(Advanced) Future of Law at Thompson Rivers University

Omar Ha-‐Redeye Faculty of Law,

Thompson Rivers University March 3, 2015

Back… to the Future

Tensions Between Lawyers and Firms

•  Millennials (and others) increasingly want flexibility –  Increased emphasis on personal/family life –  SkepPcism about long-‐term prospects – Unwilling to blindly plow ahead

•  Firms are unwilling to provide it –  Structure entrenched in historic paQerns –  PercepPon of younger lawyers as simply being lazy –  “Mass reserves of the unemployed”

Lawyers Are Choosing AlternaPves

•  Next generaPon of solo lawyers are not ending up small/solo due to lack of opportuniPes

•  They are creaPng own opportuniPes to hold on to their passions and maintain control over their lives

•  This can be frustraPng and an uphill baQle, but at the same Pme it’s incredibly rewarding

Blacksmiths in the Time of the Automobile

hQp://www.siemens.com/innovaPon/en/home/pictures-‐of-‐the-‐future/industry-‐and-‐automaPon/digital-‐factories-‐personalized-‐workstaPons.html?stc=wwcg100118

AlternaPve Business Structures (ABS)

•  Would allow for non-‐lawyer ownership •  Could provide desperately needed cash-‐infusion

•  QuesPons about professionalism and duty to the court

•  Concerns over poaching or piece-‐mealing law – Focus area: personal injury

Trickle-‐Down

ABS+

•  University of OQawa Faculty of Law Prof. David Wiseman in Law Times (March 2, 2015) – ABS may make dispariPes in access to legal services worse

•  Other opPons: – differenPal licensing-‐fee structure •  incenPve for those servicing low-‐income people

–  seed capital fund for access to jusPce iniPaPves

It’s not Just Lawyers Anymore…

•  Major shockwave in Ontario is regulaPon of licensed paralegals – Existence of 1-‐year accelerated programs – Many already have university degrees, work experience (ogen more than lawyers)

– 5 year review in 2012 •  What does this mean for lawyers?

It’s not Just Canadian (trained) Lawyers Anymore

•  Huge influx of lawyers trained in other jurisdicPons

•  Many of these (increasingly the majority) are Canadians who could not get into Canadian law schools

•  Not enough demand for legal services for all of these lawyers – Not enough arPcling posiPons for all these lawyers

The Law PracPce Program (LPP)

Why InnovaPon is the Future

•  Law firms who conPnue to do things the way they have will eventually be unprofitable

•  Lawyers who pursue tradiPonal legal jobs will increasingly discover they are dead-‐ends

•  The technology, including communicaPons over the Internet, allow for all of us to collaborate and brainstorm soluPons beQer – This is what we are doing right now!!!

ImplicaPons for Current Law Students

•  Think about your goals, values, ambiPons in life now – Don’t forget your personal life

•  IdenPfy all of the obstacles from achieving this –  Include realisPc understanding of the profession and its demands

•  Figure out how you are going to get there in an uncertain market –  Start to develop the soluPons before you become a lawyer

We Need to Keep the ConversaPon Going

•  @OmarHaRedeye

•  ca.linkedin.com/TorontoLawyer

•  [email protected]

•  hQps://www.facebook.com/TO.Lawyer

(Advanced) Future of Law at Thompson Rivers University

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