Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4STUDENTS AUGUST 2018 55 help junior lawyers and students gain the sharp business skills they will need to oper- ate a legal practice. In some cases, the senior lawyers gain fresh outlooks from the junior lawyers, says Anand. e junior lawyers tend to be more knowledgeable about social media and tech- nology, which helps the firm to be more in- novative. Aside from mentorship, which only helps once a student is at a firm, Balaura has another suggestion that could help law students. He says law schools should offer a course or, perhaps, seminar training ses- sions on preparing for success in private practice, including the recruitment process. Overall, showing confidence (but not arrogance) makes a good impression on law firm recruiters whether a junior lawyer or student is familiar with the recruiting process or not. Along with confidence, it's imperative for potential hires to study in- formation about the firms to which they are applying and to illustrate that they under- stand those values. Customize your application Balaura cautions applicants to review their cover letter before submitting it because he has seen candidates identify areas of law within their letter that his firm doesn't prac- tice. It's evident that occasionally some appli- cants create a single cover letter for all firms to which they apply rather than tailoring each cover letter for each firm. "Our firm has a trademark saying about right-size thinking — that being our busi- ness philosophy," he says. "It's good for students to sort of work it into the con- versation during the interview that they're aware of those types of mission statements or values or saying things that the firm likes to promote. When we see that they've done their homework, that certainly leaves a pos- itive impression." Even though you could never be 100-per- cent prepared for the unknown, it's crucial to always be as prepared as possible when entering the law firm recruiting process. "ese days, there are so many resources available that students know by examin- ing the particular law firm's website closely, understanding that firm's practice areas, getting a sense of their firm culture, speak- ing with either students who are currently there or new associates that they may know from their law schools or from their con- nections," says Balaura. features 4S Remember when all you wanted was to be a lawyer? Remember w all you wan was to be a lawy RANKED It's time. We're one of Canada's leading employment DQGODERXUODZÀUPV representing employers. Join us. sherrardkuzz.com | 416.603.0700 | 24 Hour 416.420.0738 250 Yonge St #3300, Toronto, ON M5B 2L7 | @sherrardkuzz ntitled-4 1 2018-07-13 11:33 AM

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