Canadian Lawyer 4Students

Spring 2011

Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training

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BY ANDI BALLA Become an articling t's a late November evening at the offi ces of McCarthy Tétrault LLP in downtown Toronto, where some of the country's most power- ful corporate lawyers have come together for a net- working event that involves visiting the art collections of three big Bay Street fi rms. Running the show are some of the fi rm's articling students who have volunteered to give details to the visitors about diff erent pieces of the extensive art collection on display. It's very diff erent from what arti- cling students do in their day-to-day work lives, but it is a good example of how students can become engaged and get the most out of their articling term experience. It means they are interact- ing directly with clients and partners they might not otherwise necessarily meet elsewhere, says Gail Wong, a law- yer with McCarthys who serves as the fi rm's director of student programs for Ontario. As the start of the next articling term gets closer for many law students, get- ting the most out of the experience is important for any young lawyer, wheth- er she or he wants to be hired back, ex- plore new areas of practice, develop new skills, or fi gure out what to do in the fu- ture. We spoke with several lawyers to fi nd out some tips on how to have a suc- cessful articling experience. Interact with many Th e students at the corporate counsel art crawl were practising what several SUPERSTAR Being hired back is only one aspect of succeeding during your term as a student-at-law. lawyers said was a very important ele- ment of getting the most out of the ar- ticling experience — having a positive interaction with as many people as pos- sible during the articling term. Th ese include partners, associates, clients, and any support staff such as clerks and as- sistants. Wong says really engaging is very important for a successful articling term, and the best way to do it is by con- necting with people. "Students may not realize it, but they have a better chance [for success] when they connect with people," says Wong. Ian R. Stauff er, a partner with Tier- ney Stauff er LLP in Ottawa who has led the fi rm's articling program for the past 21 years, says students must have a good working relationship not just C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS SPRING 2011 7

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