Speaking on my very first motion…alone!

DING DING. Off goes the list serve notification, and a new assignment has just come in for me. As I read the email, suddenly I am hit with a wave of excitement, and then utter fear. I have just been assigned to speak at an unopposed motion to request an adjournment…alone. Every litigator loves being in the courtroom, and consequently, I have always dreamed of speaking in court. However, now that the dream was about to be a reality, I felt immensely unprepared. >

"How am I supposed to speak in front of a real judge? How am I being trusted with this? What if I screw up big time? So many questions were rushing through my head."

As articling students, we are afforded the opportunity to speak at all types of motions. Despite this motion being unopposed, I knew this does not diminish the level of preparation I would require. I instantly knew that in order to be prepared for this, I needed to take advantage of all the resources available to me at McCague Borlack. First, I called the assigning lawyer, and he walked me through everything I needed to know. I was to look through all the materials, including the motion record, supporting motion record, evidence, and pleadings. I reviewed these in-depth, as my motto in life has always been that there is no such thing as over-preparation (we can debate this another time). Once I felt like I really had the materials down and understood the case, I began to draw a very sparse outline of points I want to make sure I cover. You never want to be reading from a script in front of a judge. However, it can be a nice piece of mind to have a few bullet points near you of the main gist of what you want to say, especially for your first time. I picked this practice up from my mooting days which was now proving to be an asset in terms of experience. Once the sparse outline was done, I got to practicing in front of a mirror to ensure I was prepared to articulate what I was seeking from the judge in a professional and competent manner.

Despite my preparation, I was still terrified the morning of. Every lawyer I spoke to told me I would be fine and not to stress, but I was still worried about all the “what ifs”. I made it to be some monster it wasn’t. I attended the motion (on zoom, as most motions are still being heard through video conference), outlined to the Associate Judge what exactly we were seeking, directed her to the exhibits which supported what we sought, and evidenced that the motion was unopposed. The next thing I know, the Associate Justice told me the adjournment has been granted and the endorsement will be sent shortly. I was dumbfounded – it was all over within 10 minutes! The first thing I thought to myself was that I had shed a skin. I had my first independent appearance in court and didn’t fail. It was an amazing learning opportunity and I know I will be less terrified for the next opportunity to appear independently in court. And yes, I say less terrified because let’s be real; the nerves never truly leave in entirety.

by Anita Z.

Bringing a Motion for the First Time: Step-by-Step

I believed to attend and speak to a motion in Court would be a cornerstone of my articling experience. 

"Luckily, last month, I was asked to assist a lawyer to bring an unopposed motion for the first time."

This was a five-step process:

1. Submitting the motion confirmation form: The purpose of this form is to provide the Court with all necessary information regarding the motion being brought forward, including the date and jurisdiction, the estimated time required for the motion, and the position of the parties involved.
   
   
2. Confirming the position of all parties: The motion confirmation form must be sent to all parties for their review as a part of scheduling the motion. The party making the motion must discuss this matter with all parties and each party must confirm whether they are unopposed, opposed, or otherwise consent to this motion prior to the date of the motion.
   
   
3. Upload documents onto Caselines: Caselines is the portal used in Ontario to ensure that the judicial official has access to your materials. Uploading to Caselines is mandatory and material that is not uploaded will likely not be reviewed in advance. Using Caselines for the first time was challenging, but with help from the articling group and the lawyer I was working with, I was able to navigate this system with ease.
   
   
I also learned that the Superior Court of Justice operates with strict timelines; for instance, you need to get the Civil Motion Confirmation Form to be emailed to the court by 2:00 p.m. five days prior to the hearing, excluding weekends and holidays and motion materials must be uploaded into CaseLines at least three days in advance of the hearing. Given the rigidness of these timelines, it is beneficial to begin gathering and submitting motion materials as early as possible.


4. Attending Court and speaking to the motion: I presented the motion to the Justice and answered any questions she had about the motion. I also had to make some edits to the draft order, so I had a Word version of the Order on hand. Since this was my first time attending Court, I made sure that I knew the matter I was speaking to very well. Answering questions requires quick and agile thinking, so it is important to be fully prepared and well-versed prior to the day of the motion.
   
   
5. Issuing the Order with the Court and serving it on all parties: Once the relief you are seeking is obtained in the form of an Order, the Order must be issued and entered at the Courthouse. Once issued, the Order is to be served on opposing Counsel.

While speaking to a motion in Court can be a daunting process, it is also one that is exciting and rewarding!

by Kritika S.

The Fantastic Five

In honour of our 5th month of articling, I have taken 5 Topics and for each, I’ve compiled a list of 5 tips to provide insight into our experience thus far.

