TORONTO, Jan. 24, 2013 – Juris Doctor (JD) students at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School who are looking for hands-on business law experience have received a major boost from McCarthy Tétrault LLP.
The eminent Canadian law firm announced on Jan. 23 that it will provide $150,000 to create a new business law internship program at Osgoode that will be known as the McCarthy Tétrault Business Law Internship.
The internship program – which will be administered by the Jay and Barbara Hennick Centre for Business and Law, a joint initiative of Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business at York University – will place up to five students annually in for-profit or not-for-profit organizations from May to August. The first placements will take place this year. Each student will receive $10,000 for participating in the internship program.
To date, placements have been confirmed at FirstService Corporation, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Ontario Securities Commission. The fifth placement is expected to be announced shortly.
“The McCarthy Tétrault Business Law Internship will create tremendous experiential learning opportunities for Osgoode students who have a demonstrated interest in business and law,” said Edward J. Waitzer, director of the Hennick Centre for Business and Law.
Marc-André Blanchard, Chair and chief executive officer of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, said, “After listening to Osgoode’s Dean Lorne Sossin describe the Law School’s focus on experiential learning, I knew this was exactly the kind of innovative programming our firm would want to support.”
Osgoode is the first law school in Canada to introduce an experiential education requirement – referred to at the Law School as a “praxicum” – into the JD curriculum. Commencing with the Class of 2015, which arrived in September 2012, all Osgoode JD students will be exposed to law in action through an experiential course or program as part of their legal education.
Osgoode has also opened an Office of Experiential Education to serve as a catalyst for the development of new courses, programs and clinics, and provide support to the faculty, students and staff.
“To create experiential learning opportunities, the Law School needs partners who understand and share our belief that hands-on learning provides a more well-rounded education,” said Dean Sossin. “Internships do not only that, but they also give students financial resources to fund their legal education. We are truly grateful to McCarthy Tétrault LLP for the support and commitment the firm has shown to Osgoode and the ongoing development of our students.”
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Media Contact: Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 416-736-5820/ vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca
