OBA members around the province engaged over 5000 students and members of the public on April 17 (Law Day) and throughout the month of April - now being coined Law Month.
The OBA's Law Day Committee headed by Karen Perron organized secondary and elementary school mock trials, a visual and written expression competition, courtroom tours, question and answer sessions and career fairs all in an effort to educate students and promote the importance of the rule of law and our Charter.
Our flagship program, the Secondary School Mock Trial Tournament, the only province-wide tournament of its kind in Canada, inspired students from over 100 schools (and many more schools as well as CBA branches across the country who use the OBA's materials) to seriously consider a career in the legal profession. Students' dedication and determination was noted by the many lawyer volunteers and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice judges who judge the trials. The Elementary School Mock Trials saw OBA volunteer lawyers facilitate an in-class trial demonstration with students from grades five to eight acting as Crown, defense and jury; engaged schools in nearly 30 cities and towns provide-wide. With nearly 200 submissions from students and Children's Breakfast Clubs, Expressly Law Day, our visual and written creative competition, that evolved from the Law Day Photography Contest, was very well received in its new format this year.
Secondary School Mock Trial Tournament Winners
- First Place - Assumption College
- Third Place - Bayview Secondary School
- Second Place - St. Thomas Aquinas
- Quarterfinalist - Mentor College
Expressly Law Day Winning Submissions
Visual Submission by Ana Silvestri
Written Submission by Tia Bell
For more inforamtion on Law Day visit lawdayontario.ca