Boot camp, paid internships designed to dramatically upgrade students’ skills

TORONTO, Thursday, May 17, 2018 – Five students from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School have been selected to participate in an innovative new three-week training boot camp in Chicago this month, followed by paid internships this summer, as part of the Institute for the Future of Law Practice (IFLP). The IFLP is a new collaboration with three United States law schools and numerous legal employers designed to help modernize legal education.

IFLP boot camp training programs were launched May 14 at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago and University of Colorado Law School in Boulder with the support of sponsors Cisco, Chapman and Cutler LLP, and Elevate Services. A total of 43 students will participate in this year’s boot camps.

The boot camps are designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for 21st-century law practice. Topics include basic accounting and business principles; professional communication and teamwork; exposure to core elements of mergers and acquisitions; litigation management; IP strategy; high-volume commercial contracting; and basic principles of project management, process improvement, and data analytics. Use of technology for more efficient delivery of legal services is also a focus of the program.

Students will put their new skills into practice following the boot camps via paid internships. The following Osgoode students will be employed by these employers:

• JD/MBA student Omar Alsayyed – Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
• Professional LLM student Yonida Koukio – Bennett Jones LLP
• JD student Cameron McMaster – Kira Systems Inc.
• JD/MBA student Raffaele Virdo – Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
• JD student Fanqi Wang – McCarthy Tétrault LLP

“Osgoode is delighted to be one of the four founding member schools, along with the law faculties of the University of Indiana, University of Colorado and Northwestern University, participating in the first-year IFLP,” said Victoria Watkins, Assistant Dean and Executive Director, Osgoode Professional Development. “Capitalizing on new ways of thinking and preparing the next cohort of lawyers to meet a changing legal world is critically important. This program is teaching skills in legal services delivery that haven’t traditionally been taught by law schools and are rapidly becoming essential. Although IFLP is geared toward corporate practice, the skills and approaches can be applied in other areas of legal services delivery.”

And while Osgoode is evolving its offerings at home, “IFLP is a unique opportunity for cross-border collaboration with American law schools, and to build networks among legal service providers who are innovating,” Watkins said.

“IFLP is a partnership between all members of the legal ecosystem – corporate law departments, law firms, alternative legal service providers and legal academics – to help modernize legal education and dramatically upgrade the skills of the next generation of legal professionals,” said Bill Mooz, IFLP Interim Executive Director and Founder of the Colorado Tech Lawyer Accelerator.

About the Institute for the Future of Law Practice (IFLP)
IFLP is a new non-profit organization that helps law schools and legal employers collaborate on cutting-edge curricula and training programs that will keep pace with an increasingly complex and interconnected world. First year IFLP member law schools include Colorado, Northwestern, Indiana, and Osgoode. As the number of participating legal employers grows, more member schools will be added.

About Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University has a proud history of 129 years of leadership and innovation in legal education and legal scholarship. A total of about 900 students are enrolled in Osgoode’s three-year Juris Doctor (JD) Program as well as joint and combined programs. The school's Graduate Program in Law is also the largest in the country and one of the most highly regarded in North America. In addition, Osgoode Professional Development, which operates out of Osgoode’s facility in downtown Toronto, offers both degree and non-degree programming for Canadian and international lawyers, non-law professionals, firms and organizations. Osgoode has an internationally renowned faculty of 60 full-time professors, and more than 100 adjunct professors. Our respected community of more than 18,000 alumni are leaders in the legal profession and in many other fields in Canada and across the globe.

About York University
York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 

Media Contacts: Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca

Sandra McLean, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca