A Kominar Chronicle: In the beginning… 

There’s been a lot going on since I’ve last been in communication. At the same time it all seems very trivial. The novelty of being in Australia has worn off and I’m pretty used to the accent now. The reality of school work has finally truly hit home.

The first of a handful of assignments was recently handed down. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “What has he been doing all this time if not working?”. Well, up to this point work has mainly consisted of regurgitating materials found inside the textbook during a weekly tutorial session. Work so far could be compared to daily homework as opposed to the serious time investment of an assignment.

The assignment is a written appellate argument in the case of Alexia Harriton. It’s pretty interesting because it’s a real case that’s standing before the Australia High Court of Appeals now. The judges ruling will be handed down in a few months and they’re effectively doing the same thing that we are. We will be able to compare our assignments against theirs and see first hand how they interpret the law and which facts they gave weight too. It’s a wrongful life case, which in short means that due to negligence on the doctor’s behalf a child is suing for being born with a disability. It’s highly charged and pretty interesting once you get into the details of the case, deeply philosophical at certain points. Existence vs. Non-existence can you compare the two?

But enough of that, Halloween is coming up and the Canadian Law Students Association is putting on a real party. This coming Monday, the 31st, we’re heading over to Delano’s for a private party. They’ve rented out the top floor and arranged for themed-drink specials all night. Having lost any sort of social network I had dealing with crafting and costume related things, I’ve been forced to get creative with the materials around me. I’m heading out as the Devil’s Advocate. Photographic proof of my attempt is sure to follow after the ‘ween. You’ve been warned.

On a final note, I’ve been chatting with people all day about a new friend who lives outside my window. We think that he’s an Australian Black House Spider I’ve been watching his drama unfold all day as he feasts on tiny insects that are foolish enough to get caught in his web. He’s pretty quick on the draw and loves the recluse of the window pane.
Leave comments with potential names for him!

Last night marked a return to the past with a “Back to School” themed party night at Don’s Tavern. The venue was decorated pretty well with lockers, children’s finger painting, and blackboards all over the place.

There was one particularly peculiar item about the evening however. I know that I was privileged enough to be able to attend a private school during my time in Canada, however one thing we never had at school was a fireworks display to bring class to session. Yes, that’s right, there was a fireworks display put on over the university lake.

There was a musical interlude as some friends of mine had a desperate want to tickle the ivories and play the drums during the party. We left Don’s briefly and headed into the music room conveniently adjacent to our location.

Aside from that you can expect to see the typical ‘party’ photos. Photos and photos of people you don’t know. More girls than guys were dressed up in uniforms. I had no complaints because it made my getup that much more memorable.

Enjoy the verbs.

Yesterday saw the conclusion of my first advocacy exercise. Essentially, advocacy entails speaking out (or ‘advocating’) on the behalf of your client. In this particular case I was called to the defence of Paul Gardner. He pleaded guilty to striking a police officer and it was my job to enter a plea in mitigation of sentence. It was my job to tell a sob story, be deferential to the judge, and get him the smallest sentence possible. There was no real research involved as this was our first advocacy assignment. The focus was on public speaking with a strong law theme, we were being graded on our coherence, composure and clarity.

I made a crucial mistake of changing my game plan last minute which caused my organization to suffer. After some initial nervousness described to me as a shoulder shake my subconscious calmed down and I proceeded smoothly. During my introduction I half-heartedly deferred a semi-rhetorical question to the judge asking permission to proceed with my outline of facts. I was looking for something, anything, a nod, a blink, movement… something. I suppose an icy glare is something. It was quite a learning experience because the judge(professor Colvin) took the role seriously and acted as a judge would. No semi-playful-half-heartedly-rhetorical bullshit, this is a court of law. Lesson learned.

All in all, a very valuable experience, the feedback was professional and valid. I’m looking forward to my next opportunity to improve myself. At the end of it all Paul was given an Intensive Correction Order for a period of 1 year to be served at home.
^{“Kominar for the defence, your Honor”}

As you may have well gathered I’ve been getting into the daily routine of things here. Things have slowed in pace a bit. Class is progressing at a good rate, they don’t expect too much and they won’t accept too little.

This past week we had an exercise in Australian Legal Systems where we ran a negotiation. Both parties received the same information and we were to come to an amicable solution through a negotiation session. We were only graded on our ability to speak clearly, and reframing others’ ideas, not so much on whether we settled too early and so forth. It was meant as an introductory exercise into representing clients and learning to speak eloquently and intelligently. My partner Tom and I were on the ball and we were tough but fair. All parties involved were happy with the outcome of the negotiation and no chairs were thrown throughout the proceedings. We were to treat the negotiation as if it were real which meant dressing appropriately. I went to Myer on the weekend and found a nice suit and pair of shoes to compliment it. There are no pictures as of yet but fear not, they’ll be coming next week when I’m called to advocate a plea of mitigation of sentence in the moot court.

So to quench the appetite for more pictures I’ve put up a photo set of pictures that I’ve taken of the campus. I’ll be adding to it from time to time as I get a chance to take the shots I want. But enjoy this initial offering in the meanwhile.

Thanksgiving doesn’t appear to be on the radar of the Australian’s here but many of my Canadian compatriots will be celebrating by cooking up a celebratory turkey. I don’t know my exact plans yet but I’ll end up with some sort of Canadian contingency. I suppose it’s worthwhile to note that this is probably my first ‘family dinner’ being missed back home. It’s sad in a way that I wish I could be there but it’s inevitable given the current nature of things. When I took off for Australia I knew it would mean time away from family during these special occasions. I’ll be thinking of them and past memories this coming Sunday with fondness.