For law students, putting knowledge into practice brings new responsibilities: listening to a client, responding to an unexpected question or adapting research to a community’s needs. These experiences help students develop their judgment, build confidence and discover how they want to contribute as legal professionals.
This past summer, Common Law students explored those responsibilities through opportunities ranging from clinical work to a public interest fellowship.
Support from The Law Foundation of Ontario helps make these opportunities possible. Earlier this year, the Faculty announced a $4.2-million grant through the Foundation’s Comprehensive Program for 2026–2029. The funding supports experiential learning and work that responds to access to justice needs, alongside initiatives advancing inclusion and reconciliation.
Gabrielle Potvin, a second-year student in the French Common Law Program, spent the summer as a student caseworker in the Tenant Division at the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic (UOCLC). She had the unique opportunity to represent a client at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
“This experience was about more than knowing the facts of the case,” says Potvin. “It was about making sure that the client's needs and interests were effectively represented, and most importantly, that their story was heard.”
Potvin conducted intake interviews, drafted legal documents, researched legal issues and provided summary legal advice and information. “Working at the Clinic really pushed me out of my comfort zone,” she says, “... but it allowed me to better understand how to work with people and approach their legal issues.”
“I am also now much more confident when dealing with unexpected situations where I need to think on my feet.”
Gabrielle Potvin, 2L
— French Common Law Program
For Isabella Clare Miller, working in the UOCLC’s family law division meant learning to respond to the circumstances behind a legal question. A second-year Common Law student in the combined JD/MA program with Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Miller managed client files, conducted intake interviews and assisted with court appearances.
“Instead of applying law to a fact pattern, you are interacting with individuals who are reliant on your work to help them in situations that may be stressful, complex, and pressing,” she explains.
Initially daunting, that responsibility became a source of confidence. Miller learned to tailor legal advice to individual circumstances and gained experience corresponding with opposing counsel, submitting forms and attending court appearances.
“Working at the Clinic has taught me practical skills than I can apply to any future legal career, like file management, docketing, and organization.”
Isabella Clare Miller, 2L
— JD/MA (International Affairs) program
The connection between legal knowledge and people’s needs also shaped Andrea Roxane Guzman’s summer fellowship with uOttawa’s Lands and Consultations Hub. The Hub supports First Nations in Ontario as they navigate Crown and industry proposed projects on their territories.
Guzman, a third-year JD student in the French Common Law Program, developed educational training modules on meaningful consultation and legal pluralism. Her work also involved collaboration with organizations on shared projects.
Building relationships with First Nations partners and other organizations helped solidify her goal of pursuing public interest work, particularly in Indigenous law. “Balancing legal research with the practical realities of managing project files, securing grant funding, and organizing initiatives like an Arctic Law panel, has made me much more confident in my practical abilities.”
“I truly enjoy working every day on real-life files and getting the opportunity to step out of the classroom to apply my theoretical knowledge. I feel so much anticipation to begin my legal career.”
Andrea Roxane Guzman, 3L
— French Common Law Program
Camille You-Ten, a second-year student in the English Common Law program, explored the relationship between law and entrepreneurship. As a summer caseworker at the Norton Rose Fulbright Entrepreneurship & Innovation Legal Clinic, she worked with entrepreneurs across the Ottawa community while continuing to develop her own technology platform, PeerBring, an all-in-one student ecosystem platform designed to simplify campus life.
“Drafting agreements, considering intellectual property protection, and navigating legal risks helped me better understand how closely legal and business decisions are connected.”
Camille You-Ten, 2L
— English Common Law program
Experiential learning can even change how students define professional success.
Alexander Hnatovsky, who is in his final year of the combined BCom/JD program, worked at Ship and Rail Compensation Canada–a hub for those affected by oil spills from ships, boats, or rail accidents–over the summer. He reflected on how practical experience broadened his understanding of the qualities a lawyer brings to their work.
“For a long time I thought that being a great lawyer was being a genius and knowing a subject better than anyone else. I was measuring myself against the wrong metrics, and always felt like I was behind, or not meeting the expectations that I was setting myself, Hnatovsky explains.
His experience helped him recognize the value of interpersonal skills, teamwork, and understanding the needs of those seeking assistance, alongside legal expertise.
“Although expertise is an important asset, there are countless other variables that come into play; being personable, understanding the struggles of founders, and having an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Alexander Hnatovsky, 3L
— JD-BCom (Commercial Sciences)
From these reflections, a shared lesson emerges; becoming a legal professional involves developing judgment, listening carefully and learning to work with others. By giving students opportunities to practise those skills, the Common Law Section helps them move forward with greater confidence and a clearer sense of how they can contribute.