I. Ways We Receive Work

1. The list - A lawyer can send an email to the articling students and whoever is next on “The List” gets the assignment.
   
   
2. Conflict Checks - Monitor & respond to a conflict check involving an area of law or a set of facts that you are interested in. There are always some unique files that catch my eye.  (p.s. this is a great one!)
   
   
3. Personal Touch - reaching out to lawyers personally. As a student, you may enjoy working with specific people and/or in certain areas of law. You can simply walk over to a lawyer’s office and ask them if they have any work that you can assist with. It’s as easy as it sounds.
4. Trading - Depending on availability and whether certain students prefer to work on specific tasks, you can trade jobs with fellow articling students.
   
   
5. Student Liaison - Ashley Faust is the Student Liaison at McCague Borlack and she checks in with the students to make sure we experience as much as possible. If there is something you want to do but haven’t yet, let her know and she will set you up! Two of my favourite attendances so far, including arguing contested costs hearing, were arranged by Ashley.

II. Events to look forward to

1. Orientation! - Honestly, the amount of times I refer to the material that was provided to us during orientation week is unbelievable. McCague offers articling students the opportunity to increase their knowledge exponentially within that first single week.
   
   
2. The Christmas party! - Don’t forget that the articling students are responsible for entertaining the audience during the Christmas party. We thoroughly enjoyed preparing for our skit and (we think) the audience enjoyed watching it just as much.
   
   
3. Christmas in January - Christmas party round 2? Almost. McCague Borlack hosts a Christmas in January event for clients and all members of the firm. It’s a great opportunity to get to know everyone better and have a chance to put a face to a name of a client you have been corresponding with through email for the past few months.
   
   
4. Practice Group Seminars - We have a number of practice groups at McCague Borlack. Recently the Transportation Law practice group put together a lunch and learn. This is another great opportunity for students to meet with clients, draft papers on specific areas of the law and even present on them!
   
   
5. After work socializing - It’s easy to plan social events among the students. Whether it’s a simple dinner at a restaurant or going to an escape room, the students are able to spend plenty of time together outside of work.

 III. Ways to learn

1. The library - Most of us use the internet for almost everything. I don’t blame us. But what if I told you that someone has already collected knowledge on the topic you’re researching, compiled it into a book, and that very same book found its way onto a shelf at McCague? The best place to start when researching or simply learning about a new topic is in your firm’s library!
   
   
2. Litigator - Of course, the internet is helpful too. At McCague, we have access to Westlaw’s database including a resource called “Litigator”. The best part of Litigator is that you can find pleadings and other material filed with the court in previous actions. These templates are useful tools and you can learn what to include, or avoid when drafting your own materials.
   
   
3. Asking questions - I’m sure this has been mentioned many times in previous blogs, but that is because it is so important! The collective amount of knowledge in the heads of everyone at the firm is huge. If you are stuck, ask around, there are many willing teachers.
   
   
4. Not asking questions - Yes that’s right. Part of learning is understanding how to independently find answers in an efficient manner. Of course, don’t hesitate to ask questions in urgent situations or once you have exhausted your other resources. However, the exercise of finding an answer is a learning experience in itself.
   
   
5. This Student Blog - We aren’t the first set of students at the firm and we won’t be the last. The blog has captured the experiences of the students who were in our exact position previously. It might have the answer you’re looking for!

IV. Things to Remember for your motion for leave to amend a Statement of Claim

1. Attach the amended Statement of Claim to your draft Order
2. A staple remover;
3. A mini stapler;
4. There is a Staples right beside the Toronto Courthouse;
5. Thank the associate who you ran into in the courtroom that helped you fix your draft Order minutes before the motion… thanks, Marla!

V. My Articling Bucket List

1. To argue a contested motion;
2. To settle a small claims file at a settlement conference;
3. To draft (even more) factums - they are great for working on your persuasive writing skills;
4. To watch a trial; and
5. To get hired back!

by Yousef E.

Firsts: Arguing a Motion On My Own

On just my second day of articling, I went to court to argue a motion. While this was my first time arguing a motion on my own, it felt entirely routine. When I received the assignment, an associate handed me the motion record and said, “Here, go argue this tomorrow”. A brief wave of panic came over me until I realized it was a simple, unopposed motion, and more procedural than anything else. I also realized that while articling students are allowed to argue motions, my firm wouldn’t throw me into one on the second day if I could get everyone into trouble.

