News

Congratulations to Schulich Law students Mikaleigh Cairns and Jaden Christopher who were crowned the winners of the 28^th annual Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark National Labour Arbitration Competition. This marks the sixth win for the law school since the moot was founded in 1999.

Held at the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Toronto from January 30 to February 1, the Schulich Law team competed against students from seven other Canadian law schools. Teams of two participated in a mock two-round grievance arbitration hearing before tripartite panels, arguing once for the employer and once for the union.

This year’s problem was long and complex and circled intricate questions arising from the duty to accommodate: the employer’s duty to enquire, its duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship, and the varying obligations of three parties – employer, union, and griever – to cooperate in seeking and finding accommodation.

The Schulich School of Law faced off against Queen's and the University of British Columbia in the first two rounds, ultimately meeting the University of Toronto in the final before a panel of judges that included the Labour Board Chairs of British Columbia and Ontario, as well as Justice Eileen E. Gillese of the Ontario Court of Appeal.

From left: Taillon, Christopher, Cairns, and Richardson.

“Mikaleigh and Jaden’s performances were spectacular,” says coach Augustus ‘Gus’ Richardson, KC, an arbitrator and vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Labour Board. “Their presentations made significant impressions on both the judges and members of the audience, many of whom were from the local labour and employment law sectors.”

Fellow coach Andrew Taillon (LLB ’06, LLM ’16), managing lawyer of the Labour, Employment and Human Rights team at the Nova Scotia Department of Justice and part-time Schulich Law faculty member, says he was happy to return to the moot after taking part 20 years ago as a law student. “Working with Gus was a great experience, as was the opportunity to coach two amazing students.”

Competing in the moot also had a lasting impact on the students who represented the Schulich School of Law. They are grateful to their coaches and co-counsel and encourage other law students to participate in a competitive moot if they are able.

Mikaleigh Cairns:  “A highlight for me was being challenged to prepare both the employer and union sides of the argument. It was equally difficult and rewarding to argue different sides of the fact pattern just hours apart and to see how each team approached the issues we had all spent months analyzing. I also learned a lot about how to be a better advocate and deliver an organized, clear, and easy-to-follow oral argument since there were no written submissions to further substantiate our positions.”

Jaden Christopher:   “The labour arbitration moot was a fantastic experience through and through. The work involved in preparing for both the employer and union arguments was a great learning opportunity, allowing us to engage deeply with the problem’s complicated facts and issues. The moot’s focus on oral advocacy and responding to questions in real-time also made us acutely aware of our presentation styles and word choice which certainly helped us focus on and refine those invaluable skills.”