The Law School Show

Dr. Wolfgang Alschner is an empirical legal scholar specialized in international economic law and the computational analysis of law.  He is co-founder of the investment treaty analytics portal www.mappinginvestmenttreaties.com and his research focuses on using social and computer science methods in order to empirically investigate international law.

In this interview we discuss the emerging field of empirical legal analysis, what impacts computer technology can have on the study and interpretation of the law, and the implications of incorporating AI and machine learning into a legal career.

Dr. Julie Macfarlane is a distinguished Full Professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. She is committed to Access to Justice research, and she is the Project Director of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project. Additionally, Professor Macfarlane has published extensively in the areas of conflict resolution, mediation, and legal practice, and she is named as one of Canada's 25 Most Influential Lawyers. If you are interested in developing a career in access to justice or in becoming a Law Professor someday, then this episode is for you!

If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about Professor Macfarlane’s work on access to justice, be sure to also check out Professor Macfarlane’s podcast, Jumping Off the Ivory Tower, at https://representingyourselfcanada.com/podcast/.

Interested in working for a full-service business law firm? Check out this episode before jumping into it! Jim Robson summered and articled at Blakes (One of Canada's top business law firms) before joining the firm as an associate. Jim started with the Corporate group and found his way into the Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group. We talk about his law school experience at the University of Toronto, on-campus interviews, competition lawyer's interactions with the Competition Bureau, a recent merger that Jim worked on, and much more.

Hugh Verrier is the Chairman of White & Case LLP. He manages the firm's strategy as well as its operations worldwide. In this episode, we follow his career path from a graduate of the University of Ottawa's law program to his current third term as chair of a major international law firm. Tune in to learn more about his challenges and advice!

Joel Miller has over forty years of family law experience. He was a partner and the family law chair of Ricketts Harris LLP. He still acts as counsel there but is also the lawyer behind the Family Law Coach. Over the years he noticed the significant growth of self-reps in family court who had good cases but lost 73% of the time when facing a lawyer on the other side. He helps to level the playing field by providing self-reps with cost-effective, accessible and transparent family law help in the form of legal coaching. ​

Gillian Akai is Chief Administrative Officer, Executive Vice President, and General Counsel at Postmedia Network Inc. Yes, all of those things at once! Obviously, Gillian is quite talented, but from experience I can tell you she is also honest and humble. I had the pleasure of talking with Gillian about the ins and outs of her current role, the path she took to get there, and who she is both as a person and a professional. This episode is chock-full of useful insights and tailored advice for the law student looking to shape a career that fits their skills and interests.

Anthony Daimsis has been teaching at the University of Ottawa since 2003. He is the current Director of the National Program, a program that leads to a dual JD/LL.L degree. He is also the Director of the common law's mooting program.

Prof. Daimsis teaches Contracts and Torts law, International Sales law, International Commercial Arbitration, ADR and legal writing. He also supervises the common law Jessup, Vis and FDI moot teams and serves as the faculty's moot program director.  He has advised South Asian countries in the area of Foreign investment and investment treaties. Prof. Daimsis is called to the Ontario Bar (Barrister and Solicitor). He has recently joined Littleton Chambers (London, England) as an associate door tenant. He works with the National Judicial Institute, a not-for-profit institution committed to building better justice through leadership in the education of judges in Canada and internationally.

Before teaching at the university, he worked at an international law firm located in Austria, as an associate. His work focused on foreign investment disputes, telecommunications and underground resources, in addition to a number of international commercial contract and construction disputes resolved under the auspices of the World Bank (ICSID) and various international commercial arbitration institutions.

As a leading authority in his field, Prof. Daimsis is frequently approached to serve as an arbitrator in domestic and international commercial disputes and is a sought after speaker on the topics of international arbitration and international sales law, most recently travelling to Myanmar to advise its government entities on investment into Myanmar.  He is on the ICDR panel of international arbitrators.

He is co-authoring the forthcoming International Commercial Arbitration and NAFTA Ch 11 Disputes from a Canadian Perspective. He is a contributing author for Dispute Resolution: Readings and Case Studies, 4th Edition, as well as International Business Transactions: Standard Forms and Documents and has edited a number of Business Law books used in business schools and MBA programs throughout North America.

In 2008 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Fellows and Legal Scholars of the Center for International Legal Studies for his contributions to its scholarly activities and publications and in 2011 was awarded the National Capital Award for teaching.

Prof. Daimsis is the lead instructor for the Professional Certificate in International Arbitration. This certificate aims to introduce senior lawyers to the world of International Arbitration, by covering the process from start to finish. For more information on the Professional Certificate, please follow:http://www.continue.uottawa.ca/program_EN.cfm?courseID=495&groupID=19&catID=4

Prof. Daimsis has recently delivered keynote addresses and lectures in cities, including London, New York, Naypyidaw, Stockholm, Tehran, to name only a few.

Adolfo Morais is an immigration lawyer living in Ottawa. He has a unique background as a foreign trained lawyer and also a Canadian lawyer. He came to Canada from Brazil with is family in 2008; as a newcomer, he had to face many challenges in life. Adolfo decided to continue pursuing the path as a legal professional. He spent five years in law schools and obtained two law degrees in Quebec and Ontario. He worked extremely hard to self-study French. Adolfo also took good care of his two young daughters during the education. Thanks to his positive attitude and efforts, Adolfo has become a successful immigration lawyer after he graduated from uOttawa in 2012. His story is inspiring for all law students.