We started at the Société de la francophonie manitobaine, the voice of the francophone community in Manitoba. They are responsible for several programs, including 233-ALLO, and they advocate for the importance of respecting and promoting minority language rights.

From there, we visited the Université de Saint-Boniface, which has supported the program for many years. They offer our students individual tutoring to help them develop their language skills, as well as language skills assessments and individualized learning plans.

Francofonds offers important scholarships to students in our A2JF program, including the Chartier Award named in honour of the recently retired Chief Justice of Manitoba.

A2JF students visit Francofonds.

Our last stop at Infojustice and the Cour du Banc du Roi was a great opportunity to learn more about the legal services offered in French. Infojustice helps underserved members of Manitoba’s French community with legal information, and in some cases advice and representation, and offers summer employment and term time internship opportunities for Robson Hall students.

Visiting Infojustice, which helps underserved members of Manitoba’s French community.

Of course, no tour of St. Boniface would be complete without a visit to Chocolatier Constance Popp on Provencher Boulevard. Constance herself welcomed the group and enthusiastically posed for a photo.

Law students visit Chocolatier Constance Popp (centre, back) at her Provencher Blvd shop.

All in all, our first walk was a big success, and we look forward to seeing our first-year students achieve their educational goals in the years to come.

All of the Robson Hall students found the experience of competing very worthwhile.  Pinette said, “Participating in the very first French section of the CNNC was a very rewarding experience! Negotiating is such a practical skill for lawyers and I am happy to have had the opportunity to practice those skills in my second language.”

 “The competition was an incredible experience and the negotiations tips and advice received from our coaches will be something that will benefit me throughout my career,” said Harvey. “I especially appreciated our coaches non-stop support and willingness to be there for us at any time and put their very busy lives on hold. We were also incredibly fortunate to travel with an amazing team and to learn some great skills and tactics from not only our coaches but the talented students competing in the competition.”

Jodi Plenert added, “We were so fortunate to not only participate in the competition, but to have such incredible coaches and teammates. It really makes the experience that much more fun and meaningful when you are not only learning a lot but laughing a lot, too!”

Hall had the following sage advice for future negotiators: “I think it’s normal for students to be nervous about negotiating: not only is it a form of public speaking where you are being judged on what you say, but it can also be stressful to be sitting directly across from your competition.  However, as with anything, the best way to become more comfortable with something is to practice it, and by the end of the competition it felt almost routine to sit down at the negotiating table.”

One tip I have for future competitors: when you begin speaking and the opposing counsel picks up a pen to take notes, take a look at their hands.  Their hands are usually shaking uncontrollably, and it may be reassuring to know that you are not the only person who is nervous! – Ramsay Hall, 3L

The Manitoba teams were expertly coached by three Robson Hall alumni practising in Winnipeg: Andrea Doyle, a lawyer engaged in a broad practice at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP; Andrew Torbiak, who practises Estates and Trusts with Tradition Law; and Heather Wadsworth, who practises family law at Hague Law. The coaches were filled with praise for the students’ performances.

Andrea Doyle, who was the coach for the French team, said, “I was honoured to coach these dedicated students. Kennedy and Chris worked very well as a team and spent considerable time preparing their strategies for each of the three negotiation rounds as well as practising their negotiation skills. Their complementary negotiating styles benefited them well. It was rewarding to see their confidence increase in further developing their negotiation strategies in French.

The judges were impressed with Chris and Kennedy’s preparation, application of negotiation skills and strategies in French as well as their excellent teamwork. I am very proud of Chris and Kennedy’s accomplishment! – Andrea Doyle, coach

 “This was a special year, and not just because we were back to an in-person competition. To hear the University of Manitoba’s name called not once but twice during the award ceremony was very special,” said Andrew Torbiak. “I’d like to congratulate all six Robson Hall students for their accomplishments, and their dedication leading up to the competition. On a Friday night in Montreal, all six students were back in the hotel preparing for their second and third rounds of negotiations the next morning and afternoon. From a coach’s perspective, it is so gratifying to see that kind of motivation.”

