The Faculty of Law provides an opportunity for a total of two students (per term) to clerk for the Justices of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench for 3 hours of credit. Students are expected to spend the equivalent of one full working day per week (in either one or two blocks) at the Court. The precise schedule shall be arranged between the student and the Supervising Justice(s) responsible for the Program at the Court
Those selected to participate in the Program will be responsible for ensuring that there is no conflict between participation in the Program and their other course class at the Faculty of Law. For greater clarity, students may not miss mandatory attendance classes to participate in clerkship activities. Students will be expected to provide research assistance to the Justices, and students will be asked to provide written memoranda and other research to help the Justices prepare for trial or application hearings. Discussions of legal issues may follow from the work that students do. Finally, in many instances, students are invited to hear some of the argument to a trial or application on which they have previously done work. Beyond this, it is difficult to generalize about the experience at the Court, and this will depend on the work of the Justices at a given point in time.
Students will be selected for the Program by a committee composed of no fewer than three Faculty members chosen by the Dean Office. The selection of the committee is final. The committee could consider, amongst other criteria, the following in making its selection:
- Proven Academic Ability
- Proven Research Strength
- Genuine Interest in the Program
- Other Considerations that the student wishes to raise