BUSINESS
CAREERS
iPad
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“It’s big! That’s what’s great
about it—you can see a whole
page.”
Third-party PDF readers like
GoodReader win raves among
all three lawyers, and Apple will
soon update its iBooks applica-
tion so that it, too, handles PDFs.
Indeed, while Apple did
plenty right on the iPad—it’s
fast, the battery lasts a reported
10 hours, and so forth —the real
“magic” comes to the device
thanks to third parties that
develop custom-made iPad apps.
Those apps include Google tools,
Penultimate, dictation record-
ers, word processors, RSS read-
ers, even legal resources. Its flex-
ibility leads to use in research,
client meetings and trials, as
well as the office.
Laurie H. Pawlitza elected as
Treasurer of the Law Society
of Upper Canada
Law Society Announcement
Laurie H. Pawlitza has
been elected to lead the
Law Society of Upper
Canada as its 63rd
Treasurer. She is the third
woman to hold this
position. Treasurer
Pawlitza succeeded
former Treasurer W. A.
Derry Millar on June 29,
2010.
A partner at Torkin
Manes LLP, Treasurer Pawlitza was first elected as a
bencher of the Law Society in 2003 and was re-elected
in 2007. She is a committed advocate with extensive
knowledge in the area of family law. In 1995, Treasurer
Pawlitza was counsel in the first Canadian case that
allowed same-sex couples to adopt. She was recently recognized by the Women’s Legal Education and Action
Fund for her work on the retention of women in private
practice.
She has held a number of high-profile positions within
the Law Society, including co-chair of the Retention of
Women in Private Practice Working Group and member of
the Licensing and Accreditation Task Force. Most recently,
she served as chair of the Professional Development &
Competence Committee and vice-chair of the Government
& Public Affairs Committee.
Treasurer Pawlitza is also very active in the legal
community having served on a number of boards,
including as director of LAWPRO, and as a member of
the Family Law Rules Committee, the Ontario Bar Association’s family law executive, and trustee of The Lawyers
Club. She has also served as the chair and director of the
Casey House Foundation and was actively involved in
Metro Central YMCA’s Regional Council.
The Law Society regulates the lawyers and paralegals of Ontario in the
public interest by ensuring that every individual who practises law or
provides legal services in Ontario meets standards of learning,
professional competence and professional conduct that are appropriate
for the legal services provided.
The Law Society of
Upper Canada
Barreau
du Haut-Canada
Students
Continued From Page 21
agent and head of Blakes’ intellectual property group in Toronto.
The unique student program
was sparked by a desire to reach
out to the community and to
familiarize more people with the
work of patent agents. “We felt as
a law firm we didn’t just want to
hire people who applied to us. We
wanted to be proactive. We
wanted to go to the university
co-op program,” said Tony Prenol,
a partner in Blakes’s intellectual
property group.
For many years, Blakes had an
internal training program for
associates planning to write the
exams required to become a registered patent agent. Three years
ago, the firm developed a more
structured initiative for the patent
agent exams and provided trainees
with on-the-job training on the
patent matters they’re handling.
“We try to expose them as much
as possible to the work of a typical
patent office. For example, they do
searches and prepare draft patent
applications,” explained Prenol.
“There is a very steep learning
curve in the patent group,” he
added. “The whole law firm
environment is also new to them.”
The program, of course, does
not just benefit the co-op students.
“It gives us access to technically
qualified people,” said Prenol.
In some cases, it even leads to
full-time work with the firm. “We
get to evaluate them, and they get
exposed to the profession. It’s a
chance for both sides to feel things
out,” said Prenol.
“We felt as a law firm
we didn’t just want
to hire people who
applied to us. We
wanted to be proactive.
It’s not just potential patent
agents who hold out hope of a
more permanent job. There is the
possibility of full-time work, or at
least ongoing work, for a broader
range of students who find them-
selves landing a job with a law
firm. “We have been quite success-
ful in having students return sum-
mer after summer as they com-
plete their undergraduate
degrees,” said Ravas. “Some of
them have even been able to
secure positions full-time with the
firm once they complete
their legal administration diplo-
mas, law clerk diplomas or under-
graduate degrees.”
But, cautioned Prenol, law
firms need to be prepared for the
demands of hiring students with a
view to future employment. The
patent agent program, for example,
is a long-term commitment, he
said. “It’s akin to hiring a first- or
second-year law student.”
Students could certainly use
the helping hand. A recent report
has concluded that the majority of
students across Canada are
increasingly concerned about
finding the resources necessary to
pay for their education. According
to the report, the Canadian Stu-
dent Survey: Summer Work and
Paying for Post-Secondary Educa-
tion, nearly one-third of students
surveyed reported that they were
only able to find part-time
employment during the summer.
As a result, students managed to
earn a median of just $3,200 from
May to August, and were able to
save less than half of that total.
Many over-sensitive about donations: Rae
Politics
Continued From Page 20
politician or a political party, so
that individual lawyers can be
aware of potential conflicts of
interest. “The current situation of
little internal disclosure is not sus-
tainable,” says Sossin, who is also
director of the law school’s Centre
for the Legal Profession, estab-
lished in part to examine ethical
and professional issues. “The law
firms have to get out of donations
or become more transparent.”
Clearly, he favours the latter
approach. “We should not begin
with the premise that all donations
are evil,” Sossin says. “If donations
stopped, the political system
would cease to function.”
Instead, in the case of a special
prosecution appointment, he sug-
gests that both the government and
the lawyer should be aware of any
donation. Explains Sossin:
“The key to disclosure is that
both sides at the outset can con-
sider whether the relationship is
proper. It should be discussed and
perhaps even given to a third party
to assess. Then, if the assignment
goes ahead, the parties can say the
potential conflict was known and
investigated before proceeding.
That’s impossible after the fact.”
Joining Sossin on the pro-law-
firm donation side is Tim Murphy,
a partner at Macmillan LLP in
Toronto and chief of staff to for-
mer prime minister Paul Martin.
“There is virtue and value in mak-
ing political donations,” Murphy
says. “Firms and individual law-
yers have a responsibility to par-
ticipate and contribute to the pol-
itical process, especially in the
legal context where we, as lawyers,
are the interpreters and arbiters of
rules as they apply to the public.”
Noting that lawyers and their
firms are also members of the
community, Murphy says they
should demonstrate their commit-
ment to society by participating in
community events, including
those that involve donations such
as political fundraisers.