Robson Hall will continue to enjoy a reputation of strong student negotiators thanks to the performance put in by Jodi, Ben, Chris, Kennedy, Ramsay and Samantha. – Andrew Torbiak, coach

The admiration went both ways, as the students were also filled with praise for the coaches.  Pinette stated, “Many thanks to our coach, Andrea Doyle, for helping us perfect our strategy and practice our French. We could not have done it all without her.”

In speaking about Wadsworth and Torbiak, Harvey described “how absolutely incredible our coaches are and how fortunate each year the negotiations teams are to have them.”

Other local lawyers generously gave of their time to coach the students, including the late Andrew Slough, and Shimon Leibl, who together won the International Negotiation Competition on behalf of Robson Hall in 2015, and subsequently competed in Ireland. Slough recently and tragically passed away last month. Wadsworth, Torbiak, and Doyle wanted to recognize his involvement in preparing the Robson Hall teams for the CNNC. They stated, “A week prior to his untimely passing, Andrew Slough spent considerable time with the teams providing insightful and helpful comments to the students, which comments were continually referred to in the preparation for the competition. His knowledgeable and valuable comments were indispensable to the success of the Robson Hall teams at the CNNC.” 

A Bit More About the CNCC

Seven years ago, the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law hosted the inaugural national negotiation competition at Robson Hall, which has been run annually since then.  The size of the competition has been growing each year, both in terms of number of teams participating and number of law schools represented. 

The 2023 competition returned to an in-person format after being on-line for the past two pandemic years. This year, it involved three rounds of negotiation taking place over two days. Teams of two law students, each representing opposing parties to a fictitious business deal related to the purchase and sale of a wildlife sanctuary for a commercial tourism development, met in an attempt to negotiate an agreement, with each team possessing confidential details about client circumstances and settlement preferences.  The first two rounds were bi-party, with the last round involving a more complex three-party negotiation.  All of the negotiating took place under the scrutiny of judges, who scored each team’s negotiation skills.  At the end of each session, the judges provided detailed feedback to each team about what they did well, and potential areas for improvement. 

French Stream New This Year

This year was the first time that a parallel French stream was introduced to the CNCC.  Teams competed in French, using the same problems (which were translated) as the English stream. 

The timing of the introduction of the French stream is fortunate, as Robson Hall has recently enhanced its bilingual program, and the two members of our French team (Dick and Pinette) are students in that program, which allows students to develop their legal skills in French with the goal of improving access to justice in French.  Incidentally, Hall and Harvey are also students of that program, and all four took the Négociation juridique course taught by Andrea Doyle last year.

Professor Lorna Turnbull, who is a Co-Director of the bilingual program along with Professor Gerald Heckman, stated, “The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law has for the past decade offered students the opportunity to pursue part of their legal education in French. Beginning in the Fall of 2022, Robson Hall introduced the Concentration in Access to Justice in French thanks to generous support from Justice Canada’s Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Fund.”

“To place so highly in English and in French is a testament to the quality and hard work of both the students and their teacher and coach, Andrea herself,” Turnbull added.

“We wish to thank the organizers of the CNNC for implementing a French stream to the competition this year,” said Doyle. “Kennedy and Chris found that participating in the CNNC was a valuable learning experience demonstrating their ability to represent clients in French.

“Our participation in the French stream of the CNNC would not have been possible without the support of the Robson Hall community, including Dean [Richard] Jochelson, Professor [Bruce] Curran and Professors Turnbull and Heckman, the co-directors of the bilingual program. We also appreciated being able to spend time preparing with the Robson Hall teams participating in the CNNC in English and their coaches, Andrew Torbiak and Heather Wadsworth. We are thankful for everyone’s support in this endeavour.”

“With encouragement from our local francophone bar, and working with Professor Heckman, we received our first Justice Canada: Access to Justice in Both Official Languages grant in 2011,” said Dr. Lorna Turnbull, Professor and co-director of the Concentration. “It is fantastic to have achieved this milestone on our path to better supporting access to justice for all Manitobans. It is also wonderful to provide so many bright future lawyers with this opportunity right here at home.”

