Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50906
COMPILED BY GLENN KAUTH ONS + + PROS: of... SARAH KIRBY, Metcalf & Co., Halifax, N.S. PROS: Maritime law is a branch of common law, so being common law trained is a huge advantage that can translate into many opportunities for international relocation and opportunities for work in-house. Personal relationships are im- portant in this small, tight-knit, collegial community — locally, nationally, and internationally. It's extremely interesting. There's always an international fl avour to whatever you're doing. It's a niche area, which makes it intellectually challenging. Typically, people don't dabble in it. - CONS: It can be a 24/7 job with unpredictable hours. In shipping, disputes happen at any time. A ship can get arrested at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, and you have to respond. Because it's so specialized, there are certain pieces you're only going to learn when you are faced with a situation. But it's a small community, so there are lots of people to talk to about it. There is a fair amount of business networking involved, so if you're not into getting yourself out there, it might not be for you. There's a bit less business from protection and indemnity clubs that provide insurance to ship owners. The clubs increasingly have their own in-house claims people and lawyers who can do some of the work, which create business challenges for lawyers. LEONA BAXTER, Pushor Mitchell LLP, Kelowna, B.C. It's fascinating and interesting work because you end up speaking to people from different countries every day. Maritime insurance involves a very sophisticated type of client. Most people tend to work in it for a very long time. It can be lucrative. Maritime law is a fairly small area, so the fi rms that do it tend to do very well with it. It has an international focus. There are lots of conferences going on all the time. They're fascinating. You get a lot of exposure to international organizations all over the world. You get to travel. We're always somewhere. I happen to speak Japanese, so I do a lot of work in Asia. - CONS: The laws can be complicated. They are extremely different, and there's just a lot more of them. There are interpretation issues as well because different nations interpret rules differently. It can be a challenging area to break into. Clients are very discerning about who they go to. The business is well taken care of by established lawyers. Maritime law is heavy and involves a lot of reading. I read of lot of textbooks, more so than I ever have. Sometimes, the technical aspects can be diffi cult. It's probably not much of a growth industry. My impression is that the cargo work is not as busy as it was just because of improvements in ship safety. Probably the biggest challenge is that everybody who does it is more senior than I am. I'm always the most junior person. 4STUDENTS SPRING 2009 25