The Legal Eye - Faculty.law.ubc.ca - University of British Columbia

The interplay between business & law
by Shantela Blaeser, Law III
I am sure you have seen us parading
around in our bright blue shirts. I am also
equally confident that you enjoyed some
delectable gelato at our membership event
in September. Let me jog your
memory…does “Mario’s Gelato with
Fasken Martineau” ring a bell? Now, it is
my pleasure to introduce the UBC Law &
Business Society to you and preview some
of the events we have planned for this year.
First, a little about us. The Law &
Business Society (the “LBS”) is a UBC student
organization that is dedicated to promoting
discussion about business and business
law issues. We are interested in establishing
UBC Faculty of Law as a premier
business law education destination. This
organization was created to engage, inform
and advance UBC Law students interested
in fields where law and business interact,
and we have to say, we have been happily
received by the downtown business community.
Officially, we are not an “LSA” club
but are privately funded by several Vancouver
business law firms – law firms that are
interested in meeting and mingling with
students in a fun and informal atmosphere.
Face it, we have all been to the Wine &
Cheeses and “mingled” in a bit of a nervous
atmosphere that is full of expectations.
The LBS organizes fun, low key events that
offer great networking opportunities.
We want to clear up a misconception.
The LBS is not just a club for students with
business or commerce backgrounds. It is a
club open to all who want to learn about
the interplay between business and law. We
by Kathleen Marks, Law III
McLachlin Inn is the UBC chapter of
Phi Delta Phi, an international legal fraternity
dedicated to the promotion of ethics
in the profession.
What Are We Planning for This Year?
Some of you might remember the
speech on legal ethics we organized last
year by the Chief Justice of Canada,
Beverley McLachlin. After her speech, the
Chief Justice was initiated as a Phi Delta
Phi member.
We hope to have the Chief Justice here
at UBC to speak again this year, although
we do not yet have confirmation from her
office. We also plan to repeat the essay contest
we held last year on the topic of legal
ethics, with prizes of $500 and $250 to the
first and second-prize winners. These
events will be part of our annual Ethics
Week, which will take place sometime mid-
February to early March of next year. We
are still working on plans for other activities
for that week. McLachlin Inn is also
planning a beer-up for sometime this fall.
Watch for our posters.
Why Join Phi Delta Phi?
There are different reasons for joining.
We have idealistic reasons – we want to
establish ties with lawyers and fellow law
Back row, left to right: Ravina Sandhu, Tina Chun, Jenna Virk,
Vivian Tang & Michelle Chan
Front row, left to right: Shantela Blaeser & Olga Bochkaryova
want to introduce business concepts such
as finance, accounting, management systems
and marketing, and show how these
areas intersect with our studies in law. We
are always open to suggestions from our
members concerning topics of interests and
possible future events that will help us all
learn.
So, what can you expect from us this
year? We have several events planned and
are willing to plan more. This is what we
have so far:
students who believe in the promotion of
the highest standards of professional and
personal ethics.
Wa also have prosaic motivations. Phi
Delta Phi membership makes you eligible
for fraternity loans, scholarships, and other
awards. Furthermore, while membership
numbers are still small in Canada, Phi
Delta Phi is very well-respected in the
American legal community. Many Phi
Delta Phi chapters in the United States have
very high academic requirements for membership
(although our chapter doesn’t).
Anyone who is thinking of practicing in
the US should consider the impression that
Phi Delta Phi membership might make on
American recruiters.
Phi Delta Phi membership is lifelong,
and gives you the opportunity to network
with fellow members in North America and
Europe. Phi Delta Phi was founded in Ann
Arbor, Michigan in 1869. Since then, more
than 191,000 lawyers and law students
around the world have been initiated into
the fraternity. Prominent Canadian members
include Chief Justice Beverley
McLachlin and Justice Ian Binnie of the
Supreme Court of Canada, former Supreme
Court of Canada Justice Claire L’Heureux-
Dube, constitutional law scholar Peter
photo by Agnes Huang
Before Christmas break, plan to attend
one or both of our speaker series events
where we will bring in some downtown
lawyers to talk about issues such as sports
& media law, mergers & acquisitions, commercial
lending, or anything else you want
to suggest. Also, we will be staging a billiards
night on November 4th at Soho Billiards
in Yaletown. This annual billiards
night is a great time where you can hang
out, have a drink and play pool with many
of the downtown lawyers from our sponsor
McLachlin Inn: more ethics, new CANS
Hogg, former Ontario premier Bob Rae,
and former Prime Minister John Turner.
To be eligible for active PDP membership,
a law student must be of good moral
character and in good academic standing
at a law school in which a student Inn is
located. Each membership costs $75, but
that covers your membership for life. Plus,
you get a really impressive certificate that
looks great in a frame.
For more information, contact us at
pdp_ubc@yahoo.com, and/or come to our
next meeting at 12:30 pm on Wednesday,
November 10 in Candida’s. You can also
visit Phi Delta Phi’s main web page is at
www.phideltaphi.org, or the McLachlin
Inn’s web page at http://faculty.law.ubc.ca/
phideltaphi.
firms. One word of warning though, some
of the lawyers are pool sharks. Beware.
After the Christmas break, we will
begin the year full-throttle with our Casino
Night (during a Friday beer-up) where you
can gamble your life away. This Casino
Night (which in the past was known as the
“Carnival”) is a thank-you to all of our
sponsor firms and our student members.
Again, many lawyers come up to the school
to hang out with the students, gamble a little,
and donate some money to charity. Start
practicing your gaming techniques now.
After that, we will host a wine class
where you can learn all the key tastes and
terms to use at your next wine tasting. This
will definitely help you out at future functions.
See, we are all about “education” and
about helping you at least appear to be a
wine connoisseur. Finally, there will be several
Speaker Series events (with lunch provided)
and other events such as law firm
tours and other events.
If you are not a member, it is never too
late to join, and if you are a member, get
ready for fun-filled year. For more information
visit our website at http://
faculty.law.ubc.ca/lbs or contact us at
ubclbs@yahoo.ca so that we can add you
to our email list. We send out emails to our
members to keep you updated and we’ll be
monopolizing the centre of the bulletin
board space in the Interaction Area. Keep
an eye out for our posters.
The Law & Business Society is here
to put on events for you. And always remember,
just as our shirts say, “Business”
IS our middle name.
Phi Delta Phi McLachlin Inn
Magister Kathleen Marks
initiated Chief Justice
Beverley McLachlin into Phi
Delta Phi International Legal
Fraternity during last spring’s
Ethics Week at UBC Law.
photo by Tim Wheat
Phi Delta Phi resurrects CANS online
Many of you will be happy to hear
that Phi Delta Phi has successfully resurrected
the UBC Law CANS website.
UBC law students have not had access
to recent CANS (condensed annotated
notes) online since the turn of the century.
To check out the new CANS, visit
the McLachlin Inn webpage at http://
faculty.law.ubc.ca/phideltaphi, and click
on CANS at the top. This is a brand new
page, and we are stocking it with 21st
Century CANS. If you have a CAN to
share, please submit it to
pdp_ubc@yahoo.com. Come on, you
know there’s been at least one time when
a good CAN has saved your life. Return
the favour. It’s the ethical thing to do!
Page 12 The Legal Eye November 2004