“The A2JF Concentration formalizes and reinforces Robson Hall’s long-term commitment to improving access to justice in French in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada,” said Dr. Gerald Heckman, Associate Professor and likewise co-director of the Concentration. “Our students are already helping InfoJustice, Manitoba’s francophone legal information centre, carry out this important work. I expect that in the decades to come, our A2JF Concentration graduates will contribute to establishing a strong network of practitioners to whom francophone Manitobans can turn for legal services in their language.”

While law students at Robson Hall have had the opportunity to take some of their law courses in French since 2011, this is the first time a formal Concentration is being offered. Official recognition of bilingual legal training requires that students take approximately one third of their Juris Doctor degree courses in French. Not just a handful of French electives, the Concentration is highly structured with a bi-weekly Passport to Law in Frenchcourse being offered across all three years of the degree program bringing together first, second, and third year students. Passport tackles important competencies, including cultural competencies, needed in a legal career generally, and in a bilingual career in particular, exposing students to various subjects concerning French language communities in Manitoba and across Canada.

“As an out-of-province student, my decision to study at Robson Hall was because of the bilingual program,” said Trusha Dash, a second-year law student. “The opportunity to continue and enhance my French language training in a legal capacity set the school apart…. Through the bilingual program, not only did I get to network and learn in French, but I also felt a part of this close-knit community with whom I found support, friendship, and understanding. These are people I can ask for help, and count on and the value of that is immeasurable.”

Law school is no easy feat to begin with, especially for students who undertake the additional challenge of a bilingual legal education. The A2JF program at Robson Hall is committed to student success, facilitating their entry to a bilingual education with pass/fail first year bilingual courses, optional French-language tutoring provided at no charge, and the possibility for entrance scholarships. As a result, students are welcomed into the community without the pressure of marks or bell curves, and can profit from a tight-knit community and an immersion into Franco-Manitoban culture.

“Since I finished high school 10 years ago my chances to speak in French and participate in the Franco-Manitoban community had been few and far between,” said Bradley Légaré, also in second year. “The bilingual program at Robson Hall gave me the opportunity to reintegrate into the Franco-Manitoban community by way of an accepting and encouraging environment. However, the benefits I received from this program were more than just personal. The program also gave me a sense of direction for my career.”

Legal education in Manitoba must reflect that we live in a nation and province where English and French versions of laws are equally authoritative and access to the courts is guaranteed in either language. While there are Francophone minority communities throughout Canada that desire and, in many circumstances, are entitled to legal services in French, there have been limited opportunities in many common law provinces to pursue a legal education in French. The official recognition of the A2JF Concentration is an important start towards meeting this need for students and to enhancing access to justice for the clients they will ultimately be able to serve.

Development of the A2JF Concentration would not have been possible without continuing support from Justice Canada’s Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, Heritage Canada and our many community partners, including the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba, InfoJustice, Université de Saint-Boniface, Centre canadien de français juridique and francophone lawyers, judges and community members.

This is the second team spirit prize a Robson Hall moot team has won this year, in addition to the Spirit of Negotiation award presented at the Canadian National Negotiation Competition earlier in March. Last year the Manitoba Team of Reanna Blair and Menal Al Fekih received an Honourable Mention for the Spirit of Negotiation award and in 2019, the Manitoba Laskin Moot team won the “Spirit of the Laskin” award, presented to the law school that (according to the Laskin rules) “best exemplifies the Laskin spirit of fair competition, commitment to bilingualism, and professional camaraderie.” There may be something in the water at Robson Hall, but our moot teams seem to be excelling in the camaraderie, professionalism and fair competition departments!

At this year’s Bastarache moot, students were asked to moot on the constitutionality of an amendment to the federal Official Languages Act that would require every judge on the Supreme Court of Canada to understand both official languages without the assistance of an interpreter, effectively requiring judges to be functionally bilingual. The problem is far from theoretical: the amendment has in fact been proposed in Bill C-13, introduced by the federal government on March 1. The competition featured students from the University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, Université de Montréal and Université de Moncton.

“In addition to mastering areas of law with which they were not familiar, including language rights and the interpretation of our Constitution’s amending formula, Manitoba’s Bastarache students learned the art of appellate advocacy and how to craft and deliver persuasive written and oral arguments,” Heckman explained, adding that with French being a second language for all this year’s team members, “this is most extraordinary.”

