The Next Step: Symposium Panels Discuss Careers in Law

Justice Harvey Brownstone, Law '80, talks about working in the judiciary at the Queen's Law Alumni: Leadership in Social Justice Symposium on Friday, February 9, 2007.

On February 9th, 2007, the Queen's Law Alumni: Leadership in Social Justice Symposium kicked off with a bang. Two panels, each consisting of three distinguished members, spoke on the respective topics of Working in the Judiciary and Pursuing Graduate Studies.

At the first panel, Justice Helen MacLeod (Law ‘75), a Superior Court judge here in Kingston, talked about the process of becoming a judge. There is no typical career path for people who want to become a judge, she revealed. A Judicial Appointments Committee oversees the appointments process, with current Benchers vetting potential candidates. Because a judge will be "let loose" on the public, the Committee seeks to confirm that applicants have a good reputation among their peers for civility and a strong knowledge of the law. She credits Queen's for successfully preparing its students for careers in advocacy, pointing specifically to the bevy of skills-based courses. "I think the future of dispute resolution is outside the courtroom," she said.

The next speaker was Justice Harvey Brownstone (Law ‘80), an Ontario Court judge in Toronto, who described what it is like to be a judge in Canada. He pointed to the creative potential in being a criminal court judge, especially as a Youth Court judge. Justice Brownstone emphasized that problems related to substance abuse, poverty and often even culture shock play a major role in the lives of those who appear in front of him. However, he tries to play a positive role in people's lives during what can be their darkest hours.

The now-retired George Thomson (Law ‘65) pressed home that judging is a continual learning process, in terms of both fine-tuning one's judicial skills and understanding the social context of cases. Thomson, who served as a judge for 13 years, praised Queen's Law for its innovative approach to social problems - for instance, a Queen's student founded the first interval house for abused spouses who have nowhere to live. Furthermore, he clearly appreciated the astuteness of Queen's Law students, joking that his judicial decisions are "regularly reversed here at the Queen's moot court program."

The afternoon rounded out with a lighthearted discussion from three Queen's Law professors on the subject of pursuing graduate studies for a career in academia. The panel included Associate Dean Arthur Cockfield, a Queen's Law graduate himself (Law ‘93) who specializes in tax and contract law; Allan Manson, an expert in criminal law and sentencing; and Michael Pratt, whose work centres on legal theory and philosophy.

The three colleagues, all of whom have impressive academic credentials, went over the basics for pursuing graduate studies. Their consensus was that their second law degrees laid the foundation for some of the more fulfilling work of their careers. They recommend looking into graduate programs because a student can select a particular area of law that interests them, and focus on that area for a year (or longer).

According to Pratt, graduate programs value interdisciplinary work quite highly these days, partly due to a greater appreciation in academia of the social context behind our laws. Moreover, because so many baby boomers are retiring from their professor posts, teaching positions at law schools are easier to come by than they once were.

Whatever career path Queen's Law students may choose, the contribution of these panels to their decision-making process is invaluable. While the application process for law firms can often seem daunting to students, the career panels at the Queen's Law Symposium remind us that the path less traveled just might be the right one.

This event was supported by a Grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario.