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Lakehead law students make winning arguments

Aspiring lawyers Amanda Gallo and Nathan Wainwright led the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law to LU's first-ever win at the prestigious Arnup Cup competition.
Arnup Cup Winners LU

THUNDER BAY – Challenged to prove the innocence of a man charged with using a handgun to steal $20,000 from a automated teller machine inside a convenience store, third-year students at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law showed they were up to the task.

Not only did they manage to successfully defend the suspect at a mock trial exercise at the federal courthouse in Toronto last weekend, they proved their case better than any other aspiring attorneys, taking home the prestigious Arnup Cup.

It was the first win at the event for Lakehead, and earned Amanda Gallo and Nathan Wainwright, along with alternates Phaedra Olinyk and Austin Nix, a spot at the Sopinka Cup, the national competition, next month in Ottawa.

Gallo said they didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, partially because they spent first semester on placement.

But the hands-on experience, which many law students don’t get in the classroom, will be invaluable once they pass the bar and start practicing.

Gallo, who wants to be a criminal defence attorney, said it taught them to think on their feet.

“It’s definitely a little bit different when you’re in a trial because a trial is such a live creature. You never really know what’s going to happen until you’re in the thick of it,” Gallo said.

“When Nathan and I are up at counsel table and we’re working on the trial, we’re listening to the evidence of witnesses and we have to make decisions at the fly as to when we need to jump in, how we need to change our strategy, depending on how that evidence comes out and really be flexible accordingly.”

Wainwright said any time a law students can get involved in a real practical exercise, the better. His other option was a bankruptcy course.

It was the behind-the-scenes work he found fascinating, sitting down with the team and strategizing for the trial.

“Planning and executing it makes it all worthwhile.”

Wainwright said the evidence made it an easy case to prove. The Crown witness told one story to police, but was caught on a wiretap saying something completely different.

“It wasn’t that large of a leap for us to say that this was a set-up,” he said.

However, he suspects when they get to the Sopinka Cup, there’s a good chance they’ll have to take the opposite side of the case, that of the prosecution.

“It’s difficult, we obviously are familiar with the facts and the witnesses in the case, and whatnot, but it’s an internal struggle, where we’ve bought in so much with our theory that we’ve got to change it. But it’s a fun exercise.”

Kimberley Gagan, the founding director of Lakehead University’s Community Legal Services, helped prepare the students for the mock trial and called it a great opportunity for the participants to practice the skills they’ve learned in two-and-a-half years of law school.

“(Students) come out of that law-school education ready to hit the ground running. Our students are not required to article like every other law school in the province, because they have these hands-on exercises and skills built right into the program,” Gagan said.

“As a result they’re ready that much faster and I think that was reflected in their performances.”  



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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