“I would like to express my appreciation to all the francophone jurists, including some of my Robson Hall colleagues, who acted as judges in our practices and, combining tough questions with a healthy dose of encouragement, prepared our students for the competition,” said Heckman.

One highlight of the students’ preparation was to be judged in their final practise by the Honourable Richard Chartier, Chief Justice of Manitoba and a language rights champion in his own right.

“As always, I am grateful to the Association des juristes d’expression française,” Heckman added, “which played a key role in recruiting jurists as practise judges, to Sacha Paul for sharing with our Laskin and Bastarache teams his wisdom and experience in appellate advocacy, and to our coach, Richard Goulet, for his constant encouragement to team members and willingness to read “one more draft factum” and listen to “one more oral argument”!”

As coach of the University of Manitoba Bastarache moot team Goulet said that despite working in their second language, the team demonstrated the extent to which hard work, dedication and perseverance pays off. “In a very short time, their advocacy and French language skills improved tremendously,” he observed. “This was noticed by all those judging the competition as well as student participants who selected the U of M team as recipient of the Bastarache prize awarded to the team which most exemplified the spirit of fair play, dedication to French and camaraderie between colleagues.”

“As a coach it was very gratifying to have such a team of gifted individuals who listened carefully and incorporated the advice of judges, practitioners and coaches and worked very hard to achieve their objectives.” – Richard Goulet, Senior Implementation Officer, Manitoba Hydro

Team member Ramsay Hall (2L) shared the experience of mooting in a second language. “Although making nuanced legal arguments in French was initially very daunting given that French is my second language, by the end of the moot it was clear that my efforts had led to a huge amount of improvement, and I am now far more confident in both my capacity to argue orally and my French-language abilities,” he said, adding, “I learned so much about language rights, and it was very satisfying to be able to show this off by giving a well-prepared answer to a judge’s difficult question; the back-and-forth discussions that I had with the judges were my favourite part of the moot experience.”

Catherine Litinsky (3L) who graduates this spring, was also glad to refine both her French language and litigation skills, and was most appreciative of the team’s coaches. “Throughout this experience I learned the strength in asking for help and guidance, especially from our coaches who were not only knowledgeable in the sphere of our topic, but gracious with their time,” she said.

Researcher Ashley Fouad (2L) was very proud of the team’s work, “particularly as a team of anglophones competing in a French competition,” she noted, adding that from her perspective, “Researching for the Bastarache was a big learning curve. I had a lot of late nights spent reading both English and French texts. I learned so much about research, finding appropriate sources fast, and properly summarizing them for arguments.”

Kennedy Pinette (2L), confirmed that taking part in the Bastarache Moot was one of the most rewarding experiences she has had in law school so far. “I learned so much about advocacy and language rights while being part of such an amazing team,” she said. “I am so proud of what we have accomplished, it was an honour to represent Robson Hall!”

Much is to be gained from the experience of competing in a second language as team member Sara Fretwell (2L) confirmed. “Representing Manitoba in the Bastarache moot on French language rights will undoubtedly help my future in law,” she shared. “The experience was empowering, and the camaraderie was abundant. Starting out, I was inclined to doubt myself, but through personal dedication and the support of my teammates and coaches, I am leaving with nothing to fear and much to be hopeful about. Reflecting on the Bastarache Moot 2022 will always evoke a feeling of sentimentality without any sense of regret.”

While a variety of bilingual course offerings have been a staple in the Faculty’s course catalogue for the past eight or more years, professors Lorna Turnbull and Gerald Heckman have high hopes of seeing the collection of courses soon turned into an official program.

“It has been so amazing to work on developing this opportunity to enhance access to justice for French-speaking Manitobans and enhance the career opportunities for the students who choose to take these courses,” said Turnbull. “Since we received our first Justice Canada grant in 2011 until today we have grown with input and support from then community to create courses that are responsive to the needs of a whole range of Manitobans who often go unheard. We will continue to improve the range of courses and their content to be responsive to our communities including Metis people, newcomer communities and others.”

