New Osgoode program assists law students to meet needs of people with disabilities
Written by the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
New
Osgoode program assists law students to meet needs of people with disabilities
York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, which
has been a leader in “law in action” for several decades, has approved the
creation of a new experiential education program to assist law students in
understanding the issues of people with disabilities.
The Disability Law Intensive Program, the first of
its kind in Canada, will provide second- and third-year Osgoode Juris Doctor
(JD) students with a unique opportunity to learn about a vast scope of law that
mostly affects people with disabilities.
Osgoode Professor Roxanne Mykitiuk will co-direct
the new course
In partnership with ARCH Disability Law Centre, a
specialty community legal aid clinic dedicated to defending and advancing the
equality rights of people with disabilities in Ontario, the students will
engage in the practice of disability law through involvement in individual
client advocacy and systemic policy-based advocacy.
Starting next September, up to 12 students will
participate in the program throughout the 2013-2014 academic year. A
skills training week will be held in August at ARCH, after which the students
will begin their clinical placements. Every two weeks throughout the
academic year, the students will participate in an academic seminar at Osgoode
and they will also be required to complete a major research paper as part of
the 15-credit program.
“The Disability Law Intensive Program is a
wonderful opportunity for Osgoode, and its students, to make a positive
difference within the disability community,” said Osgoode Dean Lorne
Sossin. “We are grateful for collaborative partnerships with organizations
such as ARCH because they expose our students to law in action.”
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Marian MacGregor, an adjunct faculty member and
director of Osgoode’s Community and Legal Aid Services Program, will co-direct
the course with Mykitiuk
The program, which was approved by Osgoode Faculty
Council on the International Day of Disabled Persons (December 3), will be co-directed
in 2013-2014 by Osgoode Professor Roxanne Mykitiuk, an internationally
recognized expert in disability rights, and Marian MacGregor, an adjunct
faculty member and director of Osgoode’s Community and Legal Aid Services
Program (CLASP).
MacGregor was awarded a Community Leadership in
Justice Fellowship in 2011 from the Law Foundation of Ontario that allowed her
to take an eight-month leave of absence from CLASP to help develop the
Disability Law Intensive Program.
“The impact of disability, often combined with
poverty, can create serious access to justice barriers,” said MacGregor, who
has practised extensively in the area of poverty law. ”This new program
will produce lawyers who are better equipped to meet the distinct needs of
clients with disabilities, as well as involve students in the systemic change
that needs to take place.”
Mykitiuk added that the Disability Law Intensive
Program, which was designed with student consultation and input, will provide a
first-hand opportunity to see “how law applies in concrete ways to people,
problems and issues and how the practice of law can be very different than the
study of law.”
The Disability Law Intensive Program is the latest
in a growing number of clinical and intensive programs that form part of Osgoode
Hall Law School’s celebrated experiential education offerings.
Osgoode is the first law school in Canada to
introduce an experiential education requirement – referred to as a “praxicum” –
into its JD curriculum. Commencing with the Class of 2015, which arrived
in September 2012, every Osgoode JD student will be exposed to law in action
through an experiential course or program as part of their legal education.
In addition, Osgoode has opened an Office of
Experiential Education to serve as a catalyst for the development of new
courses, programs and clinics, and provide support to the faculty, students and
staff.
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