Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50903
scoffed at for suggesting that the Internet and e-mail would become part and parcel of their daily law practices. In his most re- cent book, he argues that the practice of law will be almost unrecognizable in years to come, one change being a shiſt from a bespoke service, with face-to-face interac- tions with clients, to a more electronically based, commoditization of services. Anderson agrees that technology is playing an ever-increasing role. When he started practising, "the big debate was whether to use a typewriter, a dedicated word processor, or one of these crazy things called a PC. Today it's a pdf that you e-mail. Absolutely things are being done at the speed of light. You have to be able to react and to reinvent yourself," he says. Grubb seconds that. "Even in the short amount of time that I've been a lawyer. When I first started we did a majority of our work face-to-face, going into a huge boardroom to sign the papers and shake hands. Whereas today most things are done through pdf. It was a great experi- ence to be in the room with all the law- yers and all the clients there. Now you don't see how everyone works together," she says. "As much as possible you need to get involved to get the picture of the transaction. Try picking the lawyers' brains as much as possible. When the transaction is closed, ask the lawyer to go for coffee to talk about the transaction." Segal says: "It's true here in Canada, too. Probably a bit less so. The com- moditization issue is a big one. Things will probably always be local and you'll pay a lot for highly skilled labour. It's already happened in things like resi- dential real estate, even in commercial lending, routine banking stuff. You can certainly envision it in other areas, like IP, for instance, due diligence, review- ing contracts, any routine work." He concludes: "It probably means Watch the market and pick an area that's hot. People who distinguish themselves become very well known for doing deals in one sector. When you get much better known, you can spread your wings in that area. — John Anderson, Stikeman Elliott LLP that business lawyers would tradition- ally have done will get farmed out off- shore or electronically pushed down to 'the lowest common denominator.'" Value for money will become particu- larly acute in today's economy. "This wouldn't be true for big ticket securi- ties transactions or M & A deals. That your value is tied to your ability to be so specialized that few others interna- tionally could compete with you. In se- curities law, [and] bankruptcy and in- solvency law few could properly advise Canadian clients. Now the pressure is on young law students to specialize even earlier." n A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION At Miller Thomson, we want students who challenge themselves and are committed to professional excellence. We look for candidates who have the qualities that will enable them to become associates and eventually partners in the firm. We give you the opportunity to get noticed. It is up to you to take the next step. For more information on our Student Programmes, please contact studentprogrammes@millerthomson.com or visit our website at www.millerthomson.com Untitled-1 1 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS SEPT E MB E R 2009 31 7/16/09 9:17:37 AM