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 program provides students with the chance to gain a first hand perspective of the day-to-day work of a lawyer.  Through the experience students also gain a better appreciation of the practical application of their legal education. It serves as both a learning and a networking opportunity.

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.

Students are placed with a variety of practitioners in different of legal fields and include judges, practitioners, in-house counsel, lawyers in the public service. 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.

Please contact us at shadow@queensu.ca if you have any questions.

• Activities

• Areas of Law
  

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Guidelines

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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, trials and jury selection

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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 Criminal Law - Crown Criminal Law - Defence Disciplinary Counsel, LSUC Employment Law Environmental Litigation Equality Litigation Estate Planning 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 Real Estate and Property Law Securities Law Tax Law Trademarks Wills and Estates

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please choose a FAQ 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.

The applicable rules are set out 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