THE EDUCATION OF BC NOTARIES
The Learning Doesn’t Stop Leslie Madore
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clearly recall the day when I greeted my very first client as a fully commissioned Notary. Although I was excited and nervous, I felt prepared by the rigours and demands of the previous 2 years of SFU’s MA-ALS Program, The Society’s practical training, and working 2 years under the watchful tutelage of Notary Janice Rutherford.
My return to higher learning was prompted by conversations with my daughter who had started her Bachelor’s degree at UBC Okanagan. I always said that when she started university, I would go back to school again. Not finished learning, I wanted to push myself toward another rewarding profession that would stretch my goals and provide a challenge. Janice had been a Notary for 10 years. I met her after I applied to the MA-ALS Program. She had earlier decided to pursue a new career after turning 50. When I said I wanted a change and a challenge, she said I would find it with the MA-ALS Program and she was right! The MA-ALS Program became my life focus and filled my calendar to the brim. I have never worked so hard to make it to a finish line.
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I was especially inspired by the Personal Planning course with Dr. Margaret Hall. The trips to Vancouver to attend the SFU in-class sessions were bittersweet—time away from loved ones and work but the opportunity to spend time with my cohort members and instructors. The relationships and friendships developed on campus helped create a sense of community, linking us in our learning before advancing us toward the online lectures, seemingly endless assignments, reams of readings, and the dreaded exams. The camaraderie with my colleagues brought me back from the edge more than a few times. The courses provided a solid grounding in the law in which BC Notaries practise, mediating our learning through the Introduction to the Canadian Legal System and ending with ALS 630 – Topics in Legal Practice. I was especially inspired by the Personal Planning course with Dr. Margaret Hall. I felt most drawn to that area of practice—the opportunity to help people record the final say over their estate as well as plan for life’s expected and unexpected events. I really enjoyed the knowledge generated BC Notaries Association
by reading case law and exploring precedents to draft “Bill’s Will” and provide advice to “Daisy Doolittle.” I was absorbed by Property Law I and II. Ron Usher’s lectures, stories, and anecdotes were entertaining and daunting; the amount of required reading was staggering but the teaching was solid gold! I review my notes from Ron’s lectures regularly because “no two deals are ever the same.” Since that very first day, I’ve had many, many client appointments. Today as a staff Notary with Derek V. Smoluk Notary Corporation, I love where I work and what I do. I enjoy the quick pace of real estate conveyancing, the rewards of helping people with their personal planning, the attention to detail the Notary work requires, the contact with my colleagues and peers, and the mentoring I receive from Derek! The learning is ongoing— it never ends!! s Leslie Madore is a BC Notary in Kamloops. Along with Benjamin Kaan, Leslie received the 5th annual Simon Fraser University Award in recognition of achieving the highest marks in the Master of Arts in Applied Legal Studies Program. Volume 30 Number 1 Spring 2021
