or wedging another tin of tea into her cupboards, she’s probably singing karaoke badly or skipping school to go skiing.

Tim Horon enjoys long walks on the beach with his girlfriend … until the LSD wears off and he realizes that he’s dragging a stolen mannequin around a Wendy’s parking lot.

He’s been to jail. He spent the majority of my adult life surrounded by rapists, murderers and thieves. He’s hung out with drug dealers and spent many thousands of dollars on coke and meth. Cops show up at his front door on a regular basis. He’s been in more fights than he can count. He’s seen more dead bodies than he cares to remember. It seems like he’s always in court. No, he’s not in the NFL — Tim is a police officer from the great cit-“E” to the north.

Tim is Gen X. Former long haired head-banger with high top Reeboks and acid-wash jeans.

In the year of our Lord 1990, Curtis Wolff took his first breath in a modest northeast Calgary hospital room. It was the most difficult thing he had done in his life — little did he know the stuggles that lay ahead.

In 1996, his kindergarten teacher attempted to hold him back a year because he was bad at using scissors.

In 2003 he was accused of pulling his school’s fire alarm despite a shocking lack of evidence. In 2015 he lost vision in his left eye for three days during a particularly violent soccer match (he finished the match and even played goalkeeper for a few minutes).

Through it all he’s survived and thrived, not on brains or kindness or social awareness, but rather his incredible good looks.

He now does layout for this newspaper.

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SEPTEMBER HOROSCOPES Will the new semester bring you good fortune, or are you still crappy at law school?

Headmaster Gandalf Wizard, 2L Aries (March 21 – April 19) In an attempt to destroy your self esteem, your block week professor will ask you to re-do the first assignment five times.

You will somehow still have self esteem until you get a Con the Legislation assignment.

Now you are broken.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20) You will attempt to chug beer out of a recorder at the Law Show. You are the first law student to ever drown themselves while doing the recorder chug.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) The Dean will implore you to join the Navy. You are inspired by his block week history lectures and take his advice. You will accidentally launch a nuclear missile at Russia and incite World War III. Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

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Wow, there are free drinks at this networking event! You will drink all of them. The firms admire your liver of steel. You will get 11 job offers. You turn them down to trace the steps of Christopher McCandless in Alaska. You will be devoured by a bear.

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22) You are only doing this so that your parents will love you. It’s going to be a long three years.

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) You applied for law school because you liked Suits. You will not hook up with any hot paralegals and the job is boring.

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) You will volunteer to write for the Moot Times. You are super handsome and funny and everybody likes you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)

Credit: Wikipedia

Your favourite baseball team will make it too the World Series! You will not get any work done until late-October. Your team will lose in seven games.

You will flunk the semester and your baseball team still sucks.

friend is Steve Vincelli. People will tag Steve Vincelli in all your Facebook posts until the end of time.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

You are at the law school softball tournament and super excited to make new friends!

You will hit a line drive into the opposing pitcher’s stomach and feel bad about it for three years.

At the 1L courthouse tour, you will get very hungry. You will ask the judge if snacks are permitted in the courtroom, despite the signs that clearly say no food or drink. The judge will answer politely but everyone else will laugh at you.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) You are excited to meet your learned friend! Your learned

Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) You made a friend in your first week of law school! It is Professor Wooley. You will eat lunch together every day this semester. You will learn a lot about ethics.