 Ambitious program ignites interest in annual event
Law Day celebrates the anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms each year with a different theme. The 2006 theme was “The Law-Friend or Foe?” Throughout Law Week many activities and events take place in various communities around British Columbia organized by local lawyers.
The CBABC thanks the Law Week Committee members for their hard work in organizing Law Week 2006. The committee, chaired by Michael L. Warsh, included Barbara D. Sage, Michael R. Dunn, Arsen Krekovic, Forrest L. Nelson, Debra Granger, Alison Z. A. Campbell, Sarah L. Klinger, So Yin Woo, Cindy Lee, and Cindy Cheuk.
Law Week is funded by the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Foundation of B.C., and the Vancouver Bar Association. For the first time this year, a number of businesses and organizations sponsored Law Week 2006 events. The CBABC and the Law Week Committee wish to thank the following sponsors for their generous support:
Lang Michener LLP, Fasken Martineau LLP, Davis & Co. LLP, Dye and Durham, Canadian Springs, Avis, and St. John’s Ambulance.
Open Houses
Open Houses were held in Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver, and Victoria. They included mock trials, meet the sheriff, taser demos, tours, law classes, law consultations, Q & A’s with judges, speeches, information booths and more. Here are a few summaries of local events:
Victoria – Saturday, April 22, 2006
Victoria held its second annual Law Day at the Victoria courthouse. Approximately 250 people came to see the mock trial of Hansel and Gretel, as well as presentations by local law enforcement agencies. The public also had the opportunity to ask questions of a judge and of the sheriffs’, to view displays by justice-related organizations, to attend information sessions at the courthouse library, and to tour the sheriffs’ transportation and holding facilities.
The day was a resounding success due in no small part to the support of the Victoria Bar Association, the Law Courts Education Society, Court Services, the Legal Assistant Program at Camosun College and others.
Vancouver – Saturday, April 22, 2006
The CBA hosted a Law Week Open House at the Law Courts in downtown Vancouver from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Open House had four free 90-minute legal classes offered by the Peoples’ Law School for members of the public. The topics were Family Law, Wills and Estates, Employment Law, and Landlord and Tenant Law.
In the morning, elementary students performed a Shrek mock trial. The Vancouver College grades 10 to 12 put on a murder trial. At midday, keynote speakers stepped up to the podium.
In addition to the legal classes, mock trials and speeches, there were information booths by law-related organizations and a Citizenship Court where 60 new citizens took their citizenship oath.
The Law Week Committee wants to extend a special thank you to the following individuals for speaking at Law Day: The Honourable Chief Justice Donald Brenner, Attorney General Wally Oppal, QC, Senator Mobina Jaffer, QC, and Meg Shaw, CBABC President; The Honourable Judge Daniel M. B. Steinberg and Trevor Armstrong for presiding over the mock trials, Andrew Nip of the Peoples’ Law School for facilitating the program; and Cindy Rozen of the Citizenship Court for helping to coordinate the Citizenship Ceremony with Law Week.
Dial-A-Lawyer
The CBA held its province-wide “Dial-A-Lawyer” program on April 22, 2006 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. During that time, members of the public called to speak with a lawyer volunteer about legal problems for up to 15 minutes.
There were over 200 inquiries to Dial-A-Lawyer this year. This does not include the large volume of calls handled by Success, the Mandarin and Cantonese speaking organization that has cooperated with us for the last four years in hosting Dial-A-Lawyer.
Michael Dunn, a facilitator of Dial-A-Lawyer tells an interesting story about this year’s Dial-A-Lawyer, wherein a lay person was accidentally admitted into the building. This lay person had a complex family law problem. As an example of the dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers, Meg Shaw, President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, and family law practitioner, willingly stepped up to bat and consulted with this lay person for over an hour despite having to prepare for a public appearance at the Open House along with Chief Justice Brenner, Attorney General Wally Oppal, QC, and Senator Mobina Jaffer, QC. As Mr. Dunn said, “from the president of the CBA to the volunteer members and to the staff at the Canadian Bar Association – their enthusiasm for Law Week is the true measure of our pride in our institutions of Justice.”
The Law Week Committee thanks all the volunteers who answered Dial-A-Lawyer calls.
