Dear [Name]:

My name is Fallon Burns and I am the Student Director of the Ontario Paralegal Association (OPA). On behalf of the Board of Directors and the OPA Student Mooting Committee, it is with great pleasure that I invite you to participate as a community partner at the 2014 Paralegal Cup Mooting Competition. The competition date is Saturday, November 1 and 2, 2014 at the Humber College Lakeshore Campus.

The purpose of the extra-curricular Paralegal Cup intercollegiate mooting competition is to create a unique academic opportunity for paralegal students to practise and refine their research, analytical and reasoning skills. All of these career-based skills are invaluable in the legal profession. The competition provides a safe environment to develop these skills. In addition to their written submissions, students are required to present ten-minute oral submissions. Each student team competes in four mooting rounds, alternating between representing the appellant and the respondent. The mooting teams address the identified legal issues for the selected contemporary Canadian case. The competition judges are licensed paralegals, lawyers, members of the judiciary, and educators from the legal community.

Following the competition rounds, the Paralegal Cup committee hosts a formal dinner and banquet to celebrate our students’ achievements. This evening features a number of influential keynote speakers and distinguished guests from the legal community. The event serves to be an invaluable opportunity to connect with industry leaders.

Last year’s inaugural competition welcomed student teams from five colleges located in the Greater Toronto Area. Our banquet speakers included the chair of the Law Society’s Paralegal Standing Committee, a bencher from the Law Society and a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid Ontario. The competition generated media attention, including featured articles in SLAW and Lawyer’s Weekly.

The 2014 Paralegal Cup banquet theme is Access to Justice, following the Law Society of Upper Canada’s ‘Creating a Climate for Change’ Report from the Treasurer’s Advisory Group on Access to Justice Symposium. The goal of the banquet theme is to focus on the future of legal services within Ontario’s legal profession.

This year’s competition will highlight top-tiered students from numerous colleges across the GTA, Southwestern, and Eastern Ontario. We anticipate numerous Members of Provincial Parliament, the Board of Directors of Legal Aid Ontario, Ontario's judiciary, the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Paralegal Standing Committee and the 2013 Distinguished Paralegal of the Year recipient. Additionally, we expect five Law Society of Upper Canada benchers and representatives from the Ontario Justice Education Network, College executives, educational professors, administrators, and senior members of the licensed paralegal community.

As a community partner, you become an important supporter of the non-profit mission and goals of the Paralegal Cup. Your involvement provides you with immediate and intimate access to present and future community leaders, college representatives, and influential members of the legal industry. Furthermore, your contribution puts your name front and centre in the expanding and increasingly critical paralegal community. We would like you to take full advantage of this opportunity.
We have a specific variety of benefits available to our community partners. We will be glad to help you identify the benefits that will best suit your needs.

Best Regards,

Fallon Burns
Student Director, Ontario Paralegal Association

Cc: James Cullin, Associate Dean, the Business School, Humber College (Corporate Contact) | 416.675.6622 x3800