That afternoon, I brought myself up to speed on the file and courtroom etiquette, and I was ready to go. As a summer student here last year, I would never have imagined arguing a motion on my own. Now, as an articling student, I can imagine it because I’ve done everything leading up to it. I spent last summer working on motion materials and observing other lawyers argue motions. The world of motions was somewhat demystified.

"There’s something to be said about being thrown into things and learning on your feet."

The next morning, I arrived at the courthouse early to settle in and find my way around. I worked as a court reporter in my previous, pre-law school life and was very excited to be back in court. The Superior Court of Justice in Brampton is one of the larger local courthouses, and home to all kinds of matters—criminal and civil alike. It was unsurprisingly busy.

While this was my first time at that courthouse, everything was instantly familiar. While each courthouse has its nuances, once you figure out the process, you can navigate most of them. I flashed my LSO card through security (for the first time!), found my matter on the docket, and proceeded upstairs to my courtroom in under 5 minutes. As I was early, I sat in the waiting area, where I re-read my motion materials and checked, several times, that I was indeed at the correct courtroom—and I’m not going to lie, correct courthouse.

Once the doors opened, people filed in en masse—and I, with them. As I filled out my counsel slip, I noticed that everyone else was gowned. I, of course, was not gowned because I don’t have a gown—yet. One of the lawyers noticed this too and asked me about it. When he learned that I was a student, he was surprised to hear I was on my feet on only my second day of articling. “Oh, it’s just a WAGG motion today”, I replied casually. Of course, I was arguing it, what a great opportunity to get on my feet early—and in a safe environment, as my motion was unopposed.

That day, I really understood what lawyers at this firm have been telling me all along. As a student, I would be thrown into the water and learn to swim—with lifejackets and lifeguards on standby, of course. Here I was, arguing a simple, uncontested motion on my own, and my experience here last summer prepared me well. As a summer student, my first assignment was to bring an urgent motion. By the time the summer was over, I had drafted motion materials over and over again and became familiar with the different types of motions. As a bonus, my experience here also helped me when I took Advanced Civil Procedure and studied for the bar.

As for this motion, everything went well. I got our order, didn’t get yelled at, and I remembered where I parked.

Karolina

Forget the molehills...

Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. 

This is one of those easier said than done types of things. What exactly does this mean? To me, it means attributing the proper amount of work, time and energy to the appropriate task and avoiding getting trapped in your own mind when it comes to new tasks or ones that on the surface, appear to be frightening, such as attending your first motion.

Don’t psyche yourself out.

Many people will tell you that it’s ok to be over prepared. While I generally agree with this, there are certain limits you can learn through experience. For instance, how many times should I rehearse my opening address to the master for a motion on consent? In fact, I had this very issue... I spent the night before a motion rehearsing over and over exactly what I was going to say in hopes that I would avoid making any mistakes. The more I rehearsed the more daunting the task became and I built the motion up to be a massive event that consumed my every thought and emotion until I was able to speak in front of the master.

The funny part about this is, after all, that practice, stress and being about as nervous as an articling student on their first motion could possibly be, before I was able to start my spiel, the master said; “This is on consent, right? Can I see the order?” Just like that, the motion, the very same one that I had spent so much time preparing for, was over before I could even say my name.

Know where to draw the line.

Realize when you are sufficiently prepared to avoid obsessing over something that doesn’t warrant that amount of energy.

Being adequately prepared for anything is definitely very important. It may seem obvious to say, but being underprepared is not the idea I’m trying to convey. What’s important is finding that sweet spot between knowing when you’re sufficiently prepared and not becoming too immersed in the task so as to let it seem like an obstacle in your mind that is preventing you from being able to relax.

Through experience, I have gotten better at properly attributing the proportionate amount of work and preparation required to the nature of the tasks I am given. I have also realized it is usually when there is the element of the unknown at play, where I begin to over-prepare. It is important to not let the fact that it is your first time doing a particular task overshadow the idea that the potential task may be very simple.

The basic takeaway from this is that through experience, we should learn how to reserve our efforts for the tasks that are actually “mountains” and get better at distinguishing them from “molehills”. Plus be aware our minds are capable of playing tricks on us and making tasks appear to be more difficult or daunting than they actually are.

Michael G.

First Appearances at Motion Court

Every law student envisions their day in court differently. But for most students, facing the judge is likely the scariest part of it all. Eleven days into articling, I attended my first motion at Brampton Civil court. It was a routine motion, but naturally, I was still very excited and anxious. Being the first of our student group to attend a motion, they were all anxious for me; “Our first motion!!” they said. In preparing for the motion, I spoke with a number of lawyers at the office in addition to the assigning lawyer. At the end of one conversation, I said “That’s very helpful, thank you, I just wanted to know what to expect”. The lawyer replied: “You can never really know what to expect.” Well, ain’t that the truth.

