Shadow Program

The Shadow Program was launched by the Articling Committee of the Law Students' Society in 1995. First and second year law students are given an opportunity to 'shadow' a member of the legal profession for a day. This opportunity is made available to all students in an effort to provide them with a better appreciation of the practical application of their legal education. It is felt that the law school experience and Career Services programs can be enriched through early exposure to some of the varied career paths available. The Shadow Program also offers Group Shadow Visits, giving students an opportunity to "shadow" several practitioners of different areas of specialization within one firm.

The student coordinator works with Leeann Beggs, the faculty advisor to the program, to establish and organize a group of volunteer professionals who wish to participate. Students registering to take part in the program participate in an orientation session prior to being matched with a volunteer.

Both Queen's Law alumni and professionals with no affiliation to Queen's have generously contributed their time, enabling the Shadow Program to offer exposure to a broad range of careers, both traditional and non-traditional, with professionals from as far afield as Hong Kong and Bermuda.

The reports from both students and volunteers have been enthusiastic. Students have been placed with judges, practitioners, in-house counsel, lawyers in the public service and individuals in many other types of employment. They have participated in hearings and trials, client meetings and in virtually all aspects of professional life.

We are very proud of this student initiative and look forward to another successful year.

• Activities

• Areas of Law
  

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Guidelines

• Group Shadow Visit

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Activities

Queen's Law students have enjoyed participating in many varied activities with their volunteer professionals.

These activities have included:

• Informal discussions with professionals and articling students
• Touring firms or departments
• Exposure to non-traditional areas of law
• Participating in client meetings and interviews
• Visiting judges' chambers
• Attending court and tribunal proceedings
• Accompanying counsel during family law proceedings and criminal trials
• Participating in family law settlement conferences
• Accompanying counsel during settlement negotiations
• Shadowing judges during hearings and trials
• Shadowing judges during jury selection
• Observing and participating in routine tasks

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Areas of Law

We make an effort to obtain the participation of volunteers working in as many areas of employment as possible.

We currently have volunteers specializing in the following fields:

Arbitration Banking Law Business Law Corporate Finance Child Protection Law Civil Litigation Commercial Litigation Commercial Real Estate Commercial Estate Planning Criminal Law - Crown Criminal Law - Defence Disciplinary Counsel, LSUC Employment Law Environmental Litigation Equality Litigation Family Law

Government Health Law Human Rights In-House Counsel Intellectual Property International Law Judiciary Labour Law - Union Side Labour Law - Management Legal Aid Prison Law Property Law Real Estate Securities Law Trademarks Wills and Estates

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please choose a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to read:

• For Students
• For Volunteers

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Guidelines

Students participating in the Shadow Program are taking part as professionals and we advise them during the orientation session that they should consider themselves to be governed by both the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association Codes of Professional Conduct.

We have set out the applicable rules below:

The Law Society of Upper Canada Rules of Professional Conduct

(1) Confidential Information:

2.03(1) A lawyer at all times shall hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of the client acquired in the course of the professional relationship and shall not divulge any such information unless expressly or impliedly authorized by the client or required by law to do so.

(2) Prohibition on Sexual Harassment:

5.03 (2) A lawyer shall not sexually harass a colleague, a staff member, a client, or any other person.

(3) Discrimination - Special Responsibility:

5.04 (1) A lawyer has a special responsibility to respect the requirements of human rights laws in force in Ontario and, specifically, to honour the obligation not to discriminate on the grounds of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offences (as defined in the Ontario Human Rights Code), marital status, family status, or disability with respect to professional employment of other lawyers, articled students, or any other person or in professional dealings with other members of the profession or any other person.

The Canadian Bar Association Code of Professional Conduct

(1) Confidential Information:

The lawyer has a duty to hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of the client acquired in the course of the professional relationship, and should not divulge such information unless disclosure is expressly or impliedly authorized by the client, required by law or otherwise permitted or required by this Code.

Links

• Guidelines to be Observed by Students who are Placed with a Member of the Judiciary
• Guidelines for Judges Concerning Shadow Matches
• Queen's University Harassment Policy
• Queen's University Code of Conduct

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Group Shadow Visit

The Shadow Program is offering the opportunity to participate in a Group Shadow Visit again this year. Students will choose to participate either in a one-on-one shadow visit OR a Group Visit.

Group visits will be scheduled for a Friday at the beginning of the Winter Term. A group of ten to twelve first year students will be accompanied by an upper year student to a large Toronto or Ottawa firm.

The first part of the visit will include an introduction to the firm and its areas of practice by articling students, associates, or partners. Students will then be divided into smaller groups and given an opportunity to shadow at least one volunteer from the firm.

The Group Visits are designed to allow students to be exposed to more than one area of practice. This structure also gives our volunteers more flexibility to accommodate students within their busy schedules.