Legal Research

Articling Student Orientation Programs

By Shaunna Mireau

This is the first week for a couple of Field Law students. At my office we request that the students start on the same day and we have a formal week long student orientation program. Our program structure hasn’t changed much over the years, except that the librarian face time has doubled to a full half day.

Our students are invited to attend the Head Start program that is organized by the Edmonton Law Libraries Association so our orientation week library session is a half day refresher of our firm specific resources and writing protocols rather than a general research review.

Our orientation program topics include:

• Practice management
• Computer systems training
• Voice mail training
• Office procedures and a tour
• The Roles of support staff (assistants, paralegals, central services)
• Oath taking
• Land titles and other government registry searches
• Dictation
• Timekeeping
• Time Management and Priority Advocacy (dealing with lawyers)
• Firm publications
• Pro bono projects
• Chambers procedure
• Law Courts tour, attendace at docket, small claims, chambers
• Cold calls
• Accounting training
• First file assignment
• Review of Computer systems
• Student Duty briefing including a tour of government registry offices like Land Titles
• Library tour, research procedures, electronic research products, and effective memo writing
• Review of the week “This Hour has Five Days”

They also get fed lunch 4 of 5 days and have face time with almost all members of the firm.

I think it is a pretty good program. Do you do anything different?

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).