Ottawa, ON – What does it take to become a lawyer or a judge? Some local high school students are about to get firsthand experience.
These are dedicated and studious winning teams from Eastern Ontario who are taking part in a regional competition called “OBA Law Day” hosted by the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), a volunteer member association of 16,000 Ontario lawyers.
In April, the OBA opened Ontario’s only province-wide mock trial tournament for students in communities across Ontario. Local schools ran their own mini-tournaments to create a school team.
On Wednesday, May 6, 2015, from 8:30 am to 3:45 pm, the following schools will compete in the Eastern Ontario Regional Finals taking part in a series of Mock Trials at the Ottawa Courthouse (161 Elgin Street, 2nd Floor, Ottawa):
- A.Y. Jackson Secondary School (Kanata)
- Centennial Secondary School (Belleville)
- Collège catholique Franco-Ouest (Bells Corners)
- École catholique Samuel-Genest (Ottawa)
- Glebe Collegiate Institute (Ottawa)
- Holy Trinity High School (Kanata)
- Lester B. Pearson CHS (Gloucester)
- Lisgar Collegiate Institute (Ottawa)
- Mother Teresa High School (Nepean)
- Nepean High School (Ottawa)
- St. Francis Xavier High School (Gloucester)
Several local lawyers are volunteering to make this a unique and meaningful learning experience for the students, serving as coaches, instructors and judges for the day.
“Lawyer Kathleen Moxley [a lawyer with Tennant Jackson Peters LLP in Stittsville] has been at our school seven or eight times for over an hour, working with our team and others before the mock trials. She has been absolutely fantastic, above and beyond,” says Carrie Martinez, a teacher at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School.
OBA Law Day is an important event not just for the schools and students, but also for the local lawyers who help make it available to schools in their communities.
For Ottawa-based lawyer, Karen Perron, who chairs the OBA’s Law Day Committee, it is a way for lawyers to help instill the value of justice among young people in Ontario.
“I have been involved with OBA Law Day activities since being called to the Bar in 2004 because I see how rewarding the experience is for both students and volunteers alike, says Perron, a lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
“OBA Law Day activities offer unique opportunities to students such as playing the role of a lawyer in a courtroom to defend or prosecute a case. It is an excellent opportunity for students to have exposure to a profession that they often only ever get to read about in books or watch on television,” she adds.
OBA Law Day is aimed at educating and informing the public, especially Ontario’s youth, about the role and importance of the law. It provides a unique glimpse into the profession and offers a valuable education to the vital role that lawyers and the judiciary serve in guaranteeing an open, independent and unbiased judicial system.
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Local Lawyers volunteering with the Ontario East Regional Finals include:
- Laura Bruneau, Bruneau Group, Settlement Administrators
- Ian McBride, McBride Bond Christian LLP
- Kathleen Moxley, Tennant Jackson Peters LLP
- Karen Perron, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
- Alana Sharpe, Brazeau Seller LLP
- David Thomas, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Ontario Bar Association partners with the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN) and the Association of French Speaking Jurists of Ontario (AJEFO) to make OBA Law Day success.
For more information:
Amy Clark
Ontario Bar Association
aclark@oba.org
(416) 869-1047 x 364