Fun Run/Walk
The 5k Fun Run was once again a great success providing a good time for members of the legal community and their families and friends. Thank you to all the brave souls who braved the wind and rain to participate in this annual event. Though there were initially 66 registrants, the rain kept some people away and on the day of the run we had 50 participants.
The Boughton Law Corporation was the team winner for legal organizations or law firms with 50+ employees. Watson Goepel Maledy was the team winner for legal organization or law firms with 49 or less employees. The top three placed female runners were Donna Yamazaki (Watson Goepel Maledy), Claudia Losie (Boughton), and Stephanie Cornell (Stikeman Elliot LLP). The top three placed male runners were Benjamin Becker (Boughton), Richard Wong (Thorsteinssons LLP), and Christian Gauthier (Stikeman Elliot LLP). The top three runners in the under 14 category were Jacob Powrie, Lewis Kurchner and Jordan Kurchner. The race for the fastest runner of the day was a close one between Benjamin Becker (20:42) and Richard Wong (20:45).
Congratulations to all our winners and to all who participated!
Student Contests
Public Speaking
The annual Barry Sullivan Law Cup public speaking contest is open to continued students enrolled in Law 12 classes throughout B.C. The contributions of Barry Sullivan to both the legal and educational professions are honoured each year through the presentation of this Cup to the provincial winner.
Congratulations to the top finishers:
- Lindsay Spencer, West Point Grey Academy, Vancouver
- Sam Nuyens, W. L. Seaton Secondary, Vernon
- Nicco Bautista, Vancouver College, Vancouver
- Grace Shaw, Little Flower Academy, Vancouver
Essay Contest
The Law Week Essay contest was open to students enrolled in grades 10, 11 and 12 – Law, English and Social Science Studies throughout B.C. The Law Week theme of “The Law-Friend or Foe?” appears to have been well received by students.
Congratulations to the top finishers: - Eric He, Fraser Heights Secondary School, Surrey
- Mary Leong, St. Thomas Aquinas, North Vancouver
- Navraj Dhanawa, Tawanis Secondary School, Surrey
- Amanda Malenstyn, Tawanis Secondary School, Surrey
Poster Contest
New this year was a Poster Contest. The Law Week Poster Contest was open to elementary school students from kindergarten to grade 3.
Congratulations to the top finishers: - Shannon Young, Heritage Christian Online School, Kelowna
- Brody Reilander, Surrey Connect Home Learner Program, Surrey
- Sarah Warsh, Pauline Haerrer, Nanaimo
- Kaavya and Kavin Mohan, Khalsa School, Surrey
Student Mentor Program
The Student Mentor Program has been a successful part of Law Week. Strong support from lawyers has provided a valuable opportunity for many high school students to explore law as a career option and to broaden their understanding of the legal profession.
The program has two components. The first component involves the students being matched with lawyers who practise in the students’ legal area of interest and the students attending the lawyers’ place of work for a half day. High school law teachers and high school counsellors nominate students who they feel have the aptitude and interest to study law.
The second component entails having lawyers attend a high school law class to discuss their work and increase the understanding of students about the legal profession.
In Nanaimo this year, 7 high schools, 13 students, and 12 lawyers participated. As Michael Warsh, one of the facilitators’ of the Student Mentor Program, stated, “This program gives lawyers a rare opportunity to share their specialized knowledge and experience with students.” The Law Week Committee looks forward to the continuing success of this program next year and thanks the following Vancouver Island lawyers for their participation this year:
Timothy J. Huntsman, Ian Wiebe, Christopher Churchill, Barbara M. Smith, Albert E. King, QC, Sandra L. Dick, G. Glen Ridgway, QC, Bentley J. Falkenberg, Bruce Soloway, Nicole Cederberg, Peter MacNeil, Ingrid Hennig, Elizabeth E. Strain, and Joseph B. Martin.
In the Lower Mainland, 14 schools, 25 students, and 31 lawyers participated in this year’s Student Mentor Program.
The Law Week Committee gives special thanks to the Provincial Crown Counsel’s office and to the lawyers on the lower mainland for their support.
This article was published in the June 2006 issue of BarTalk. © 2006 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved. |