So the day came and I arrived at the Brampton courthouse...

So the day came and I arrived at the Brampton courthouse. There were about 15 matters on the docket in the courtroom I was at. I looked around at the other lawyers who all looked like they knew what they were doing, I tried to fit in. As the first few motions went by, I began to realize something I did not expect. A judge is a real person! This particular Justice’s interest was in family law. Whenever a family law matter came before him, he spoke to the parties about his concerns and the issues at stake. During civil matters, I heard him explain his discomfort in dispensing with service and reasoned why in the particular circumstances he would grant it. It was like my law textbooks had jumped to life! When it came time for my motion, I was considerably more at ease. Before I knew it, I had my first order. Four weeks later, I was asked to attend another motion, this time in Toronto. I remembered my lesson from my first attendance, and reviewed the motion materials by asking myself, “Why are we asking for this order from the court? What makes it reasonable?” I reminded myself that the judges are there to resolve the matter as fair and practicable as possible.

This proved even truer on my second motion attendance. Upon arrival, I was informed my motion had been redirected to another courtroom. When I got there, two counsels were getting very heated over their own respective calendars. The judge, therefore, asked them to consult between themselves outside the courtroom so he could get to the other matters. On a later matter, one counsel repeatedly would not schedule a trial even though several dates in 2016 were given, as he had a long trial around that time. The judge finally said to him: “Counsel, given that 97% of matters settle before trial, and in the interest of moving the [trial] list along, perhaps double booking trials in 2016 is not such a bad idea. Let’s not live up to the reputation that in Toronto, you have to book trials 3 years in advance”. The down to earth comment set a tone for the remainder of the scheduling matters and reminded everyone of the reality that surrounds every legal battle.

As for me, it turns out that the Justice had already reviewed the file I was appearing for and was therefore familiar with it. He had moved me up to his courtroom because he did not want me to run into any issues in the other courtroom. After I spoke to the motion, he then told me he would sign the order and endorsement in his chambers since he had the file there. I was surprised at how he took the time and effort to ensure that the motion would be properly addressed.

I never expected to find myself in chambers on my second motion attendance, but there I was. You can never really know what to expect, indeed!

Leona K.

Survey Says...

For this week’s blog, I thought I would switch things up a bit. I thought it would be fun to show you the faces that I have the pleasure of seeing every day.

After devising this survey  >   >   >


I then asked (ok -forced) the MB Students to share a bit more about themselves and about their favourite parts of articling at a civil litigation firm.


I have put together below some of their best (in my humble opinion) answers.




   

	Q2: Settlement conference – It makes me feel like the lawyer, I thought I would be. Q3: The Bancroft Court of Justice - Because of the beautiful countryside drive. Q5: Harvey's– in two words: Original Burger
Q2: Motion all the way Q4: Mediations – You generally get to hear the whole story from the beginning and really get a sense of the issues in the case. Q5: IQ– Quinoa, the superfood.
	Q1: Rule 49 - Offer to Settle - Because why can't everyone just get along? Q3: The Oshawa Court of Justice - Because it reminds me of 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank' (from Harry Potter, for those that don't indulge in wizardry). Q5: Aroma– FREE chocolate, need I say more.
Q1: Rule 37 – Motions! Q3: The Orillia Court of Justice – My first Settlement Conference. Q5: IQ – healthy and delicious!
	Q1: Rule 49 – It promotes a resolution of the issues and "punishes" those who are not willing to cooperate or be an effective lawyer. Q4: Mediations - Another opportunity to resolve the claim and make the client happy. Q5: Chinese noodle soup place at the Sheraton Hotel -when I visit my colleagues in Toronto.
Q2: Settlement Conference - I like the opportunity to meet opposing counsel face to face. Q4: Examinations for Discovery - Network Reporting has great food! Q5: Thai Express – Not exactly "express" but worth the wait!
	Q2: Motions - I think it's a good opportunity to practice oral advocacy and to have to think quickly on your feet. Q4: Mediations - I haven't been to a lot of them and it is interesting to watch different lawyers' negotiation strategies. Q5: Freshii – I collect points on my phone and get free meals.
Q3: The Cobourg Court of Justice - I took the train there at 6:50 am in the middle of a snowstorm! Q4: Mediations - I like to see how different mediators engage both sides. Q5: Sandwich Box is my favourite lunch spot – 'you don't make friends with salad' (-Bart and Homer Simpson) (This is mine :)  Wishing you a Happy Easter & Long Weekend! RS