Canadian Lawyer 4Students

While it is great if they have an interest in labour or human resources law, it is not the determining factor as to whether they will be hired at our firm. Stephen Shamie, Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP student development committee. "Law school classes are getting so much more specialized. People have to be very careful when they pick their courses," he says. Students at several Canadian institutions can choose to focus on practice areas including health, technology, business, environmental, and tax law. Expressing an interest in a particular area of law is one thing, but "you also want to see students who have an open mind and aren't locked into one area," Stevens advises. People may be more likely to excel at things they enjoy, but in reality, it can be difficult for young lawyers to get a feel for an area until they actually practise it. "To close your mind before you've done it is a little short-sighted," says Stevens. For example, few students come to the firm with in-depth knowledge of mining and natural resources law, yet "it's something that people get really excited and interested in" once they experience it. Bongard offers a different view, saying: "I'm in favour of special- "I work on high profile matters every day" Cristina Mihalceanu, associate Major clients, high profile matters, some of the most experienced ip practitioners as mentors… articling and working at Dimock Stratton has it all. If you're serious about a career in ip law, Dimock Stratton should be at the top of your list. Dimock Stratton llp experience. results. 20 Queen W. 32nd fl, Toronto | 416.971.7202 | dimock.com 8 fall 2013 CANADIAN L a w y e r 4 students ization and differentiating yourself from the pack." While opportunities to specialize during a law degree can be limited, articling may offer exposure to very distinct practice areas. His guidance comes with the obvious caveat that the specialty had better be in an area in which there are likely to be job opportunities. Tax, infrastructure, and mergers and acquisitions are areas that may experience, or are already seeing, a slowdown, but are among the safer bets, Bongard suggests, while litigation is one of the more steady fields. The divergence in views over whether to specialize can be confusing to a student population comprised of ambitious high achievers with perfectionist tendencies and important choices to make. "It's something we have a lot of different guidance on, mostly from different students," sighs Caitlin Urquhart, Dalhousie Law Students' Society president. She arrived at law school with a clinical management and environmental policy background and says Dalhousie encourages some degree of specialization. She's taken environmental law courses, but not to the extent that her degree will have a specialist designation. She says: "I had two friends; one of them said, 'Don't do the environment specialization, because if you want to work in a big firm they won't even look at your resumé.' Someone else said, 'Do you really want to work in a firm that wouldn't even look at you because you have an environmental law specialization?'" Using law school as a chance to glimpse into different practice areas is important, she feels, as "often you end up in an area you didn't expect." There are also practical limitations to specializing, such as timetable clashes. Will Russell, president of the University of New Brunswick Law Students' Society, faced a similar dilemma. He completed a Master's degree covering marine law, but feared being pigeonholed and felt law school was "an opportunity to get the broadest spectrum of the law as possible." He says: "It was a concern that I'd get overly specialized and maybe in five years time I'd say, 'This isn't my cup of tea.'" Having a niche background can be an advantage when it comes to understanding clients' needs, acknowledges Shannon Leo, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada's student programs and recruitment director. For example, there's a lawyer in the firm's mining practice who trained as a geologist, and those with science backgrounds may be better versed in rules around patents, she says. Like other firms, Norton Rose requests transcripts showing students' course selections as part of its recruitment process. "We're looking for students who are taking courses that do line up with the kind of work we do," says Leo. But while evidence of a general interest in corporate law is helpful, the firm doesn't expect students to demonstrate a narrow area of focus, and the majority of applicants to junior roles have a broad legal background. "Our expectation isn't that they would have very specialized law school courses," says Leo. She recommends students who think they'd enjoy a career in a particular field display their interest through extracurricular activities and voluntary roles. For example, those interested in litigation

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