ARCTIC OBITER

NOVEMBER 2009 | 13
the 6 hour period (although apparently during the time the
Roughriders were playing, the calls trickled to a stop!).
This project is planned to be gradually rolled out across the
country and would likely be very beneficial to our
jurisdiction due to the issues we face with access to justice.
ORATORY COMPETITION
Antoine Aylwin, Président, Association du Jeune Barreau de
Montréal / Young Bar Association of Montreal (YBAM),
spoke on the oratory competition held by his association
each year at the Court of Appeal in Montreal. The english
version of the competition was launched in 2008. The event
provides a special occasion for young lawyers in the area to
practice and show their oratory skills. Awards are presented
for participation and to those who show excellence in their
skills. The event is not a debate, nor is it a legal argument
type of event. Instead, the organizing committee would
present four subjects, and each competitor must choose a
subject and argue either for or against the particular issue
identified in the topic. The speakers are evaluated based on
general knowledge, originality, humour, ease of speaking,
personality, charisma, communication abilities and general
impression. Legal knowledge is not evaluated, as the object
is to convince, but not on legal grounds.
PATHWAY TO PARTNERSHIP
For those in private practice, the CBA is developing a new
initiative which aims to provide information to Young
Lawyers on a variety of issues relating to the path to
partnership in law firms. This ‚Partnership Toolkit‛ will be
web-based and will include a compilation of tools and
resources, such as podcasts, hard copy materials, self
evaluation forms, factsheets and checklists to provide
practical support to Young Lawyers as they move up the
ladder from associates to partners or to other alternatives.
Many other ideas and initiatives were discussed, and the
materials from the meeting are available to anyone who
wishes to view them. A Young Lawyers Section meeting
will be scheduled for the new year for a more detailed
briefing. However, if anyone is interested in participating in
Nepal Pals, the Oratory Competition, or Pro Bono Day, or if
you would like more information, please contact me.
Antoine has suggested that YBAM could collaborate with
the CBA Young Lawyers sections to offer a nationwide
simultaneous competition. Each region would identify a
winner who would participate in a national final. It has been
suggested that this would be an interesting addition to
planned events during Law Day festivities in April.
PODCASTS
The first Young Lawyer podcast produced, "Taking the
Nightmare out of Networking," was very successful. A second
podcast has now been completed and is now available on the
website at:
www.cba.org/CBA/YoungLawyers/Main/podcasts.aspx
Plans are underway to produce another which will discuss
the importance of mentoring. We are attempting to keep the
topics as broad as possible and to target as many areas of
practice as we can. Ideas are always welcome.