Syndicates: Why and How

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Syndicates Why and How?

• JD January 2004

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Why Syndicates?

• Skills development
• Mutual support
• Expectations of the profession

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Skills development

• All skills associated with working in teams,
  including
• Identifying, allocating and sharing tasks
• Communicating/negotiating
• Identifying the strengths of others and yourself
• Dealing with people/ building relationships
• Solving problems with process
• Leadership

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Mutual support

• Syndicates offer support with, for example
• Legal problem solving
• Problems with legal method
• Development of oral skills
• Sharing responsibility/uncertainty/worry
• Minimising the scope of a task

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What the profession expects

• All branches of the profession emphasise the
  importance of the ability to work with others and
  to accomplish tasks in teams solicitors,
  barristers, corporate counsel, etc
• The teamwork component of the JD is one that the
  profession values
• A demonstrated ability to work with others will
  impress, for employment purposes (and the
  converse is also true).

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How the Syndicate process

• Each JD student is assigned to a new syndicate
  for each trimester.
• Syndicate size max 6 minimum (usually) 4
• Groups drawn up by JD administration
• Syndicates are used for
• Some formal assessment
• Some other JD processes
• Informal purposes

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Formal assessment

• There is likely to be some formal, assessable
  syndicate work in each trimester.
• Eg the current trimester
• Legal Research and Method
• Procedure
• Syndicate work generally worth 20-30
• Tasks are designed to benefit from team work and
  effective team work is expected in their
  completion

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Formal assessment in context

• The contribution of syndicate work to each
  students individual mark sometimes causes
  unnecessary anxiety.
• The value of syndicate work is calculated to be
  significant, without distorting individual
  outcomes to any great degree. More effective
  syndicate work should receive a higher mark
• In any event, high marks are not rationed in the
  JD
• The profession values other skills in JD
  students, as well as marks

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Other JD syndicate tasks

• Responsibility for guest lectures
• Introducing, thanking, writing to the speaker
• Class participation sometimes requires syndicate
  work. Eg
• International law
• Constitutional law
• Syndicates may provide feedback to class
  representatives, course directors, etc.

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Informal use of syndicates

• Discuss legal problems. Eg Carroll
• What does section 17 of the Criminal Code mean?
• What is the difference between the 3 judgements?
• What do those various technical terms mean?
• Discuss forms of legal writing
• Citation style expression of legal propositions
• Discuss points before/after class
• Relax at the end of a hard day

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Faculty support

• Focussed on first trimester
• People Cheryl Saunders Caron Beaton-Wells
  other course directors
• Between us, we will meet with each group at least
  3 times, across the trimester
• Caron 5th week 8/9 week an additional meeting
  if needed
• Feedback on those meetings
• Feedback on performance in guest lectures
• NB other JD networks

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Troubleshooting

• Syndicate work is designed to
• Build skills
• Add to the value of the JD experience and the JD
  graduate
• Provide support
• Be a pleasure
• But it also involves some extra
  work/thought/responsibility
• Anticipate problems that may arise

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Possible problems

• JD students are very diverse
• They have very different skills
• The JD is a time of transition for most students,
  creating additional stress
• Many JD students have had substantial autonomy in
  their previous careers
• Some people are naturally more inclined to try to
  take over some to let others do the work
• JD syndicates inevitably are artificial working
  teams

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Syndicate tips

• Make it easy for the syndicate to communicate
  exchange emails, telephone numbers, etc
• Establish preferences for meetings, working style
  (eg email or face to face or both?)
• Get to know each other/ respect each other
• Assign tasks within the group including to a
  convenor?
• Critically evaluate your own contribution to the
  syndicate

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Final message

• As far as possible, syndicates should establish
  their own processes and overcome any problems
  that arise.
• If there are apparently intractable problems,
  however, come to us.
• Keep syndicate work in perspective.
• Maximise its advantages, and enjoy it.