twenty-five: because of her I will be meeting Beverly McLachlin tomorrow =)

Ok I think I have to make a concession, this isn't going to be finished in 3 years... but I guess I'll just add whenever I feel the urge so I have something to look back on. I don't know when I stopped writing in my journal (maybe when life just got too busy), and I'm finding my memory is getting crowded out with all the stuff they make me learn at school. Honestly, I don't know why I'm there half the time... but after working in the summer I have gotten to see another side of law and justice and I feel some relief knowing that there's so much more out there than I first thought. I definitely have people to thank for that.

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Several years ago a judge noticed yet another deficiency in our imperfect legal system, but instead of writing about it or studying it she decided to go out there and do something to change the way things are done. For a city and province that is more left than right, it is scary to think this kind of program has not existed until now. People have been falling through the cracks of the system by being 'self-represented litigants'. Using the term 'self-representing litigant' is really just a euphemism for unrepresented, or in a more practical sense - screwed.

I've been told by countless graduates that when you enter the work world you really realize how little you know, but even the bit of knowledge we've learned in school is leaps and bounds beyond what your average person who can't afford a lawyer knows when they set off to navigate the twists and turns of 'justice'. Is it really justice? No, of course not and as a person of influence that judge was able to set into motion something that could revolutionize the lackadaisical approach it seems the law firms in this city approach Pro Bono work.

She rallied up the leaders in the community, and was able to mobilize people with the same vision with her. And my favourite part of all about this story is as she was doing something she is passionate about on her one year sabbatical, others were drawn to her. Sometimes in the most bizarre of circumstances. One involving two people who just happened to be on the same flight home from Toronto, who had gotten to actually know each other beyond a typical student/teacher relationship because the student couldn't find a job right away and spent some time in the summer following an interesting court case. 

She was also able to spark my interest in the law in a way no textbook or even the most articulate Supreme Court decision ever could. Sometimes reading about people with the labels of plaintiff, defendant, accused, takes away from the human aspect of the law. But studying the law through the eyes of someone in poverty, now that is eye-opening. Thanks for helping me find a glimmer of hope to hold on to as I trudge through the motions of learning without actually doing. You have inspired me, and your confidence in me has made me realize the world is my oyster. Thanks for always looking out for me too, your emails always bring a smile to my face. Especially the one I got today about your plans to button-hole Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin tomorrow for an introduction :)