Osgoode’s Certificate in Family Law Practice Skills Fills Mentorship Gaps

If Aubrey Sherman had his way, every law student with an interest in family law would complete the Osgoode Certificate in Family Law Practice Skills.

Sherman, a faculty advisor on the program, says that law school only takes budding lawyers part of the way along their skills-development road to practice-readiness.

“You can’t learn how to be a good family law advocate just by reading caselaw,” says Sherman, the managing partner at Kitchener firm Sherman Law LLP. “Law school is great for teaching you how to think critically, analyze cases and research well, but not the human skills that you need for client management, counsel management and court management. Most people learn those skills by doing and this course fills that gap.”

Sherman knows the value of this particular certificate in family law better than most, having completed the program himself as a student before being asked to return as an instructor.

“I often refer back to the materials and think about what I learned in the course, which is a rare thing to say about any kind of continuing professional development. It’s one of the very best CPD programs available,” he says.

Laura Shaw, another former alumni now returning as a faculty advisor, says the program was a crucial part of her career pivot to a broader family law practice after 20 years working in child protection law – an extremely specific niche that operates largely insulated from the rest of the family law bar.

“I certainly had transferable skills and a tremendous amount of litigation experience, because when you work for children’s aid societies, a large part of your time is spent in court for trials and motions,” Shaw explains. “But I quickly realized that I needed some more education in strict family law practice.”

Participation in the certificate in family law paid immediate dividends for Shaw when she joined the team at Jamal Family Law, led by Ontario family law luminary Fareen Jamal.  

“I think that taking that course made me more marketable to Fareen,” Shaw says. “She was looking for a lawyer and we had mutual admirers who thought we should get together.” 

Over the course of 10 modules, certificate candidates take part in a combination of interactive discussion-based lectures and practical skills workshops, with personalized feedback from senior family law judges and experienced counsel – including Sherman and Shaw.

The spine of Osgoode’s certificate in family law skills program is its simulated client feature, developed with the help of legal education pioneer Paul Maharg – a scholar particularly renowned for his work in the field of technology-enhanced learning.

The clients are portrayed by a select group of professionals who are specially trained in specific family law scenarios and are also able to assess and provide feedback about student performance.    

“It allows lawyers without much experience to take risks and learn in a safe environment,” Sherman says. “In real life when you ask a client for feedback, they may be too afraid to say what they really think, but the simulated clients will be truthful about anything that may have bothered them. Then you’re also getting feedback from senior lawyers and judges, which is invaluable.”  

As they progress through the simulated client’s case in subsequent modules, attendees build a full case file of materials covering each key stage of a family law matter, which is part of the reason Shaw recommends the program to anyone new to family law.

“I work in Peel and Halton outside Toronto and there are a huge number of newer calls who are in need of mentoring, either because they work on their own or they’re in a firm where they’re the only person doing family law,” she says. “This is a great way to learn the ropes and get into a good mentoring system.”  

But it’s not just new lawyers who can benefit from the guidance and mentorship of the family law bar’s leading lights, according to Sherman.

“I came in with 16 years of experience and I found it tremendously helpful, so I can only imagine what value a student with less experience would take away,” he says. “One of the things that I really appreciated was the opportunity to learn about advocacy and client management skills from very senior practitioners in a context other than as opposing counsel. When your guard is down, you can speak and share more honestly. The faculty and instructors really commit to sharing stories, resources, precedent and skills.”

Shaw says the timing of the certificate in family law program, which proceeds online with 10 day-long modules spread over three months, was another reason the course appealed to her.

“It’s easy to fit into a working lawyer’s schedule, because you can book off the days for the program and work around them, to continue practising and carrying files while you learn,” she says.