Darin Thompson's CPD Podcast

It’s really important that we understand that there are real people’s lives being affected by this crisis. It’s not just numbers. ~ Julie MacfarlaneDr. Julie Macfarlane (@ProfJulieMac) is a recognized leader behind the idea that we should turn the attention of our justice system to the “real people” facing the challenges of access. As the Director of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project she has been heading up the charge to collect evidence directly from ordinary people confronted by justice challenges that can end up turning their lives upside down. Julie also has impassioned views about transforming the legal profession, and the way we educate tomorrow’s lawyers in law schools. On the subject of legal education, Julie’s story about her own path into academia is just epic. Trust me on this one: you don’t want to miss it. Julie’s books include The New Lawyer: How Clients are Transforming the Practice of Law (2nd edition 2017 UBC Press) and Islamic Divorce in North America : Choosing a Shari’a Path in a Secular Society (Oxford University Press 2012). Her forthcoming book From Grief to Action: Confronting Sexual Violence (Between the Lines Press) will be available in 2020. You can read more about it on her From Private Grief to Public Advocacy blog.Topics CoveredThe path to legal academiaLegal educationEmpirical and qualitative legal workSelf-represented litigantsAccess to justice The cost of legal representationRegulation of the legal profession

How do I define success? Being useful. Making something better. We all have, in our jobs, these moments… we’re like: Why am I doing this? And I always have an answer. ~ Katie SykesProf. Katie Sykes (@katiesykes01) is a legal innovation powerhouse. She has degrees from the University of Toronto (Gold Medalist), Harvard and Dalhousie. She clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. She practiced at a big international firm in New York. She has been published in a range of areas including a pioneering work on the treatment of animals. It’s hard to imagine a more impressive list of qualifications.But Katie’s present day work is even more impressive. In addition to being active in the area of law concerned with cruelty to animals, she also provides incredible learning opportunities for law students, including a course that teaches them how to build intelligent legal apps. This innovative spirit also drives Katie’s other efforts to push for improvements to legal education, access to justice and the practice of law on a large scale.In this episode, we had a fun, wide-ranging conversation about all this and more. Topics CoveredThe development and culture of one of Canada’s newest law schools.The path to legal academia.Experiences clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada. Recent developments in animal law.Historical approaches to animal law.Legal technology.Improving legal education and lawyering skills.Multidisciplinary legal skills.The Law Society of BC’s Futures Task ForceEmpirical legal research on public justice processes.Professional wellness.

“The big shifting point in my mentality was that I decided it wasn’t essential to me, or essential to my sense of identity, to be considered a lawyer or to work in a traditional legal career.” ~ Lauryn KerrLauryn Kerr (@lauryn_kerr) has a legal innovator’s dream job as in-house counsel for a wold-leading online public justice tribunal. She also teaches cutting-edge subjects in several law schools. Lauryn has also recently started doing international law and justice development work that takes her to places like the Ukraine. Lauryn achieved these things in a very short period of time. But it didn’t all just happen by taking the safe, comfortable route. In this episode, she shares her experiences and advice about making a decision to follow a non-traditional path to access new opportunities and, ultimately, a great law job. Topics Covered:Preparing for legal education. Improvements to legal education.Innovation in legal education. Career development advice for new lawyers or people looking to move into new areas.Legal work in the public service. Age and gender issues in legal practice. Options for improving legal service delivery.Non-traditional legal work. Productivity and output for lawyers.Legal technology.Key performance indicators. International legal system enhancement. Work/life balance. Working from home. General wellness for lawyers.

This episode considers how the openness principle, as commonly applied in our justice system, can come into conflict with considerations like information privacy and new technology.

This is episode 3 of my Continuing Professional Development podcast. It's all about the capacity of online dispute resolution (ODR) to handle human emotion in the conflict resolution process.

This is episode 2 of my Continuing Professional Development podcast. It's all about online dispute resolution, also called ODR.

This is episode 1 of my Continuing Professional Development podcast. It’s just a pilot episode that explains what this is all about.