An innovative approach to teaching law
by Raphael Tachie

After only a year of law school, I am still unsure about the nature of the real-world of law. Despite this, I believe that students from the University of Victoria (UVic) will succeed in this world. Success, some say, is opportunity meeting preparation; the curriculum, the mode of instruction and the quality of the Faculty adequately prepare students for such an achievement.

If success in the world of law requires the ability to sift through facts, identify the legally relevant issues, research the law and give legal opinion, then the struggle through Legal Research and Writing (LRW) was worth it. LRW instructs students in the mechanics of disentangling facts; recognizing legally relevant issues, conducting legal research, identifying the relevant law and drafting legal memos in concise and logical manner.

UVic law students can use their ability to research the law to effectively represent their clients. The lessons learnt during the first year moot will be of great assistance in this regard. The moot provides students with their first tentative steps into legal advocacy. With sweaty palms and quivering voices, UVic students learn to advocate for their clients, in spite of their personal opinions.

Legal Process provides an opportunity for students to learn that the practice of law requires (at times) that advocates separate their personal beliefs from a client’s position. Innovative methods of instruction place students in situations where they are forced to learn how to effectively balance often competing positions. Students discover that the law has differential impacts on people and that responses to this impact can be very personal.

The Faculty at UVic employ a variety of methods to show the impact of the law. Students are exposed to a range of pedagogical approaches that enable them to learn not just the normative principles but also the theory/rationale underlying those principles. This diversity in teaching methods allows students to assess their own approach to the law.

Other techniques of teaching include combining lessons in contract and tort law to show how certain issues straddle different areas of law in real life. Working in small groups and role playing in some courses allow students to consider arguments surrounding an issue from several angles. If success as a lawyer lies in the ability to critically consider different ways of understanding and practising law, UVic students are more than prepared to do that.

Professors are there to help students with the often difficult transition from undergraduate to legal education. Their open door policy allows them to engage students in meetings to help students find solutions to challenges such as disappointing grades on exams. They help students examine different techniques of studying and identify alternate strategies for success. UVic students learn to gauge their abilities, reassess strategies where they have been ineffective and find ways to improve.

Given the opportunity UVic students will show that the curriculum and how it is taught at the law school sufficiently prepare them to not only succeed but also excel in the real-world of law.

Raphael Tachie is the Vice President, External of the Law Students Society at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria. He is also the President of the Black Law Students Association of Canada.

This article was published in the August 2007 issue of BarTalk. © 2007 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.