: In a previous article, I wrote about the benefits of simulations in jump-starting learning. In this article, I want to focus on one specific aspect of simulation: the use of simulated clients. Medicine has long used simulated patients to help students develop practical skills and bedside manner. The use of simulated clients to support law student learning is a more recent development. Through the pioneering work of Paul Maharg and others, simulated clients have become an important educational tool in legal education in Canada and around the world. Rather than discussing the history of simulated clients or the training they . . . [more] The post Beyond Role Playing: How Simulated Clients Enhance Learning appeared first on Slaw
: I’m thrilled to share with all Slaw readers this great opportunity from our dedicated law students at the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. I work closely with these students either in the Journal or in the courses I teach and I can confidently see that they are hardworking, intellectually engaged and eager to make an impact. The topics of the 2027 Symposium taking place in Tucson will include International Trade Law, Digitization of International Commercial Law, and Indigenous Peoples and International Economic Law. These areas of study have been an integral part of the Journal since its inception . . . [more] The post Call for Submissions: Arizona Journal of International & Comparative Law – 2027 Symposium appeared first on Slaw
: Two columns ago, I followed the money through a law firm’s student recruitment program and found nearly $500,000 a year in lawyer time and expenses before a single billable hour was worked. Last column, I followed that same money into the delegation of actual work and found that firms were quietly losing much of it back through vague instructions, overworked memos, and write-downs nobody quite wants to talk about. This column follows that same money to where it gets spent – on the reps junior lawyers used to log before anyone trusted them with something that mattered. Those reps are . . . [more] The post The Hidden Economics of the Vanishing Apprenticeship appeared first on Slaw
: Your mid-sized firm invested $500,000 recruiting four to five new students last year. By year five, 91 percent are gone. Your per-person investment was roughly $100,000 to $125,000. Add salary, training, and mentorship. Then they leave. The question worth asking is whether you hired the wrong people, or whether you didn’t integrate them. The data suggests the latter. When the National Association for Law Placement Foundation surveyed departing Canadian associates, 29 percent cited work quality concerns. Sixteen percent pointed to productivity standards they felt they weren’t meeting. Thirteen percent said the advancement path was unclear. Thirteen percent mentioned fit. Another . . . [more] The post Beyond Day One: The Onboarding System Firms Still Haven’t Built appeared first on Slaw
: A longstanding sore spot in the world of dispute resolution is the gap between education and experience. For decades now, I have encountered mediation students eager to put their learning to work only to struggle to find the opportunity to do so. For those pursuing the ADR Institute of Canada’s Qualified Mediator (Q.Med) designation in Ontario, this real-life experience criterion is often the most elusive. After all, who would select a mediator with no experience? I touched upon this question slightly in this column years ago when I questioned the value of mediators promoting their mediation counts . For aspiring . . . [more] The post You Get Out What You Put In: All Is Fair in Love and Mediation appeared first on Slaw