Why I’m in law school…
It all started in the summer of 2005. I was interning at the Embassy of Mexico through The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. TWC had arranged (for those interns interested, to attend an address by the then Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna at a law firm called McKenna, Long & Aldridge. Ambassador McKenna was speaking to the Canada-Georgia Business Partnership, encouraging businesses from the state of Georgia to invest in Canada.
At the event was Mr. Kevin Lynch, who was the Executive Director for Canada at the IMF. Mr. Lynch happens to be a graduate of my alma mater (Mount Allison University), and although I did not get a chance to meet him at the Ambassador’s address, he gave his business card to a friend to pass along to me upon hearing I was attending Mount A. So I emailed Mr. Lynch, and it just so happened that his office was right across the street from the Embassy. It was a meeting I’ll not soon forget!
As we sat in the (massive) cafeteria of the IMF over a cup of coffee, I asked Mr. Lynch (who is the current Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet) what type of people were employed by the IMF and the World Bank. He told me that there were two kinds of people: mathematicians, and communicators. He said the mathematicians became economists, and the communicators were generally lawyers.
His comments really made me think.
At that stage in my life, I had taken a lot of economics courses, and a lot of political science and history courses to satisfy my graduation requirements in International Relations and a minor in International Economics and Business. How did I fit in to this world of diplomats, economists and lawyers - principals all - who were in large part making decisions that would have effects on countless numbers of people throughout the world?
I concluded that the best way I could contribute, and enhance my experience in International Relations was to pursue law, because as Mr. Lynch said, law is about communication. And helping people communicate across borders was something that seemed exciting to me.
So here I am!
TwistLaw
I created TwistLaw because I was looking for a better way to organize my own case summaries. I felt that all the work I was putting into MS Word documents was going to waste because none of those cases were searchable, or indexed in a database in some way. So I decided to take the plunge and build a platform that would enable me to add cases summaries for each of my classes and then go back and edit them.
And then it occured to me that this system should be made available to all law students. We all do the same work. So why not have us working off of the same case summary?? The more eyes review the same case, the more refined and accurate that case summary will be.
It’s been a good start so far, but I think the site can go further. I’d like to see more interactivity, and more reason for law students to spend time on the site. Perhaps its time that professors were involved in the site somehow too….
Check it out: TwistLaw
Courses I’ve taken or am currently taking at McGill
First Year
- Contractual Obligations
- Civil Property Law
- Extra-Contractual Obligations / Torts
- Foundations of Canadian Law
- Constitutional Law
- Legal Methodology
- Public International Law
Second Year
- Common Law Property
- Taxation
- Law and Practice of International Trade
- Business Associations
- Advanced Legal Methodology
- Advanced Civil Law Obligations
- Advanced Common Law Obligations
- Advanced Jurisprudence
- Resolution of International Disputes
- Bankruptcy
- Criminal Law
Third Year
- Advance Corporate and Securities Law Seminar
- Restitution
- Sale
- Corporate Tax
- Judicial Institutions and Civil Procedure
- Complex Legal Transactions
- International Taxation
- Evidence (Civil)
- Securities Regulation
Some critiques about legal education
Law students need to have one thing on their minds when it comes to school, and one thing only: learning. The problem is the emphasis placed on grades. Now, McGill tries to mitigate this by imposing a policy of almost universal B-range grades for the vast majority of students. In other words, you go to McGill, you get a B+, B, or B-, you graduate, and get a good job. Nevertheless, there are always a few who reach the elusive A- level, and always a handful who fall below into the C-range (or worse!).
The ridiculous stress that students place themselves under in order to differentiate their B or B+ from someone else’s B or B+ is mind-boggling, and counter-productive. Presumably everyone who is accepted into McGill’s law faculty has a good head on their shoulders and something to offer. But my feeling is that the variety of backgrounds and experiences of McGill’s students juxtaposed against an archaic compartmentalized class structure and archaic grading scheme is nothing more than a disservice to all (students, professors and future employers alike).
For me, learning happens in the classroom, and my grades are generally a reflection of the learning environment. If the professor is unable to motivate the class and stimulate discussion, my learning suffers. If the class has too many students (and the tuition freeze is certainly a contributing factor here on both the professor and facilities fronts), my learning suffers. If the room itself is designed for “talk-to” learning as opposed to “talk-with,” my learning, again, suffers.
But beyond that, the lack of emphasis on participation is also appalling. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a professor who doesn’t encourage class participation. And you’ll be equally hard-pressed to find a professor who adequately remunerates those students who do participate in class for their own benefit, and the benefit of others. There are one or two exceptions to this at McGill, but that’s about it.
What would I like to see?
It’s simple. In terms of grading: High Pass, Pass, Fail. And in terms of numbers, there should be 1 or 2 students per grade who finish with a High Pass, hardly anyone should EVER fail, and the rest should fall under Pass.
In terms of class structure: Bring those student-teacher ratios down!!! The best learning happens in seminar-style classrooms of no more than 15 or so students. Force students to come prepared, and let them take control of the material. Professors should facilitate classroom discussion and treatment of course material, but no more. They should let students tease out the principles they need to learn on their own.
I know, it’s a pipe-dream, but I’ll say this. When I was in grade 12 at Lower Canada College, I did more school work, found it more satisfying, and retained a hell of a lot more than I ever have in six years of university education. And I think it’s sad Canadian university education teaches to the lowest common denominator in the classrooms, and has ceased to challenge the bright young minds that fill the seats.