Called to the Manitoba Bar in July of 2020, alumnus Tarik Daoudi now teaches a section of the mandatory Legal Methods course for first-year law students. Currently a lawyer at the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba, French is his first language and he already brings to the classroom a wealth of experience working with the French legal community in Manitoba. As a law student, he participated in a French-language moot competition, and in recent years, has acted as a judge for practices leading up to other bilingual moot competitions such as the Bastarache and the Laskin.

“The laws of Manitoba and Canada are in English and French,” said Daoudi. “All of the decisions of the Supreme Court [of Canada] are published in official French and English versions.  Any amount of capacity in French is a huge advantage for a lawyer working in this country and in this province in particular.”

Increasing the number of French-speaking lawyers in Manitoba is essential to ensuring access to justice for the growing number of French-speaking people settling in the province, Daoudi said, citing recent immigration. “For these people, accessing justice in French is a necessity, not a preference,” he said. “Lawyers in Manitoba are obligated to tell a client of their right to proceed in French where appropriate and must refer the client elsewhere if they cannot competently handle the matter in French.”

Another instance in which law students developing their capacity to speak French may gain considerable advantages is where “many lawyers may conduct interviews with clients in French but file documents and make pleadings in English (with the consent of the client, of course),” said Daoudi. “Even in such a case, having a small amount of capacity in French can be a big advantage to truly understanding and thereby advocating for a client.”

Third-year law student Jacqueline Pelland worked with professors Turnbull and Heckman this summer, and also obtained summer employment at the Centre canadien de francais juridique (CCFJ) in 2020 and InfoJustice this summer (2021), working entirely in French.

With French as her first language, she jumped at the chance to take some of her legal studies in French upon hearing about the opportunity within the first few weeks of law school. “I wanted to give myself increased opportunities to serve more people with my future legal practice,” she said, “to maintain my existing French language skills, to facilitate learning Michif outside of my legal studies and to give myself the added challenge of learning specialized language in French throughout law school.”

Pelland plans to practice Aboriginal law, Indigenous law, litigation, family law and regulatory law. “My goal is to open a legal centre in Winnipeg that provides affordable and pro bono legal services, as well as other wellness services,” she said, explaining, “for example, a walk-in medical clinic, transitional housing, community gathering space, daycare, etcetera, to ensure better access to justice for community members.”

Pelland, who in addition to the basic courses, also took an elective course entirely in French (Droit linguistiques with Dr. Heckman), encourages incoming law students with some knowledge of French to “at least give it an honest try, even if it seems intimidating because one’s French skills are not where one wants or hopes them to be.”

“My personal view is that we have our whole careers ahead of us to improve on our existing language skills, on top of the current opportunities to practice our French in the bilingual courses,” said Pelland. “The extra work is worthwhile, because the result is skilled and knowledgeable law graduates who can practice in two languages and offer more people legal services and support than they would have been able to otherwise. Additionally, I think this program has the potential to set precedent to create curriculum that is bilingual in other languages, too (for example, anishinaabemowin, michif, nêhiyawêwin and English).

While Daoudi and Pelland had the advantage of having French as their langue maternelle, Chris Dick, starting his second year of law this fall, had been in French immersion from Kindergarten to Grade 9, but had not really used the language much since then, other than having the opportunity to go to Haiti on two occasions prior to starting law school.

He first heard about the opportunity to take French-language law courses at Robson Hall in an email from the Faculty’s Admissions Officer sent to all incoming first-year law students. “The opportunity to improve my French and gain familiarity with legal jargon, as well as the possibility of receiving a bursary were my primary motivators,” he said.

Happy with his decision, Dick said, “I believe that participating in the bilingual program could open the door to a wide range of government positions for which bilingualism is a requirement, and it gives me a competitive advantage when applying to positions in the private sector. Having proficiency in legal French will also allow me to provide legal services to Franco-Manitobans.”

Because of his participation in bilingual law courses, he has also had the chance to meet with the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Member of Parliament and Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, “which was pretty cool,” he said.

“I would encourage prospective students to remember that French post-secondary studies are a privilege from which they can derive great benefit, both personally and professionally,” he said. “French post-secondary studies are an investment in themselves, and any extra upfront work can pay dividends in the future and lead to opportunities currently unforeseen.”

For more information on opportunities to study law in French at the University of Manitoba, please visit the bilingual course webpage.