Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
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Further, it offers criteria a student may wish to consider once an offer has been made. The handbook also highlights pos- sibly discriminatory behaviour that stu- dents should be aware of. "Students need to know . . . they wouldn't go into a firm and face a barrage of difficult or inappro- priate questions," says Mundy-Markell. More formalized process Leckie notes the process is more struc- tured than it has been. In the case of Vancouver, he says, it's governed by the guidelines of the Vancouver Bar Asso- ciation. Zinman says students need to take the time to understand those rules as well as the marketplace in order to have an impact in the interview process. "If they understand that, it will take a lot of ambiguity out of the process." On- tario too has very strict guidelines. For her part, Herbst says recruiters are looking beyond marks when they take applications and decide to move to interviews. They want to see life experi- ence. "They get some life to them," she says. "There's quite an element of bedside manner in being a lawyer. If somebody comes across in an interview that will have a great bedside manner for law, they will be noticed." However, she notes, much of the process involves student committees at firms. Those committees may include as- sociates, partners, business development people, and others. But while the process itself has be- come more formal, Herbst says that does not change the need for students to do some due diligence around a firm before their interview. It's a demonstra- tion of behaviour that the firm can put to use in business development. Herbst suggests students call firms they are interested in and ask to speak to some- one in a practice area or in professional development. Go for a firm tour. And in the interview, use the information gleaned to ask more questions. Their overall suggestion to students as they approach the interview process, then, is to be themselves. The decision they and the firm make will affect the rest of their lives and their happiness in a fulfilling career in law. Law societies and bar associations across the country have also contrib- uted to the more formalized process. There are set periods for calls for in- terviews and also for offers. Herbst says that while it can create for a rather stressful situation, it has levelled the playing field. Most lawyers add that the formalized process does not exclude the students from the decision-making part of it as they, too, have an important final decision to make. Weighing the offers In the meantime, recruiters stress that when the offers come, they should be weighed in terms of what the student took from the process. Aſter all, they say, it's an experience that will shape a young lawyer's career. "The interview process may decide where you spend the next few years of your life," Herbst says. "It's good to find the firm that responds best to you." ■ It's in the genes. Litigation, that is. If you've realized that litigation is your destiny, there's a good chance you belong here.We're in the trenches every day - at motions, applications, trials, arbitrations, administrative hearings and appeals. Find out everything you need to know about joining us as a student on our website. SEE YOU IN COURT litigate.com Untitled-2 1 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS 7/20/11 10:29:43 AM F all 2011 11