The Edge YOU NEED
Expert Edge is a way to connect law school students, articling students and LPP candidates with experts from across the profession. Hear from leading lawyers as they offer up advice, tips and strategies to help you get through launch school and launch a successful career.
If you have an idea for a topic you’d like featured during a virtual coffee chat or webinar, let us know info@oba.org
Global Pandemic Supports: For Law School & Articling Students
Overview of Government Supports for Students
Guest Speaker: Phillip Spring, MNP LLP
Recently, the Federal Government passed An Act respecting Canada emergency student benefits, which provides students with a $9-billion support package. Join us for an interactive session with Phillip Spring of MNP, LLP to help you better understand the ins and outs of these student relief benefits. Gain insight and answers to your questions in real time.
View the archived video
Articling Abridgement – A Practical “How To”
Guest Speaker: Lisa Del Col, Counsel of Licensing Process
OBA student members are invited to join us for an overview of the Law Society of Ontario’s 2020/21 articling abridgement process.
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Exam Review Tips: How to Prepare for your Rescheduled Bar Examination
Guest Speaker: Matthew Himmel, Co-Founder, Ontario Law Exam
With the Law Society moving the date and formats of Barristor and Solicitor exams in light of pandemic protection measures, the OBA brings lawyer candidates this review and study tip session, designed to help you with your practice questions and navigate both the bar exam materials and your indices.
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Covid-19 and the Legal Job Market
Understandably, many law school and articling students are concerned about the potential impact of the current situation on their own marketability to find or keep summer placements, articling positions and even their ability to write upcoming bar exams. Lawyers are particularly skilled at finding practical solutions and will find ways to bend and adapt to our new normal. Join us for an informal discussion on some key factors law firms generally take into account during recruitment process generally, and what the future pathways into the profession may look like.
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Tips for Academic Success in a Remote Environment
Guest speaker: Gina Alexandris, Senior Director of the LPP at Ryerson University
Ontario’s innovative Law Practice Program (LPP) has been providing remote instruction, evaluation and learning opportunities for several years and with great success. Now that more students are required to move to online learning environments, hear from the LPP’s Senior Director, Gina Alexandris, who will share her best tips and answer some of the most common questions about how to ensure academic success in a remote learning environment. Gain useful strategies that you can use to adapt to your new world of law school academics and optimize your self-guided studies.
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Ace Your Virtural Interview
Guest Speaker: Miriam Leung, Director at the Counsel Network
We have all adapted to a virtual world, in almost all aspects of our day-to-day lives. Interviewing for job openings is no exception. Whether you are preparing for a summer student position, articling position or an associate position, the skill set needed to succeed in a remote setting are the same. Join us for an interactive discussion with Miriam Leung, Director at the Counsel Network, who will share best practices and proven strategies to excel in a virtual interview environment. Having successfully prepped and placed lawyers for nearly a decade, Ms. Leung will help you to prepare and master your online interview, strategic preparation, presentation and post-interview etiquette. This session is not to be missed!
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real-time talks with practising lawyers
No real-time chats are currently scheduled. Check back soon for more.
getting a joB: expert ADVICE
Get the Edge on Your In-Firm Interviews With Tips From OBA Experts
Whether you have gone through the on-campus interview process and are currently preparing for your in-firm interviews, or looking to meet with firms about possible work placements, the OBA's Student EDGE program can help you take your interview preparations to the next level. Following on their well-received video on tips for on-campus interviews, industry experts, Deborah Glatter and André Bacchus, return in another helpful video for OBA student members. This time they focus on in-firm interviews. In this video, they break down the fundamentals of in-firm interviews, help describe the process, and offer their best tips and advice for mastering your next interview.
Video: in-firm interview tips
Get the Edge on Your On-campus interviews with tips from OBA experts
Deborah Glatter and André Bacchus have conducted hundreds of on-campus interviews. In this video they will answer some of the most common questions and share their insights and tips on how to prepare for and approach your OCIs confident that you will be successful. In the second half of this video they will conduct a mock OCI interview giving you an advance preview of what you can expect during your 17 minute interview.
VIDEO: OCI TIPS
Opening and Starting Your Own Law Firm as a New Lawyer
Have you ever thought of opening your own law firm? This Expert Edge session features Janine Innes, a lawyer who started her own law firm immediately after completing her articles. Today she operates a law firm in the Richmond Hill and Toronto areas practicing business, wills and estates and family law. If opening your own law firm is something that interests you, watch this video to find out what it takes, how to know when you’re ready and how can you prepare.
VIDEO: START YOUR OWN FIRM
acing law schooL WITH THE EXPERTS
Retain Your Exam Prep!
Guest speaker: Dr. Erin Valente, ND
Don’t lose all of the hard work you put into preparing for the bar exam. After months of preparing to write licensing exams only to have the opportunity taken away from you is disappointing and frustrating. But all of that hard work should not go to waste. Join us for this high-value session, where Dr. Erin Valente, ND will share tips on how to boost your memory retention through nutrition, herbal therapies and lifestyle recommendations. Learn how to best leverage your previous bar exam preparation and stay ahead of the curve. This complimentary information session will provide you with helpful advice and tailored suggestions you can put into practice today.
VIEW THE ARCHIVED VIDEO
How to Survive Your First Year of Law School
Heather Donkers, a 2019 J.D. Candidate and Chair of the OBA's Student Section, and Dana Lue, an Associate with Ricketts Harris LLP and Chair of the OBA's Young Lawyers Central Division share their very best tips on preparing for exams, making it through first year, and readying yourself for the years ahead.
Originally aired November 21, 2018
VIDEO: HOW TO SURVIEW FIRST YEAR
LET OBA LAWYERS TACKLE YOUR PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS
In our exam preparation series, we get leading lawyers to tackle some of your practice exam questions. These sessions are categorized by subject and feature short video chats with practising lawyers who review a first year law exam, explain how they would approach it, share tips and stories from their own experiences surviving the first-year law exams.
Property Law
Originally aired March 25, 2019
Craig Carter, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
VIDEO: PROPERTY LAW EXAM TIPS
Contracts Law
Originally aired March 26, 2019
Kathryn Manning, DMG Advocates LLP
VIDEO: CONTRACTS LAW EXAM TIPS
Criminal Law
Originally aired March 27, 2019
Scott Bergman Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Bergman LLP
VIDEO: CRIMINAL LAW EXAM TIPS