CRIMES, COURTS, AND COMMENTARY
Interviews, current events, recommendations, and more --
all geared to the criminal law student community.
all geared to the criminal law student community.
Emma Davies (CLSA 1L Executive) On November 17, the CLSA invited four attorneys to talk about their careers in the criminal law.
The first panelist, Ryan Handlarski, is a defence lawyer who began his career on Bay Street. Caitlin Pakosh is an Associate Crown Attorney who also researches the intersection between forensic science and criminal law. Sarah Shaikh, General Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), focuses on drug and national security matters. Finally, Jennifer Epstein, Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office – Criminal, specializes in criminal appellate work.
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11/15/2021 0 Comments Event Recap: Defence and Crown PanelChristine Wang (CLSA 1L Executive)
Anna Zhang (3L and CLSA Blog Editor) For students wanting to work in criminal law, the path may seem ambiguous. Opportunities for 1L and 2L criminal law jobs are limited within the formal LSO process and students must often take summer positions that are not directly related to defence or Crown work.
By Anna Zhang and Teodora Pasca On top of a pandemic and an already-hectic second semester, March marked the end of yet another summer job recruit season. While some students were preparing to dazzle firms on Bay Street with their charming personalities and impressive extracurriculars, the preparation for interviews with Crown offices and criminal defence firms looked a bit different.
The CLSA spoke with four students at U of T Law about their experiences navigating the criminal law recruit. Why criminal law? 3/19/2021 Event Recap: Wrongful Convictions PanelBy Caterina Cavallo People want to have confidence in the criminal justice system. Both the public and legal professionals want to believe that this system — which holds immense power and influence over our lives — is effectively prosecuting crimes while ensuring due process for accused persons. While in some cases the justice system achieves that goal, Canada’s criminal justice system is by no means immune to error. Whether or not we are willing to accept it, wrongful convictions are a reality in Canada. On March 9, 2021, the Criminal Law Students’ Association hosted a panel discussion on the topic of wrongful convictions. We had the pleasure of speaking with the following panelists: Stephen Bindman, Senior Advisor, Department of Justice Canada The Honourable Justice Renee Pomerance, Ontario Superior Court of Justice Benita Wassenaar, Crown Law Office – Criminal Bhavan Sodhi, Legal Director, Innocence Canada 2/16/2021 Event Recap: Women in Criminal Law PanelBy Simon Kim
Many of the panelists saw criminal law as their calling. Daisy Bygrave, a graduate of Harvard Law School now practicing in Toronto, finds that her favourite part about being a criminal defence lawyer is that people reach out to her for help. Being able to make a living out of helping people is an experience Ms. Bygrave finds surreal, and she derives an incredible sense of fulfillment from the fact that her clients rely on her expertise.
Sayeh Hassan, a Tehran-born criminal defence lawyer who lived in Turkey at a young age as a refugee, echoed Daisy’s message about self-fulfillment. As a law student, Ms. Hassan immediately realized that she wanted to work on cases involving the Charter, and criminal law gave her an opportunity to address important constitutional issues while at the same time defending those charged with crimes. For Ms. Hassan, practicing criminal law is synonymous with helping people, which gives her an unparalleled sense of fulfillment. Holly Loubert and Dayna Arron, Crown Counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General, Crown Law Office – Criminal, find it meaningful to be able to work with victims and to use criminal law not just as a means of punishment, but as an opportunity for people to learn from their mistakes. The central theme in Ms. Loubert and Ms. Arron’s remarks was the human connection the practice of criminal law provides for. Plus, they enjoy that their work is intellectually engaging and leaves room for important policy considerations. In advancing the interests of justice, Crowns are often required to go beyond the mechanical exercise of merely applying the existing law to facts, and instead to contemplate more broadly what the law ought to be. By Julia Pimentel Panel speakers:
Nicos Fassler, Deputy Crown Attorney Alexa Ferguson, defence lawyer, Heinein Hutchison LLP Chris Nagel, defence lawyer, CCSK Criminal Law Marie Comiskey, senior counsel with Public Prosecution Service of Canada Cate Martell, criminal defence lawyer focusing on appeals Panel organizers & moderators: Sophie Zhao, 2L CLSA executive member Simon Kim, 2L CLSA executive member Adrianna Mills, 1L CLSA executive member Held on Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 over Zoom 9/17/2020 Prosecutions in the digital age: In conversation with Mabel Lai, Crown Law Office (Criminal)By Sophie Zhao Mabel Lai is Crown Counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Crown Law Office (Criminal). Her practice includes trial matters involving large-scale frauds or justice system participants, criminal appeals, mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, and pre-charge and search advice to law enforcement. Mabel has colleagues who are passionate about work involving sexual assault, hate speech, gun crime, and financial crime. The Crown Law Office (Criminal) also provides legal advice directly to the Attorney General in relation to matters requiring consent under the Criminal Code including dangerous offender applications, direct indictments and the institution of hate crime charges. Working in criminal justice means dealing directly with life-changing things for people involved in the files, something which makes the work both emotionally challenging at times, and immensely meaningful. |
Want to contribute? Pitch an idea to CLSA Blog Editors Ben Elhav & Nik Khakhar at [email protected] & [email protected].
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