Objectives:
The objective of the Municipal Government Lawyering externship is to facilitate learning directly from municipal government legal practitioners, to expose students to many areas of a municipal legal practice and to grant access to experiential opportunities not otherwise available.
This program is available for up to 10 students. Students will be exposed to a variety of the legal work carried out by the City of Toronto's Legal Services Division. The Division provides a broad range of legal services including Litigation, Real Estate, Planning and Administrative Law, Employment Law and Municipal Law. The Legal Services Division also functions as a strategic resource to Council, staff and the City's agencies, boards and commissions.
Goals:
Participating students will gain a strong understanding of municipal governance and of the legal services performed by the legal division of a large municipality. They will receive an initiation into the many areas of a legal practice at a large municipality. Students will learn skills related to such a practice. Students will also learn about the professional responsibility of lawyers working for a municipal government. Students will develop their understanding through direct learning, practical application, and experiential exposure.
While assignments will necessarily vary from term to term, and from student to student, students enrolled in this externship can expect to be exposed to the following fundamental skills:
- problem solving,
- legal analysis and reasoning,
- legal research,
- communication,
- negotiation,
- litigation,
- alternative dispute resolution procedures,
- organization and management of legal work, and
- recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas.
Training:
Students will participate in seminars focused on municipal governance and the legal issues arising from municipal endeavours. The students will be offered a variety of experiential opportunities to better understand the workings of a large municipality and the legal challenges it encounters. Students will apply their learning to assignments and research questions.
Students will meet weekly at Metro Hall (King & John Streets in Downtown Toronto) on Tuesday evenings from 4:45-6:15 p.m. These meetings will consist of a series of lectures and presentations by City lawyers. These sessions will review key municipal law concepts and issues including: overview of governing legislation, municipal jurisdiction, Committee and Council structure, municipal by-laws and legal challenges to by-laws.
Students are also expected to participate in 4 or more of the offered experiential components, which vary from year to year but have included informative walking tours, visits to City divisions, attendances at City of Toronto Council, boards and other meetings, observations of litigation or other proceedings, and participation in mock hearings.
Assignments:
Students will be assigned weekly readings and short weekly assignments to complete on their own time. Students will also prepare a legal memorandum related to a current issue and based on their own research. Arrangements will be made for students to attend experiential opportunities at the City.
Enrolment:
This Clinic uses the standard course selection process. Select this course as you would any other.
