UVic Law Co-op Student at the BCLI
January 17, 2018
BY Emily Amirkhani
One of the many benefits of being a co-op student at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law is having access to a wide range of legal work. While many students seek out positions in law firms, I have always been more interested in alternative legal paths. In particular, I find my passion in analyzing, questioning, and challenging the law.
As a result, when the opportunity to work as a Research Assistant at the BC Law Institute (BCLI) and Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) became available, I was immediately interested. I appreciate that the BCLI and CCEL’s work has the potential for long-lasting and large-scale impact. Their recommendations for law reform, if implemented, stand to change the laws which govern all of us. This type of high-level work is something I hope will be a part of my career after graduation, and I am thankful for the opportunity to gain this experience at such an early stage.
During my first week of placement, I engaged with various aspects of the organization. I was able to attend a committee meeting for the CCEL’s current project on Health Care Consent, Aging, and Dementia—a subject of particular interest to me. I also performed preliminary international comparative research, and explored funding options for a potential future project. I had the opportunity to begin a review of the BCLI’s past projects, and later this week I will be attending a committee meeting for the BCLI’s ongoing Strata Property Law project.
As I move through this semester, I look forward to not only gaining practical legal research skills, but also learning more about the operation of the BCLI and CCEL. I hope to learn about the various elements involved in running this type of organization, and to get a sense of what working in the legal research field is truly like. The first week has already taught me so much, and I am excited to see what is to come throughout the rest of my time here.
